Page 51 of Until Bax

“Go inside, Olivia.”

“Are you seriously just leaving?” Her hand wraps around my arm, and I drop my eyes to it before meeting her gaze.

“You’ve obviously got your mind made up about the kind of man I am, babe, and I’m not interested in trying to prove you wrong.”

“So she lied?” she asks softly, and fuck me, it’s difficult to hold on to my anger when her voice is soft like that, and her eyes are filled with so much uncertainty.

“She lied, and if you’d really like to know, she’s the one who fucked around onme, but she did it one better by also trying to fuck your brother.”

“Oh my God,” she whispers.

“Yeah.” I step around her and continue down the sidewalk toward the driveway.

“How could I know she was lying?” she asks, her voice sounding tight, and I stop to look at her.

“You could have talked to me. You could have fucking sent me a text, or called, or even fucking waited until we were together to ask me about it.”

“I’m sorry. I just?—”

“It’s all good. There’s no hard feelings,” I cut her off.

“Bax.”

“Night, Olivia.”

“So that’s it? You’re just done?”

“Babe, you threw in the towel without even giving me a chance to explain, and even before that, you had an escape plan.” I drag my eyes off her and continue walking away from her, which is difficult.

“I didn’t have an escape plan.” The quiet statement has me slowing. “And you’re right, I should have asked you about Julie. I just…” I hear her drag in a breath before I turn to look at her. “The guy I was dating before I moved back here cheated with a coworker, and I put that on you, which wasn’t fair.” Her chin wobbles. “I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.” Shaking her head, she drops her eyes from mine and turns back toward Kourtney’s house.

Fuck.

“Olivia!” I call out, and she turns to look at me over her shoulder.

“It’s okay. Like you said, no hard feelings. Right?”

“Olivia.”

Fuck, I watch her walk away, wondering if I should just let her go, but Sage’s words play through my head. I know eventually, we’d end up right back where we are, and I’d regret the time we missed out on because of my own stubbornness and the delusion that I have the power to stop the inevitable. With a deep breath, I close the distance between us, and as soon as she’s within reach, I grab her wrist and turn her around to face me.

When she tips her head back to look up at me, and I see the tears in her eyes, I hate myself a little for being part of the reason she’s upset.

“I’m a dick.” I cup her face in my hands and smooth away the wetness from under her eyes. “I should have told you about the situation with Julie before she could get in your head.”

“It’s not your fault.” Her fingers knot in the material of my shirt as her eyes slide closed, and another tear escapes from between her lashes. “She just seemed so sincere.”

“I’m sure she did.” I wrap my arms around her, tucking her against my chest, and rest my chin on the crown of her head. “She’s a bitch, baby.”

“Yeah,” she whispers, rubbing her face against my chest. “I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. I should have talked to you.”

Tangling my fingers in her hair, I force her head back. “No more apologizing. It’s done. She doesn’t get anything more.”

“Okay.” She swallows.

“You ate dinner at your parents’?”

“I tried, but I couldn’t,” she admits, and thinking about her so upset by what Julie said that she couldn’t even eat, my anger toward Julie intensifies.

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