Page 60 of When Wrecked Meets Ruined
“They’re not. You’d be better off down the road.” She turned to go. Without thinking, I grabbed her hand with my fucked-up one.
Shit. Fuck. I cradled it in my other hand and took deep breaths until the nausea passed. Evie’s gaze lowered to my hand. “What happened to your hand?”
“Got in a fight with a wall. You should see the wall.” I let out a low whistle and shook my head.
Walker ducked behind his menu, embarrassed for how fucking badly I was striking out.
“So… how about those waffles….”
Grudgingly, she took our orders, and I watched the sway of her hips and those mile-long legs as she sauntered away.
“You don’t have a shot in hell,” Walker said. “Why is she so pissed at you anyway?”
I scrubbed my hand over my face, tempted to tell him how badly I’d fucked up. But I couldn’t say a word without betraying Evie’s secrets.
I just shrugged like I didn’t have a clue.
I knew exactly how Evie felt because I’d been in her shoes. I was raised by a junkie, and I’d dealt with all that shit that goes with it. My mother’s asshole boyfriends and my asshole sperm donor. The lies and justification. The apologies and tears that followed on the heels of her outbursts. The shitholes we’d lived in and the nights of going to bed hungry because my mother prioritized drugs over food.
I’d never breathed a word of what went on in my house to anyone. It was my shit to deal with, and nobody else’s, and I would have resented anyone who stuck their nose in my business.
Sometimes pride is the only thing you have left, and I took that away from Evie by crossing a line I shouldn’t have. But fuck it, all I wanted to do was protect her and her little sister. Couldn’t she see that?
Obviously not. She served us our waffles with a side of cold shoulder and a double scoop of fuck you, get lost.
Message received.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
Evie
I only hadtwenty bucks for gas, so I was watching the numbers on the pump so intently that I didn’t even notice Kelsey Leighton leaning against the side of her car watching me. When I returned the nozzle to the holder, she came to stand in front of me.
“How’s it going?”
I refrained from asking,Since when are we friends? Because that would be unnecessarily rude and further cement my bitchy reputation. I forced a smile and used my friendliest voice. “It’s all good. You?”
She looked pretty and perfect, like she always did, in leggings and a crop top with her brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail.
“Yeah, good. I just finished teaching a hip hop class.”
“Great. Good for you.” What the hell was I supposed to say? She laughed a little and bit her full bottom lip. Lips that had no doubt been where mine had never been and never would. Kelsey was one of Ridge’s many conquests. A loyal member of the Ridge McCallister Fan Club. Rah. Rah.
I held up the twenty in my hand. “I have to pay for my gas.” I turned to go.
She put her hand on my arm. “Wait. I just… have you seen Ridge lately?’
Not since Sunday when he came into the diner with Walker. Six days ago. “Why? Is he okay?”
She chewed on her lip again. “Look, I know this is none of my business, and I should probably keep my mouth shut, but we ran into Chad Miller at a party last week.”
My stomach churned. I felt like I was going to vomit all over Kelsey’s pristine white Adidas.
I backed away. No doubt Ridge knew the whole story now. Another piece of my soul was stolen from me. “Cool story. It was great seeing you.”
“Evie. Wait. Ridge really cares about you.”
I knew that. And that was the problem. “Why are you even telling me this?”
