Page 48 of F*ck You

“Really, Nat? That’s the only thing you can think to say to me after everything?”

“Well, what do you want me to say? Fuck off, asshole? Because that works too. As a matter of fact, fuck off, asshole.”

He shrugged off his wet jacket and hung it on the hook by the door as if he planned on staying awhile. This couldn’t be a good sign. Fuck me to high hell. No pun intended.

“Look, Nat, I miss you. I still want this wedding to happen, and for that, I need you to be there. I can’t exactly marry myself.”

All motion left my body as his words fell out like an atomic bomb. I stared at him with a dumb expression, stunned out of my mind. I vaguely recalled him asking about the ring, but never once did he say he wanted me back. Not that I’d even paid attention to any of the messages he left. For all I knew, he could have told me he adopted a koala and was going to live underground with a group of mathematicians.

Right when he opened his mouth to speak again and break the silence, I cut him off.

“You need me?” I laughed. “You need me. Really? After all the shit you pulled? I thought I made it clear we were over. Did you not get the message I left you? I left it on the carpet in every room, on the walls of the living room, and separate fuck off messages in bins of fire. But I suppose you could have just breezed on by it, not paying attention to your peripherals as you fucked every other woman out there.”

“Don’t talk like that.”

“Like what? A scorned ex? You took years I’ll never get back, and I refuse to waste any more on you. Sorry if you’re not pleased with that, Todd, but I’ve moved on. I’m over you. I’ve been over you since before I even saw that picture, so you can’t blame all of this on that.” I was ranting. I was on a full-on, verbal diatribe, and I saw no end in sight. I was laying it all bare, getting everything off my chest, everything I’ve felt for so long. “I know she wasn’t the first, and she probably wasn’t even the last. I don’t give a fucking shit what you do, or who you do it with, Todd. I’m done. I’ve been over you since before the incident, and I have no intention of getting back with you again. Goodbye. The door is right there.” I pointed at the front door behind him and waited.

I knew he wasn’t going to leave right now, and I would have more of an argument on my hands to get there, but I looked at him with eyes that said he better fucking leave before I fucked him up, because I would. I was waiting for the signal that would announce I could take out all my rage and anger. The signal I was always afraid would come, but I was ready for it now.

“Fine. If you’re not going to come back, then why do you want the ring?”

I looked at him, dumbfounded. I didn’t care what happened to him, or even the ring, but I refused to let him win this. He’d already taken so much from me, this was going to be the one thing I held onto, regardless of how much he pushed. “I don’t give a shit what happens to the ring. For all we know, it could be across the ocean by now. I haven’t done shit with it.”

“You’re lying.”

“You’re asshole-ing.”

His face turned a deep, deep red, and his eyes flared with a fire I’d only seen once before, and I gulped. He was about to give me the sign I was waiting for, and I was ready.

“You have no idea what you put me through, do you?” he snarled, and I straightened my spine, ready to take whatever he had to throw.

“You? What about me?” I yelled back, and he gritted his teeth.

His large, meaty hands pressed against the wall on either side of me, preventing any more movement as he glared into my eyes.

“How did you even find me here?” I whispered. “I hadn’t told anyone where I was.”

His brow scrunched in confusion. “You wanted me to find you. That’s why you downloaded the app and turned on the homing signal a few days ago. It took me longer to get here than I wanted, but you brought me here and now here I am.”

“I did not…” My voice trailed off as I remembered the break-in. My phone had been left on the counter in plain sight. Did I even have the lock on it? If it another one of those times where it was left open for anyone to use, a habit I formed when living with him, then I could be screwed. Not to mention the other times I left it behind. Did someone really break into my home only to leave me a simple painted message and to download an app and turn on the homing signal on my phone? I was now mentally berating myself for not checking my phone more closely after that night. You never really knew what people could be capable of.

“That was not me. I busted the phone, so now trying to call and track me will be pointless. This is my domain, and you are not welcome.”

His lips landed on mine, and when my hands failed to push him back, I lifted a knee to his groin until he retreated with a cough. When he leaned toward me, I met him with my head, slamming it into his skull, and he stumbled back, clutching his forehead as blood trickled from his scalp. “I’m trying to get you back, Nat,” he coughed out while clutching at his head.

“Two words, Todd. Fuck. You.”

I opened the door behind him and leaned to the side so I could strike him in the chest with a sidekick. To my surprise, two figures showed up right as he was flying through the opened door.

I was going full-on bitch. This was my turf and nobody, least of all him, was going to screw this up.

“I’m sorry, Nat,” he wheezed, “I want you back so badly.” A sob escaped his throat, but I didn’t fall for it. “I’m so lost without you.”

Chase had him in a headlock, cutting off his words as he cut off his air.

“Call the police, I got him,” Chase ordered, as Todd clawed at his forearm.

Larsen whipped out his phone, but before he dialed, I came back around. “No, don’t,” I stated, stepping forward. His eyes shot to me, looking me over.

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