Page 63 of Beyond The Break

“Oh, I see I’m just Meghan now? Not Babe, Sweetheart, oreven Meg?” She crosses her arms and pouts like a child, something I used to find cute.

When I don’t entertain her, she rolls her eyes and stretches her long legs out in front of her.

“I came here to talk to you.”

I sigh. “What is there to talk about?”

“I don’t know, the fact that you walked in on Colton and me?” She shrugs.

My body goes numb, and my heart feels like it might launch right out of my chest. She’s talking about it like I did something wrong by finding her cheating on me. I feel bile make its way up my throat, but I force my expression to remain unbothered.

“I don’t think there’s much to talk about, Meghan. You cheated on me with my best friend instead of just breaking up with me first. No explanation or justification is needed, we’re done.”

She places a hand on my bicep and my skin turns ice cold. I bite my tongue so hard that I taste blood pool into my mouth. I look back up at Eliana and feel like someone just dumped a bucket of ice water on me as I see her talking to Colton.

“Did you bring him here?” I ask through barred teeth, my lip pulling back.

“Nope. He’s been following me around like a lost puppy ever since you came back to town.” Meghan sighs.

My nostrils flare. “You both need to get out of here and stay the fuck away from me and my team.”

I scramble to my feet, fists clenched as I take a step towards Colton and Eliana, but Meghan runs in front of me and pushes me back with her palms.

“Are you seeing her now?” She almost sounds hurt, but I know her well enough to know that she’s putting on a show.

My skin itches from where she touches me and I take a step back, watching as Eliana and Colton walk towards the ocean together.

She shouldn’t be alone with him. Where the fuck is Koa?

“Is she your girlfriend?” Meghan hisses.

My reply gets trapped in my throat as I look down at Meghan who glares at me like she’s ready to kill me…or Eliana. She never did like not getting her way. I convince myself that there are enough people around to keep Eliana safe if Colton tries anything, so instead I focus on putting out the Meghan fire first.

I sit back down and pat the spot beside me, waiting for her to sit. “Okay, let’s talk.”

“I miss you, Finnie. I want you back. I want us back.” Meghan whines.

The switch in her mood is jarring and it’s at this moment I realize something isn’t right with her. She has a dangerous look in her eyes as she stares up at me, but I refuse to let her scare me. She needs help, professional help, I can see that now.

I clasp my hands in front of me. “I’m not getting back together with you, Meghan.”

“Is it because you have a new girl now?” Her gaze cuts into mine.

“I know what you’re doing,” I sigh. “Is this another one of your creative news stories about me? What is the headline you’re thinking of doing this time,Griffin Jones returns with new girlfriend?”

She fidgets with her hands. “Are you confirming that you have a new girlfriend?”

“You’re unbelievable.” A bitter laugh crawls up my throat.

I finally stand up and walk away, digging my feet into the sand with each step to help ground myself. Not knowing if Meghan is still watching me, I decide not to seek out Eliana right away and instead find Koa beside a cooler, reading the labels of two bottles of alcohol.

“Why did you leave Eliana?” I growl.

He drops the bottles back into the cooler and looks me inthe eye. “I thought she’d come with me, but she chose to stay and talk to Colton.”

“I swear to God if he does anything to her?—”

Koa points a finger over my shoulder. “They’re right there if you want to keep an eye on her. I’ve been watching them this whole time.”

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