Page 70 of I Do With You

“That’s ... that’s ...” I have no words to describe what that is.Horribledoesn’t seem even remotely enough.Appalling?Soulless?Evil?

Maybe all those and more.

Of course that’s when the front door opens.

“Hey! Wasn’t expecting to see you this morning,” Ben says, coming in with his easy smile and sexy confidence. When he sees my tear-soaked face, he freezes. I watch as his gaze drifts to Sean, taking in his wolfish grin, and then Ben hisses, “Shit! What the fuck, man?”

He knows exactly what Sean’s done, what he told me, and is furious with him for spilling their secret.

I stand, dumping my box of delicious french toast to the floor, my appetite completely gone. “You lied to me. Manipulated me as you lied over and over. Was any of it even real?” I scream, the realization slamming into me that if he lied about this, he might’ve lied about everything—his mom, the circumstances of his arrest, his feelings for me.

I am such a fool.

Ben holds up his hands, trying to placate me. But I refuse to be controlled like that anymore. I escaped years of Roy’s manipulations only to find myself in one infinitely worse. Oddly, this one hurts so much more.

Ben lifted me up, supported me finding myself while building me up bit by bit. Was it only to make the crash that much more devastating? Is that who he is?

“Hope, let me explain—”

“No! You said to tell you what I want? Tell you the truth? Fine,” I say, throwing my hands wide. “You want to give me what I want? Stay the fuck away from me, Benjamin Taylor. Is that even your real name, or is that part of the joke?” I shake my head, not wanting an answer. All I want is ... “Leave me alone.”

And, as has become my habit lately, I run.

I bump into Ben as I pass by him, knocking his shoulder almost like I did a few minutes ago when I was trying to shoulder my way past Sean, and he tries to grab me, wanting to control me and keep me here, probably so he can lie to me some more. I jerk out of his clutches, simultaneously planting my palms on his chest to push him hard. He takes a step back, and I use the space to burst out of the trailer, sprint tomy car, and climb in, slamming the door as I rush to start it, fumbling clumsily with the keys because I can’t see through my tears.

Ben bangs his palms to the roof over my head. “Hope!” he screams.

I don’t stop. I don’t look his way. I keep my head held high even as the tears fall, and I peel out of the driveway, leaving the cottage behind.

Chapter 25

BEN

“What the fuck?” I roar, whirling on Sean as Hope’s car drives away, whining under the pressure of her foot on the gas pedal.

Sean’s leaning against the doorframe with zero remorse, his face perfectly vacant. And like he didn’t just implode my life, he shrugs indifferently.

I gun it for him, not caring about anything other than finding an outlet for this pain that’s slashing at the fabric of my soul. He ruined everything and doesn’t give a shit.

Fuck Sean.

Fuck the band.

Fuck everything.

Except Hope.

She’s the only purely good thing I’ve ever touched, and Sean tore her away from me.

Lowering my shoulder, I drive it deep into him, tucking it into his gut in an attempt to tackle him to the floor inside, where I have every intention of destroying him. If I had an eyebrow tattoo like his, I’d be waving that thing like a flag, warning that I’m coming hot and heavy for him. But he’s ready for my charge, and though he stumbles a fewsteps back, he’s able to throw me off-kilter, and my hip bounces hard off the back of the couch, moving it a few inches.

“I hate you!” I scream, going at him again, and he pops me in the chin, his fist glancing off my jaw. The piss-poor shot doesn’t hurt—or at least, it doesn’t hurt in comparison to the crack ripping open in my heart—but it’s a small victory for him in that it makes my ears ring and causes me to stumble slightly.

“Hate you too,” he spits out. “Too fucking bad I also love you.”

I glare at him, snarling and panting as I try to make sense of the nonsense he’s spewing. “Why?” I gasp out.

There’s nothing he can say to fix this, but I have to know what would make him throw away the only shot at happiness I’ve ever had. Why would he hurt me like this? He’s my brother, yet he’s hurt me more than anyone ever has. This betrayal pales in comparison to even what my mom did to me. I half expected it from her after years of her screwed-up priorities.

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