Page 88 of Tangled

The speed at which I drove to her only solidified what I knew. She owned me. I wanted it all with her. But before I rushed into anything, I needed her to know how I felt. I needed her to know that I loved her and I wanted a future with her.

So when she sent me that text and sounded as desperate to be with me and I was with her, I knew this was the night. Eating dinner, watching a movie, and falling asleep with her in my arms after worshipping her body was the agenda for the evening, and I couldn’t fucking wait.

Olivia has a thing for burgers, so I stopped by one of her favorite places—Jack’s Grill—for a classic burger that is infamous in Emerson Falls. As always, the drive-thru was insane, so it put me at her place a little later than I had intended.

I grabbed the food off the front seat, secured the sodas in my hands, and locked my truck before making my way to her door. The sound of two voices on the other side made me weary as I knocked on the door with my elbow since my hands were completely full.

“Just a second!” I hear Olivia shout before murmuring something else to the person on the other side. My heartrate picks up as I realize the voice is a man’s.

Olivia wouldn’t have a man in there with her, would she? No, she wouldn’t have invited me over if she had company, especially of the male variety. There had to be an explanation.

I knock once more just as Olivia pulls the door open, looking flustered and surprised to see me.

“Kane…” she says, brushing her hair behind her ears. “I’m sorry. I had an unexpected visitor, but he’s leaving now,” her eyes move back into her living room.

“Hey, no worries. I brought dinner,” I voice on a smile as I walk through the door.

And then the bags of burgers and fries along with our sodas, go crashing to the floor when I see who’s in her apartment.

“What the fuck?” I shout as my blood pumps so furiously in my veins I think they might burst.

“Kane, what’s the matter?” Olivia comes up behind me as she takes in the mess on her floor, but my eyes never leave the man standing across from me—the one person I thought I’d never see again after I found him the last time.

“Kane,” he says as he stays put, afraid to move one inch in fear of the repercussions he’ll experience from my fist.

“Kane, what is going on? This is…”

“T.J.,” I manage to say, staring down the man who used to be my best friend.

“T.J.? No, this is Trevor… my ex,” she answers full of confusion.

“Liv,” T.J. starts to move just as I take a step back and put two and two together.

“This is your ex?” I choke out, turning to her and seeing the blind realization cross her face.

“Yes, but he was just leaving. I didn’t invite him here Kane, I promise. I… I don’t understand what’s going on,” she trembles as her eyes bounce back and forth between us.

“Yeah, well let me help you understand,” I grit through my teeth, my fists clenching beside me, and the fire in my body about to ignite this room in flames. “That man over therewasmy best friend—Trevor Johnson, or T.J. as I called him—the one who fucked my fiancé behind my back while I was serving my country… and now apparently, he got to you too…”

I glare back over at him while T.J. remains rooted in place, his face almost white, his hair in disarray, and his eyes widen when he realizes our connection.

“Kane, I had no idea…” Olivia’s voice sounds destroyed as everything clicks.

“No, you couldn’t have, right? It’s just a coincidence that my current girlfriend happens to know the man who wrecked my life….” I reply while fighting the urge to plow my fist into T.J.’s face.

“Kane,” he starts, but I shoot him daggers with my eyes, shutting him up effectively.

“Don’t you even fuckingdaresay something to me right now! I can’t believe this,” I shout, pulling at my hair and retreating from the room.

I have to leave. I need to get out of here. The walls feel like they’re closing in on me and my chest tightens—the first sign of an imminent panic attack.

“Kane, please. I’m so confused right now, let’s just talk…” Olivia begs as I back up and turn for the door.

“Fuck, Liv. I just… I can’t…I have to go,” I manage to croak out before leaving the devastation behind me in a cloud of my dust.

I reach my truck, unlocking it and climbing in, firing up the engine and taking off, screeching the tires against the asphalt as I peel out of the apartment complex.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I curse, slamming my fists on my steering wheel while I speed down the road, taking the first entrance to the highway to head for my house, the one place I go to escape reality, especially since my world is crumbling around me.

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