Page 47 of Mr. Big Mistake
“Wait, really?”
He cranked up his car. “Yes, really. Because if I lose you in all of this, I might just stalk out that judge and do him in myself.”
I didn’t know what to make of his words, so I stayed silent. Part of me wondered if lying to the judge about what happened would have helped our case. But, my guess is it would’ve only made things worse. We meandered through town, navigating traffic, and rushing through yellow lights to get me back to my place. However, when I looked up at my apartment complex to find the window of my bedroom, I froze.
I don’t want Roxy to see this.
“If you want, I can send someone to help you instead of helping you myself.”
I nodded slowly. “That might be better.”
He sighed. “All right. You head on up and start packing, and I’ll see when I can get a mover or somebody over there. It might not be until tomorrow morning, though.”
I opened the door. “That’s fine. That works for me. It’ll give me time to find a way to explain this insane situation to my sister.”
“Do you really have to, though? I mean, who the hell cares what they think? Right now, all we need to think about is--.”
I stepped out of the car. “On second thought, never mind.”
He paused. “Wait, what?”
I dipped down to see him. “I can take care of myself, thanks.”
“Kelly, wait. You’re going to need some sort of help to--.”
“And that’s where you’re wrong, Brenden. Because I really don’t. You’ve helped enough. And if you really can’t see why explaining this to my best friends is a priority to me, then that only confirms my fears.”
“Which are?”
“The fact that you really aren’t capable of caring about other people.”
Then, I closed the door and walked inside. Not bothering to look back. Because if he really didn’t get it--if he was really going to chastise me for wanting to talk with Karina and my own damn sister about it--then our decision at the end of these four weeks would be an easy one.
Because I’d never share my life with someone so narrow-minded and so fucking selfish as to put his reputation before my own damn needs.
12
Brenden
The Next Day
Kelly whispered with her sister. “I don’t want to do this, Roxy. There has to be another way.”
Roxy rubbed her back. “It’s not going to be that bad. I mean, look at this condo! It’ll just be the penthouse honeymoon suite, except for four weeks instead of one.”
“Yeah, and no sex.”
I tried to act like I didn’t hear them talking, but it was hard. Hauling boxes in with Clint while he gave me side glances and held back his snickers wasn’t helping much. And now, to add the cherry on top of an already screwed-up cake, one of my best friends was angry with me.
For good reason, too.
“Hey, come on. Cut him some slack. He did everything right, and it still bit him in the ass. Give him some room,” Clint said.
Roxy scoffed. “Well, next time? Tell him not to reroute our plans without our knowledge, and we’d be fine.”
Clint lowered his voice. “He was just trying to do what was right for the your sister.”
Roxy bucked up to him. “And Kelly can take care of herself. You know, since she’s a grown-ass woman with her own business.”
