Page 88 of Trusting Tanner
“Don’t you dare stand there and tell me you didn’t mean for it to happen, or it was an accident, or you were drunk and didn’t know what you were doing, or it didn’t mean anything to you. I’ve heard all those lame, stupid excuses before. The difference this time is that I’m not stupid enough to believe them.”
He flinched. “I didn’t have sex with Rebecca. Whatever she told you, it’s another lie.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” She snatched her cell phone from the coffee table and let out a half laugh, half sob as she marched up to him. “Then how the hell do you explain this?” She shoved her phone in his face.
He took it and scrolled through the text conversation on the screen. There were at least a dozen pictures of him and Rebecca in various sexual positions. His eyes were closed in all of them, but his hands…they were in places they shouldn’t be. And the most damaging picture was one of Rebecca riding him. His eyes widened, and he felt the blood rush to his head, making him dizzy and much too warm. “I didn’t have sex with her,” he mumbled. He was almost positive he hadn’t.
“We had one argument, Tanner.One!” She yanked the phone from his trembling hand. “And your way of dealing with it is to go fuck someone else? Or maybe this is your way of getting even with me because I refused to shut Devon out of my life.”
“What? No.” He shook his head. “Don’t be…”
“Don’t be what? Pissed off? Heartbroken? Devastated? Furious? Disappointed?” Her voice dropped with that last word. “Because I’ve been bouncing around between all those emotions for the past few hours, and I’m exhausted.” She hung her head.
Tanner closed the distance between them and pulled her to his chest, but she shoved him away. Her gaze was full of pure rage.
“You need to leave.” She crossed her arms as if trying to protect herself from his touch.
If he left, he knew he wouldn’t get another chance to talk to her. She’d shut him out of her life faster than he could blink. “I don’t know what happened last night, and that’s the God’s honest truth. I remember you leaving and then doing some shots with Spencer…” He gave a slight shake of his head, hoping something would jar loose that would help him make sense of all this. “I wasn’t feeling well, so I went up to Lucas’s room to sleep it off.” After that, everything was blank.
“And then you texted Rebecca for sex.” Juliana’s voice was calmer than it had been since he arrived, which sent an icy shiver down his spine.
“I didn’t, though.” He knew that clear to his soul.
“I have a fucking screenshot of the text you sent her!” she screamed, making her already red face turn even redder.
“I never even had her number.” None of this made any sense.
“Well, apparently, you managed to get it.” She walked to the door and jerked it open. “You really need to leave. Right now.” Her bottom lip trembled.
It was suddenly very hot in the room, the air thick, hard to breathe. He bent over, hands on his knees, and gasped for air. His heart raced hard and fast, his chest constricted painfully, and he worried he might be having a heart attack. He rubbed his chest, which only made the sharp, piercing pain worse. He winced and tried to stand up straight, but the room started to spin. Sweat creased his brow and dripped down his face.
He could not walk out of this apartment. “Please don’t do this.” He straightened. “I know this looks bad, but I swear to you I didnothave sex with her.” That sounded lame to him; he couldn’t imagine how it must sound to her, especially after everything she’d gone through with Zach.
She hadn’t said the two words he never wanted to hear—it’s over—so maybe there was some sliver of hope left. “I can’t do this right now, Tanner.” Fresh tears slipped down her cheeks. “Please just go. I need you to go.”
His throat clogged with tears, and he nodded. Pushing her to talk to him right now was only going to make this worse. Besides, he didn’t have anything else to say, at least nothing that made any sense. He needed time to wrap his mind around this and try to figure it out before he could even think about trying to explain it to her.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, thankful she didn’t push him away again. She closed her eyes, subtly leaned toward him, and her breath caught. “I love you,” he whispered before leaving. And when he heard the door shut behind him, his knees buckled.
Chapter Thirty-One
Juliana slid her back down the door, tucked her knees to her chest, and sobbed uncontrollably. She’d trusted him in a way she’d never trusted anyone before. She’d told him things she hadn’t even told Devon. And he’d hurt her the same way Zach had. But Tanner’s betrayal cut way deeper. If he was going to cheat, why did it have to be with Rebecca of all people? Why her?
She never should’ve let her guard down.I’m a goddamned fool for thinking he was different.She deserved every stab of pain shooting through her, every crack and shatter of her heart. Her phone vibrated in her hand. Wiping her tears, she expected to see Tanner’s name on the screen. Instead, she saw Rebecca’s. Her stomach revolted as images of a naked Rebecca raced through her mind.
Rebecca:I’m sorry I sent you those pics. I didn’t want to, but you needed to know the truth.
Yeah, right.Juliana snorted and wiped her cheek with the back of her free hand.You didn’t have to answer his text, you know. Or, idk, you didn’t have to fuck my boyfriend!!!!!Her hands shook so damn bad, she had to retype each word a few times.
Rebecca:I did it to prove to you I’m not a liar.
“What the fuck?” She let out an angry scream. What sort of bizarre world was she living in where a self-proclaimed “friend” would have sex with her boyfriend just to prove a point?No. You did it to be a bitch. At least be honest about that.White-hot rage poured through her veins.
Rebecca:I’m sorry you feel that way.
Juliana:The appropriate response is: Sorry I stabbed you in the back and had sex with your boyfriend. God! You are unbelievable!
Rebecca:And you’re stupid! I did you a favor. You’re the one who should be thanking me. See if I ever try to help you out again.
