Page 99 of Bought and Broken

I know what I saw that night at the party. When I first saw her leave Gunner’s room, I didn’t think anything of it. Then the thought crossed my mind. I pushed it away. It came back, and I let it stay. And when Gunner gave me that smug look, I knew. And it never once crossed my mind that he was doing it just to fuck with my head.

I huff out a disbelieving laugh, slamming my laptop shut. That motherfucker. This is his fault. All of it. This entire fucking mess is his goddamn fault. And he is going to pay for it.

Gunner doesn’t show up at his house for an hour after I pull up, and I make sure to get out just as he does, meeting him around the front of his car. I throw a fist right into his face. He flies backwards, slamming into the side of the car.

“What the fuck!” he spits out, his hand covering his cheek.

“Did you sleep with Devon?” I scream at him, gripping the front of his shirt in my fist and yanking him to me.

He stares at me like a deer in headlights. I move closer.

“Did you. Fucking sleep. With Devon?” I say, this time lower. Slower. Clearer.

His eyes search mine, and he lets out a growl. “No,” he says through gritted teeth.

I punch him again, this time his head bangs off the car and he drops to the ground with a loud groan.

“You fucking piece of shit! You came out of that room and made it seem like you fucked her, all to get into my head!”

“Goddamn right I did, Tate. And you’re the idiot who fell for it!” he says, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He turns to his side, spitting out blood before getting to his feet.

“Excuse me?”

He gets right in my face.

“You’ve never deserved her,” he says darkly. And those words hit me right in the chest. I stumble back. “She’s always been too good for you, and all you did was prove it.”

“What the fuck did you just say to me?” I try to ignore the way his words hit where it hurts. How true they are. How I’ve always known it.

“How could you think she would do something like that? What the fuck does that say about you? If it was so easy to sway you into thinking she’d cheat on you, what else would go wrong in your relationship, Tate? I did you a fucking favor.”

“You ruined my life!”

“You’ve been doing that to yourself for years,” he spits out.

I raise my fist to punch him again, but this time he blocks it, spinning me and slamming me against the car. His hand is on my throat and he’s in my face.

“I’m tired of you blaming me and my mother for your problems. You’ve been doing it for years, and it ends now. You’re responsible for the shitty life you have, no one else.”

“You made me think she cheated on me!” I bellow, my whole body shaking.

“And you believed me!” he growls, shoving me into the car and stepping back. “You fucking believed me. And so easily, Tatum. Did you even ask her? Did you ever ask her what happened?” I hold his gaze, refusing to give him an answer. He huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” He shakes his head, stepping away and waving a dismissive hand at me. “Go home.”

He takes off up his driveway, disappearing into his house. I sink to the ground, burying my face in my hands.

Have I been doing this to myself the entire time? Am I that fucked up?

I have no idea how long I’ve been sitting here when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I take a deep breath, wiping my eyes and getting to my feet. Pulling my phone out, I see it’s my father. I get into my car, drop the phone on the other seat, and peel out.

He calls me again less than a minute later. I’m not in the mood to talk to him, so I let it ring. He can fuck right off.

But when he calls a third time, I think something’s wrong. What if something happened to Brent or Dane? Or worse, Devon? Why he would be the one to relay that news to me, I don’t fucking know. But it has me answering the phone just in case.

“What?” I bark.

“I need to tell you something, and I need you to listen.” I don’t say anything, just veer onto the highway. “Tate, are you there?”

“Here,” I growl.

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