Page 46 of Changing Rules

I hurry into my house,apologies on my lips. I’m so sorry for so much. For Stacey, for yesterday, and for being late. She’s been so keyed up about this dinner, and I barely remembered it. And now, here I am walking in late.

“Bella,” I call out. “I’m really sorry?—”

Milo’s there in the foyer, tail wagging.

Shit. He never waits for me at the door when she’s home.

Which means…

No. She couldn’t have left already.

I dash through the house, searching for her, my heart sinking when I don’t find her anywhere.

Why didn’t she wait? Why didn’t she call?

Because she’s angry. I hurt her so much, she’d rather go see those monsters alone than face me.

Fuck.

Hands shaking, I put on black jeans and a white shirt. I spare only a second to glance at myself in the mirror and ruffle my hair. Frustration courses through me, bleeding from every pore. I have no idea what I’m going to do once I see her. No matter what happened between us, she shouldn’t have gone there without me. Those people were horrible to her. Her stepfather… The fucker raped her.

God, I swear, if he touches her, I’ll break every bone in his body.

I jump into my car and throw it in reverse. At the end of the driveway, I stomp on the brake. I don’t know which way to turn. I don’t know where her mom lives.

Meg would know, or Ben and Tom. I can ask one of them. I take my phone out of my pocket and am immediately met with a slew of notifications. Every one of them signals a new text from Stacey. I swipe them away and scroll through my contacts. When I find Tom’s number, I tap it without second-guessing myself. He’s easier to talk to than Ben. He’ll understand.

I hope.

The line connects, but Tom doesn’t speak.

Heart in my throat, I say, “Hey. It’s Xander.”

“Uh-huh.” He told me himself he loves gossip; he probably knows all about the pictures.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“Really?” he huffs a sardonic laugh. “Need me to cover for you with Bella while you go see your ex?”

Fuck. With a groan, I drop my forehead to the steering wheel and close my eyes. “Definitely not.” I take a deep breath. “Can you please send me Bella’s mom’s address?”

The silence that follows is deafening. Finally, though, Tom clears his throat. “Please don’t tell me she went there alone.”

“She did,” I admit, my voice cracking. “Please, give me the address.”

“One second,” he mumbles. A moment later, my phone dings, indicating a message from Tom. “I can’t believe her. It’s the one thing I asked her not to do, and she went and fucking did it.”

“She’s angry with me,” I confess. “I hurt my girl too much.”

I sit up and tap the address in the text bubble. When directions appear on the console, I put the car in reverse again and pull out. It’ll take me an hour to get to her mom’s place. I’ll probably be late, but I don’t care what they think about me. I want to be there for Bella.

“Good to know you still think of her as your girl,” Tom says quietly. “But you’re right, you hurt her, and you deserve to suffer for that.”

His words are like a knife to the chest. “I know. I don’t deserve her.”

Within minutes, I’m stuck in traffic.Dammit. For once, can’t the universe give me a break?

“Are you cheating on her?” he asks, his tone firm. For maybe the first time since I met him, his easygoing demeanor has vanished.

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