Page 35 of Burned

Sadie ignored him, trying to get up, but the pain in her arm and backside hurt like a son of a bitch. Rhys helped her up, but she immediately pulled herself out of his arms. She turned to see Carys approaching. The girl was white as a sheet. She even looked a bit remorseful, but Sadie was beyond caring, with the last bit of strength in her reservoir, she stormed over to the teenager and with the last bit of strength in her reserve she reared her good hand back and smacked the shit out of her tormenter. “You little bitch!”

Carys went reeling back.

“Sadie! What the fuck has gotten into you?” Rhys demanded.

“Some sense! You two can go fuck yourselves!” She walked away from him where she vomited, emptying the contents of her belly on the ground, and promptly passed out afterward.

* * *

Sadie woke up in the hospital with her arm in a soft cast on her injured arm and an IV drip sticking out of her other one. Rhys sat by her bedside. There was grim expression on his face and it all came back to her. She didn’t understand how she’d gotten here but then it all came back to her. Carys had finally succeeded in pushing her to the edge. Sadie abhorred violence and while she was ashamed of her actions, she wasn’t as sorry about it as she should have been. With that came the realization that this was the end of her and Rhys.

She ran tongue of parched lips. “How long have I been out?”

“A couple hours. The doctor gave you a light sedative and set your arm. Luckily it was a clean break. He also said you were dehydrated. You should take better care of yourself. I called your sister, who should be here any minute.”

Sadie turned her head away from him, unable to meet his gaze.

“Why Sadie?”

She didn’t need clarification to understand what he was asking.

“I’m sorry it happened,” she spoke without looking at him.

“Seriously? Is that all you can say? You assault a fourteen-year-old girl and all you have to say is sorry?”

“Assault is pretty harsh, but if that what you’d like to call it, fine. Are you going to press charges?”

“If I were in my right mind, I would, but I’m not going to believe the woman I love and who I thought loved me would snap like that without some reason. Carys didn’t deserve that. She’s bent over backward to be your friend. Are you really jealous of my daughter?”

Sadie didn’t have the strength to argue. “Well, I guess it’s like you suspected. I don’t like your daughter. I never will so let’s just call this thing quits.”

“You slap my daughter unprovoked, and you’re the one who’s breaking up with me?”

“Yep.”

“I thought you were different. That you actually cared about me, that you loved me.”

Sadie wanted to cry out that she did, but pride wouldn’t allow it. It was either her or Carys and at the end of day, she should have known from the beginning there was no contest. Her heart was breaking in tiny pieces, but she had to let Rhys go. Maybe one day Carys would mature enough to allow him to find someone to love without interference, but she realized she wasn’t that woman.

She didn’t say anything.

“So that’s it then?”

“Guess so.”

He sighed. “I suppose it’s for the best. I would never have trusted you around her again anyway. Guess next time, I’ll listen to my daughter when she has concerns. I certainly should have listened to her about you.” He stood up and stalked to the door.

She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, concentrating too hard on holding back tears.

He halted at the door. “I don’t know why I never saw what a bitch you are. Guess you had me fooled.”

It was almost as if he wanted her to react but she didn’t have it in her.

Just then Lily showed up. “Excuse me? What the hell did you call my sister? I almost had to put my foot up your brother’s ass this week, I’ll be much obliged to follow through with you.”

Rhys rolled his eyes before storming off.

Lily rushed to Sadie’s bedside. “Oh, honey, what happened?”

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