Page 54 of Running from Drac
“Good luck with that, buddy. Because hurricane Pippa is marching through the door right now.” Wesley points to the door, just as heels start clicking over the pavement, stopping angrily behind me.
“We need to talk,” she says. Even with my back to her, I can feel her glare stabbing me from behind.
Grabbing a tool from one of the boxes, I pretend to look under the car, doing my best to ignore her. “We have nothing to talk about,” I say as she rips the wrench from my hand.
“The fuck we do. Either you come talk to me in private, or we’re going to hash this shit out right here, in front of these two idiots, your dad and everyone else in the building. How long before it gets back to Amber then?” she asks, whispering the last part so only I can hear.
Inhaling sharply, I reluctantly follow her outside, walking her as far away from the open doors as I can. “What the fuck do you want, Pippa?”
She smirks. “You know what I want, Eddie. You. So, I’m going to give you one more chance to make the right choice here. Choose me and end this nonsense with Amber, or you’ll be forcing my hand.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Her shoulders lift evilly. “Call it what you will. I’m not above serving out some blackmail to get what I want, Eddie. Did she tell you about the amazing night I have planned for her this weekend? A whole night of just me, her, booze, and nothing but time. Imagine what crazy things can come out in our drunken conversations… all those dark secrets we can share with each other. They say alcohol is the truth serum of the beverage world. How many drinks do you think it would take for these lips to loosen, Eddie? One? Two?” She crowds me, her body dangerously close to mine. “Not that you already don’t know how loose my lips can be.” Her breath hits my neck, and I instantly go rigid, unsure of how to proceed.
Without thinking, I shove her away, only making her smile widen. “Fuck off, Pippa.”
“Aren’t you scared, Eddie? Scared she’ll find out and leave you for good? What happens to that epic honeymoon trip then? Will you go alone? Will she? Aren’t the tickets non-refundable?”
Amber has always wanted to go to Italy; it’s been a dream of hers since she was little. It’s one of the major things she sprung for when planning the wedding, dropping every extra dime she had on a destination honeymoon trip for the both of us. She wanted me to be surprised, but she couldn’t really plan a surprise trip overseas when I have never left Nevada, much less the country. You need a passport for that. Something I didn’t have until about a month ago.
“They are, but I’m not afraid of you, Pippa. I plan on telling Amber everything about us.”
“Do you?” she questions, her tone bordering on evil. “When?”
Crossing my arms, I stare her down, not afraid of her one bit. “Soon. Very soon.”
“Before or after the wedding?”
“Does it really matter?”
She grins. “It does if I get to her first.”
“Well, you won’t.”
“Who do you think she’ll believe more, Eddie? You, the asshole that’s already cheated on her before, or me, the best friend she’s had for years. My bet is on me.”
She has a damn fucking good point. How can Amber ever trust me again, if every time we’re not together I do something to fuck us up? First it was Jinafer, then I turn around and fuck Pippa the night of our breakup. I’m a horrible person, one that doesn’t deserve someone as forgiving and understanding as Amber.
“I can see it in your eyes, Eddie. You’re already questioning everything you believe in. Is that because of me? Because you aren’t quite sure where your loyalty lies?”
My fists ball up against my sides, anger radiating through me so sharp and unrelenting I can barely contain it. It’s like a vat of toxic sludge ready to blow, the fumes already choking me. The wake of Pippa’s hand burns my flesh, her voice a torment I can’t ignore. I hate the way she smiles like she’s won, waiting for the moment I break and splinter apart. And for a split second, I almost do. That’s what guts me the most. This betrayal isn’t just hers to own, it’s mine too, for letting the moment breathe longer than it should’ve. For not shutting it down with the force it deserved. Amber deserves more than silence. She deserves the truth, even if it hurts.
But how do I tell her without watching everything between us crack open again? How do I look her in the eyes and admit that her best friend is the one trying to slide into the cracks developing between us?
I hate that I’m even hesitating. That there’s this doubt crawling up my spine, whispering in my ear, telling me to keep it quiet so I can protect her. Maybe this is something I can carryalone, but secrets rot from the inside out, and I’ve already buried too many.
I stare at my clenched fists, knuckles white, wondering if even honesty will save us, or if it will end us for good? Either way, I know this can't stay hidden. Not if I want to be the man Amber deserves, the man she can trust with her love.
“I’m going to tell her, Pippa. Tonight. Before you have a chance to ruin this for us.”
She smirks, her smugness eating away everything good in me. I’ve never wanted to hit a girl more than I want to her, teaching her a lesson I know she deserves. But I hold the urge back, hearing my father’s voice in my ear, telling me she isn’t worth the hit.
There’s nothing good in Pippa anymore. The girl I met back in high school is long gone, replaced by this bitter harpy that has nothing but treachery rolling in her eyes.
“I’ll believe that when I see it, Eddie. Just remember, this can all stop now. You don’t even have to tell her about us. I can remain your little secret behind the scenes and she’ll never have to know. All you have to do is call off the wedding.”
“I’m not doing that, Pippa. Not now. Not tomorrow. Not ever.”
