Him? What in the world is she talking about? “Do you know each other?” I ask Fox, who shakes his head no.
Keira’s brows knit together. Her lips pressed into a thin line of contempt that raises a million questions in my mind. She rises abruptly from the couch, her body practically vibrating with indignation. I can feel the atmosphere shift around us, as if storm clouds were gathering on an otherwise sunny day.
“What the hell, Keira? Why are you looking at us like that?”
“This isn’t about you, Brea. It’s him. He clearly didn’t tell you who he is.”
“Shit,” Fox mutters next to me. I turn to face him, then back to Keira. “I can explain.”
“Explain what?” I snap at him. “Will someone please just tell me what the hell is happening right now?”
Keira shifts on the couch and reaches for her phone, then quickly crosses the room to me. She presses her phone into my hand and shows me a photo on the screen. It's a picture of Fox kissing Eden Anderson at yesterday's signing.
“Dammit. This isn't what it looks like.”
“It damn well looks like you're cheating on your pregnant girlfriend with my friend, Ares."
The room starts to spin around me.
What? No! That’s not—,” he argues back. “Brea, listen to me.”
“That’s why we couldn’t go back to your hotel last night. She’s the ‘roommate’, isn’t she?” Brea fires back at me.
“Yes, but it’s not what it looks like.”
“Get out,” I force out through gritted teeth as tears begin to stream down my face.
Fox’s expression shifts from indignation to something softer, regretful. “Brea,” he pleads, taking a step forward, reaching for me, but I hold my ground.
“Don’t. Just don’t. Get your stuff and get out.”
“What you saw isn’t the whole story! You have to believe me!” His voice carries that familiar gravelly edge, but it’s crackling with desperation now.
“I don’t know what to believe.” My heart is pounding painfully against my ribs as I glance once more at Keira, whose face is still set in a stern line. She’s my best friend, of course, she’d react this way. “You lied to me, Fox.”
“I didn’t lie. If you’d give me a chance to explain, you’d know that I am telling the truth.”
The words hang in the air like a noose, tightening around my throat. I want to scream, to throw something, to make the world stop spinning so I can breathe again. But all I can do is stand here, feeling Fox’s intense gaze and Keira’s piercing disappointment.
“Just leave,” I insist again.
The desperation in his eyes is evident as he fights for the right words, but nothing comes out. Head hung low, Fox or whatever his real name is pushes past me back towards my room. He returns a few minutes later with his boots, shirt, and phone in his hand.
As he steps back into the room, every ounce of bravado that once surrounded him seems to dissipate, leaving just a raw vulnerability that clings to the air. His eyes search my face as if he hopes to find understanding there, but all I feel is betrayal pulsing through my veins.
“Brea,” he begins, but I shake my head fiercely, refusing to let him spin this moment into something manageable. “It’s not what you think.”
“I don’t want to hear it,” I say, my voice shaking as I take a step back. The wave of betrayal crashing over me is too strong, and I can't bear to listen any longer.
“I’m not fucking with Eden.”
“No,you already fucked her and knocked her up,” Keira fires back for me. “A picture is worth a thousand words, and you’re over the word count.”
“It’s not my fucking baby.”
“Wow. You’re a cheater, and an asshole. She not doing it for you now that’s pregnant?”
“It’s not my fucking baby. How many times do I have to say that?”