Page 101 of The Right Kind of Wrong

CHAPTER 36

Evelyn

I felt his eyes before I even turned around. His gaze was piercing, leaving me breathless despite what had happened between us. I scoffed, shaking my head.

How the hell does he still have this power over me?

How was I so fucking weak?

“You don't have to leave, Evelyn,” he said, emotionless.

“I do,” I said with a forced smile. “You're a single man, Nathan. I can't be around if you want to have other women here. I wouldn't want to be an obstacle in your dating life.”

He didn't say anything and I turned around to make sure he was still there. He was. His hair was disheveled, lips tilted down in a frown. His eyes…those eyes that typically had the ability to do me over were saddened. Ignoring the pull he had on me I continued packing, resisting the need to comfort him.

Why would I?

He's the one that fucked us up.

Nathan stood by the door while I finished packing. I did so in a hurry, needing to get the hell out of there before I lost it. A couple of days had gone by since his divorce was finalized and since our fallout and though I pretended to be okay, I was anything but.

Nights were the worst.

I'd gotten so used to him holding me. Now they were just so lonely and bitter; just like I was. I resented him for not telling what was going on, but he'd pushed me away.

Because the things I thought I wanted…I was wrong. I don't want them anymore. Not with you.

The words echoed in my mind; the irony of them clawing at my insides. Not with me. I wasn't stupid enough to try to fool myself into thinking that I would ever love someone else like I loved him, wasn't stupid enough to open up my heart like that ever again. I just wished I wouldn't have done it in the first place.

His meetings with David had increased for some reason. I asked David about it and he simply said he couldn't say anything because of a confidentiality agreement. As much as those words angered me, I couldn't blame him. It was his job after all and none of my business.

I'd decided to stay with Carter for the time being, clear up the things at the company, hand it over to Kimberly, and get the hell out of Pennsylvania. A beautiful state, but I'd been through so much shit there I was ready to leave and start fresh.

“I can leave, if you want, Evelyn,” he said, breaking the silence that enveloped us. “You can stay here. You shouldn't have to leave.”

“Stay and sleep in the same bed and room you fucked me in? No thank you.” I closed my suitcase, glad that I could already hear the cab pulling up. Nathan tensed at the sound of it, eyes fleeting to the window.

“That's my cue to leave,” I whispered, biting my lip.

I took a deep breath, looking down at the damn bracelet I still wore. My heart constricted. If I was going to let him go, leave him, I had to leave everything that reminded me of him behind, no matter how attached I'd grown.

Unclasping the bracelet I turned around, holding it between my thumb and index fingers, Nathan's eyes revealing never-ending pain.

“Evelyn, what are you doing?” he asked, his voice nothing but a breathy sound.

I took his hand in mine, ignoring the shiver that ran down my spine.

Ignoring the reminder that those hands knew my body very well, that they knew how to comfort me, how to make me lose my mind.

“I'm seizing the day.” The hate-filled words left my lips without much consideration.

He shook his head, holding the bracelet in a closed fist as I walked away, certain that leaving him behind was the best choice.

***

Jenna and I walked throughout campus, talking about the end of the semester and my pending trip. Though she didn't really agree with what I had decided, saying that I needed to take time and think.

That was the problem though.

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