Page 85 of How We Fooled

The place has filled up, and I don’t see her anywhere, so I head to the restroom to check if she’s still in there. When I turn the corner, my stomach drops, my chest is tight, and I don’t know whether to break down crying or beat the living shit out of some guy.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Eli

“What the fuck?” I yell out.

Liza looks at me like she has no clue why I’m freaking the fuck out, then gives her attention back to the guy whose lap she’s sitting on.

Thinking I’m in a dream—or a nightmare rather—I look around the table of people sitting there, staring at me. I’m halfway expecting to see a clown face or my first-grade teacher because this must be one fucked-up dream. That’s the only thing that would help this to all make sense.

I don’t recognize a soul, but they’re all looking at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“Who’s this guy?” the guy whose lap she’s sitting on asks.

Liza sighs, tossing her hand my way like she’s throwing out the trash. “He’s nobody,” she says before turning her back to me and wrapping her arms around the guy.

I’ve never been so speechless in my entire life. I’m literally stunned into silence. I have no clue what the fuck is going on. The only thing I do know is, this is not Liza, but how is that humanly possible?

“Liza?” I plead, praying she looks at me again.

“Is this guy bothering you?” the same guy asks.

She rolls her eyes. “He’s a student of mine who won’t leave me alone.”

My eyes open wide in shock.

Did I really just hear her say that? What the fuck is going on?

“He’s a student of yours?” The guy places his hand on Liza’s knee, and I instantly see red.

“Get your hands off of her!” I lunge toward him, and the entire table of guys jumps up to stop me.

The guy wears a smug expression as someone else stands in front of me, trying to block me from getting to them.

I glare down at him because I’m much bigger than he is, and if I were anyone else, I would pick him up and throw him across the bar.

“Get out of my way.” I toss him to the side, knocking him to the ground with ease.

“Liza? What’s going on?”

“Hey, pal.” Another guy pushes me to the side, making me stumble because all my attention is on Liza and not the situation of guys around me. “The lady has obviously made her choice. I think you should leave.”

I stand up and push him back. “She’s my girlfriend. We literally arrived together, we ate dinner together, and we’re leaving together.”

I reach for Liza’s arm, and someone else comes up from behind me, stopping me in my steps.

“Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but don’t make me throw your ass out of here.”

I ignore the guy and plead, “Liza, what are you doing, baby? Let’s get out of here.”

“Do you want to leave with this guy?” the guy whose lap she’s still sitting on asks.

Liza glances at me, and I swear she looks straight through me. She doesn’t see me at all. She doesn’t see the time we’ve spent together, the love we have for each other. Everything about her is gone.

“I’ve been trying to get rid of him for the past year.” She hugs him more and croons in his ear, “Please get rid of him so I can go home with you.”

Her words hit like a punch to my gut, but not as bad as the actual fist that’s thrust into my stomach by the guy I knocked to the floor.

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