Page 63 of Taste of Forever
“You’re notactuallyleaving.”
I zipped my skincare items and makeup into a travel bag and dumped it in the duffel before I answered.
“I’ll call Tina in the morning and tell her I’m off the lease. You work out with her if you want to stay and find a roommate, break the lease, whatever. Not my problem anymore.”
“What the fuck, Heather? I can’t afford to stay hereorbreak the lease!”
“Should have thought of that before you blew all our money, BigJ69. Excuse me.” I moved past him, dropped the duffel at the front door, then returned to the bedroom to put my laptop, headphones, all my needed electronics, into my work backpack.
Only then did I hear a soft, “Look, I’m sorry. Please don’t leave.”
His quiet, sad tone pulled at my heart strings. It almost melted the hard edges of my anger like it had done so many times before. Almost.
But finding out what Laith had done was a breaking point for me. Not just his stalking, but for every single time I let someone steamroll over me. This wasn’t the first time I was certain I’dcaught Justin in a lie—nor the second or the third—only for him to deny it and accuse me of being unreasonable.
I had to thank Laith in a way. It felt like the wool over my eyes had been thrown back and I could finally see everything clearly. I saw how manipulative Justin was, how he denied any wrongdoing until real consequences slapped him in the face.
And I wasn’t going to throw myself under the bus to save him from those consequences anymore.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about getting laid off, okay?” Justin said while I packed. “I was gonna figure something out. I still am! I just need a little time, okay? I’ll pay you back for the rent.”
I sighed, rolled up the cord of my phone charger, and stuck it in one of my backpack compartments. “I know it’s embarrassing to not be the provider or whatever, but if you would have just told me the truth, I would have supported you. I would have happily taken over the rent, touched up your resume, if you had just…treated me like a partner instead of an invisible ATM. Did you at least apply for unemployment benefits?”
“Uh, no.” Justin shuffled uncomfortably behind me. “I don’t qualify because I actually, kind of…quit.”
“Oh, wonderful.” I shouldered the backpack. “Good luck with everything, Justin.”
“Heather, come on! Don’t do this.”
I started to leave the bedroom, but my momentum rocked backward. I glared over my shoulder. “Let go of me, Justin.”
“Look, please don’t go.” His voice cracked and he blinked quickly, though I saw no tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry about everything, okay? I just didn’t want to stress you out. I promise I’m working on somethingbigand we won’t have to worry about rent or anything soon. If everything goes right, you won’t have to work at all!”
“I don’t even want to know what kind of crypto scheme or whatever you’ve fallen for. I’m done, Justin.We’redone.”
I turned and twisted, trying to pull out of his grasp, but he held firm on the backpack’s top handle.
“Don’t say that. You don’t mean it. You’re just pissed right now and I get it. When you’ve cooled off, we can talk about it. Take the bed. I’ll sleep on the couch to give you space.”
I thought my anger had lowered to a simmer, but those words were like gasoline pouring onto embers. My resentment demon, rather than whispering doubts into my ear, now took possession over my entire body.
My arms slid out of the backpack straps and I whipped around, fists clenched. “Youdon’tknow what I’m feeling now because you’ve never bothered to fucking ask,” I said in a low, furious growl. “You’venevercared about how I felt unless my feelings were inconvenient foryou. You’re selfish and immature. You’ve taken me for granted throughout our entire relationship. I have bent over backwards to make your life comfortable and happy for years, and you’re content to justtakefrom me. Oh yeah, sometimes you’re nice enough to make me think youcouldcare, or youcouldbe thoughtful, but coffee and pastries don’t win you any boyfriend awards. You’ve neverreallylistened. You’ve neveronceput me first while I have diminished myself for you over and over again. So listen carefully because this is the last time I’m saying it: I. Am fucking. Done.”
I turned and headed straight for my purse I left on the living room side table, grabbed it, and then the duffel bag I left by the front door. The photo of me and my parents passed in my periphery, but I couldn’t risk crossing the room to grab it. I didn’t think Justin would physically prevent me from leaving, but I didn’t want to take that chance. If I was leaving, it had to happen right now.
With a hard yank, I pulled the front door open. “You hear that, Soren?” I yelled into the empty living room. “I’m fucking done with you too, you piece of shit!”
From Justin’s view, I must have looked actually crazy, but what did I care? I took my luggage and walked away from the last five years of my life.
Chapter 17
Heather
Leaving was both exhilarating and terrifying.
As soon as I got in my car and left the complex, I didn’t know where to go or what to do. So I just drove. I rolled down my windows, opened my moonroof, and hit the freeway.
The cold night air rushed in and washed over me, stinging my skin and making my hair blow around wildly. The wind tempered my anger and brought my mind into sharp clarity.
