Page 46 of Bought and Broken

I grit my teeth, ready to smash my cell. “The same people I’ve had by my side my entire life. Anyone who isn’t you.”

I end the call and whip the phone across the room. It slams into the wall, but I’m already pacing so I don’t know if there’s damage. Quite frankly, I don’t fucking care.

Is he high? Drunk? What the fuck was that about? That is by far the shittiest phone call I have ever gotten from my father. I’d have preferred he blackmailed me into hiring Gunner over the shit he just spewed at me. Did he know I was in a bad mood and want to make it worse?

What a piece of work he is…

A gentle knock on the door has me holding my breath. Slowly, I turn toward it, glaring at it like there’s a fucking ghost on the other side.

Is she… No.

No, it must be a maid or something.

Running my hand through my hair, I pull the door open, and the air leaves my lungs when I see it’s not a damn maid. It’s her.

Devon is standing there, looking up at me with a wary smile. The blanket from her bed is wrapped around her shoulders, the middle bunched closed by her holding it tightly.

“Do you want to watch a movie with me?” she asks, looking up at me with bright green eyes.

“A movie?”

She nods. “Yeah. A movie.”

I’m speechless. Again, this girl has left me speechless. She’s such a mindfuck. She’s so…

For years, I’ve hated her for what she did to me. But I don’t think I ever stopped loving her. That’s my mistake. It’s a huge mistake. One that could cost me things I don’t want to give up. How did I not realize it until this very moment? How am I going to fuck her over in the end when I’m so stupidly in love with her?

It’s pathetic, really. It pisses me off. It makes me angrier than I can explain. Yet, standing here in front of her, I don’t feel an ounce of it. All I want to do is kiss her again. But…

Whatever I’m feeling right now, it’s wrong. I’m upset because my father is an idiot. Maybe I do still love Devon, but I’m not so stupid to think anything can come of it. It only tells me more than ever I need to follow through. Maybe breaking her heart is the exact cure I need to fix mine. It’s not love I feel for her… it’s just pain over what could have been. How could I still love her after what she did to me?

But even if I did still love Devon, it doesn’t matter because I hate her so much more. And it’s the hate that’s going to get me through this. Loving her will only destroy me.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Devon

It took a lot of convincing to knock on his door and ask him to watch a movie with me, but I’m glad I did. After sitting in the theatre alone, I realized I didn’t hate what happened between us. Something clicked when he kissed me. We’ve both done a lot of growing up since we were together. We’ve both made mistakes.

Tatum has always been difficult. He’s always had a temper. It’s how he deals with his pain. So maybe something happened that night he left me at the party, something too painful to talk about. He handled it the only way he knew how—by pushing me away. That’s okay; I can forgive him for that. If we can start fresh and move on now, that’ll be helpful for my mental health. It’s exactly what I need to put this thing to rest. So, I’m offering him an olive branch in the form of my kindness for the rest of the time I’m here. And not just here at his penthouse, but here until I leave.

I know I made that decision already and had a few setbacks, but something about the kiss has me feeling different. Moving forward, there will be nothing but care and understanding for Tate. I won’t let him bring out those ugly parts of me. I’ll shower him with the best parts.

Tatum needs someone to be nice to him. To not give in to his anger. To show him that there are nice people out there who will forgive him and love him even when he’s hard to love. So, while I’m still in the state of Michigan—well, and Illinois too, I guess—I’m going to be nice to Tatum no matter what it takes. No more fighting. No more arguing. No more pressing for answers. It’s obviously too hard for him. I’ve accepted that.

Even though there can’t be anything between us in the long run, we can forge a friendship. A truce. Something between enemies and lovers. What that looks like for us, I don’t quite know yet. All I know is that I don’t like being mean to Tatum, no matter what he’s doing to me.

He sits beside me on the couch, and I snuggle up to him, like I used to do when we were younger.

“What is this all about, Devon?” he asks carefully. He shifts away, so I sit up and turn to face him, making sure the blankets stay tucked around me. They make me feel safe.

“I know you’ve been through a lot in your life, Tate, and maybe I pushed you too hard too many times. Whatever happened with us, it’s in the past. I want to move forward. Make amends. We’re stuck here together for another day, we may as well make the best of it, right?”

I offer him a simple smile, hoping he understands that I’m being genuine.

He frowns. “You’re serious? After everything I did to you?”

I can’t blame him for questioning me on this. Any sane person would.

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