Page 3 of To Her

He reached for a towel, as if modesty was somehow relevant now. "Geri, please, just let me?—"

The rage that had been building exploded through me like a tsunami. I didn't think. Didn't plan. My arm just moved, smashing the phone against his face with all the strength I could muster.

"Six months!" I screamed as he stumbled backward, hand flying to his cheek where the phone had connected. "Six fucking months I trusted you!"

"Jesus Christ, Geri!" Blood trickled from a small cut below his eye. "You're fucking crazy!"

"I'm crazy? I'M CRAZY?" My voice echoed off the bathroom tiles. "You're the one who couldn't keep your dick in your pants for six goddamn months!"

I hurled the phone into the shower where it clattered against the tiles and slid down the drain end. Water splashed everywhere—on the floor, on my pyjamas, on the bathmat.

"That's my phone!" Ben lunged for it, slipping slightly.

"Good luck explaining to Jess why it doesn't work anymore," I spat, backing toward the door. "I'm sure she'll understand. She sounds very accommodating."

"Where are you going?" He was out of the shower now, towel hastily wrapped around his waist, water and blood dripping onto the floor.

"Away from you." I turned and stormed out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, and toward the front door.

"Geri, wait! You can't just—you're in your pyjamas!"

I didn't care. I grabbed my keys and phone from the entry table and yanked the front door open.

"Geri!"

I slammed the door behind me, cutting off whatever pathetic excuse he was about to offer. The concrete of the apartment walkway was cold and wet against my bare feet—we'd had rain overnight—but I barely noticed. All I could feel was the white-hot rage coursing through my veins, propelling me forward, away from the apartment, away from Ben, away from the shattered remains of what I'd stupidly thought was a good relationship.

Six months. Six months of my life wasted on another lying, cheating asshole.

I made it halfway down the block before I realized I was crying, hot tears streaming down my face to match the water dripping from my pyjama bottoms. I had nowhere to go, no plan, just the keys in one hand and my phone in the other, and the absolute certainty that I was never going back.

Chapter 2

Geri

"If you try to set me up with one more of Jake's 'awesome mates,' I swear I'll shave your eyebrows off while you sleep."

I glared at Haley through the mirror as she stood behind me, attempting to tame my hair into something resembling a sophisticated updo. Two months of living together in her parents' mansion had taught me that threats were the only language she truly respected.

"You wouldn't dare," she replied, completely unfazed as she twisted another section of my hair. "Besides, this one's different. Matt's actually decent—not like that finance bro Jake tried to hook you up with at Christmas."

I rolled my eyes. "You mean the one who spent forty-five minutes explaining cryptocurrency to me? Yeah, real winner there."

From across the massive bedroom that had become our collective getting-ready space, Anna snorted with laughter. "God, that guy was the worst. But Haley's right about Matt. He's not like Jake's usual crowd."

The bedroom itself was a testament to Haley's parents' wealth—cream-colored walls adorned with original artwork,plush carpet that felt like walking on clouds, and a bathroom bigger than my entire previous apartment. We'd transformed it into a war zone of beauty products, discarded outfits, and half-empty champagne flutes.

"What makes this Matt so special?" I asked, wincing as Haley secured another hairpin with unnecessary force.

"Well, for starters, he's not a douche," Anna said, holding up two different pairs of earrings to her ears. "He's Jake's cousin from up North. Visiting for a few weeks before he ships out."

"Ships out?" I raised an eyebrow, meeting Anna's eyes in the mirror.

"He joined the army," Haley explained. "Finished his basic training or whatever they call it. He's got some leave before his first deployment."

Great. A military guy. Probably all "yes ma'am, no ma'am" with a buzzcut and protein shakes.

"So he's only here temporarily," I said, trying to find the silver lining. "That means when this inevitably crashes and burns, I won't have to worry about running into him around town."

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