Page 124 of Invisible String
“Out!” I shout.
Her wide, cat eyes practically roll out. She runs off without a second glance. I slam the door shut. I turn to him sitting with arms crossed, watching me with a curious eye, but no smile or smirk. He’s pissed about something. In all the years, I’ve never seen Max look at me the way he is now.
“We need to talk.” My feet traipse toward his desk. Whatever is in the plastic container, I toss it in the trash. He watches me as he’s about to take it out. I smack his hand. He wants the bitch’s food? “We need to talk,” I repeat.
“Yes, we fucking do,” he retorts. Max juts his chin. “Go ahead and talk.”
Mother fucker.
“Andrew called me to go to his office.”
He laughs, rubbing his stubbled chin.
“For what, a blowjob under his desk?” He grinds his teeth, and I glare at him.
“No, he said my dad paid you to leave four years ago. He wrote you out a check.”
His head snaps in my direction. He wasn’t expecting this.
“Is it true, Max?”
He shoves his hands in his slacks and walks to the top-to-bottom wall windows. “Yes, he wrote me out a check and told me to disappear from your life. He knocked on the door that night. We argued, and he left me with the check.”
The pain in my chest slices through me like shards of glass ripping through it. “Why didn’t you tell me?” My voice cracks.
“Because he was right. I wasn’t good enough for you then. I didn’t have anything. I would only hold you back.”
“You left me fucking broken on the damn floor, sobbing for you. And you took the money? That was more important than me?” My voice rises.
He turns from the window, his hands go into fists, and he tosses everything off his desk. Papers fly in every direction. A vein bulges in his temple.
Panic slices through me. I’m not afraid of Max, but how’s he looking at me? His jaw tightens, and his nostrils flare.
“Come slap me. Hit me because that’s what you just did with your words. Those words hurt more than a slap to the face.” He takes his wallet from his back pocket, retrieves a white folded, delicate paper close to shreds, and tosses it on his desk. “Take it. That’s the check your asshole father gave me. I don’t need his money. You know, I thought you were different than him. But you’re just like him. I’ll never be good enough for you if you see me that way.” He shakes his head. He won’t even look at me.
My emotions got the best of me. I accused him, clouded by jealousy.
“Leave.”
My chin trembles. I lost him. “Max, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to accuse you. You lied to me, and you said you were going to be open with me. Why didn’t you tell me when I asked you if you heard my conversation with my dad?”
“Did it matter, Rainey? It’s not like I took the money. I kept the check for this long in case you needed proof if I ever mentioned it to you. I left for an entirely different reason. He’s your dad. You two still don’t get along, so I left it.”
Gingerly, I reach for his hand, but he shakes it off, which hurts. It’s like a stab to the chest. “Not now. I can’t even look at you.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I missed you.”
God, I’m doing it again, breaking inside. This is why I couldn’t get close to him. I shouldn’t have let him into my heart. I’m so stupid.
Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
“You lied to me,” he says, looking anywhere but at me. His voice comes out like it was dragged through shards of glass.
“What are you talking about?”
“You let him touch you. You said you hadn’t been with anyone. But of all people, you got naked for him and let him feel you up!” he bellows, slamming his fist on the desk.
Fucking Andrew.
