“Bye, bud,” I said before turning my attention back to Lily. “What was that about?” I asked, not appreciating the way he had treated his mother.
“Don’t ask,” she told me, crossing her arms across her chest. “He’s been giving me a lot of pushback and attitude lately. I think he blames me for everything.” She looked down at the manila envelope she held in one hand, bringing my attention to it. I bit the inside of my lip, watching her shift on her feet.
“I’ll talk to him,” I told her before nodding my chin in the direction of the envelope. “What’s that, Lil?”
“Um, I had the separation paperwork drawn up if you want to look over it and get back to me on everything.” She picked at an invisible piece of lint at the bottom of her sweater.
“Okay… that was quick,” I stated, a little shocked that she had drawn up papers so quickly.
Then a realization hit me like a ton of bricks. “Holy shit, is there someone else, Lil?”
“I… um… no, Ryder, there’s no one else. I mean, I have been talking to someone as of recently, but there was never anyone else before we decided to split.”
I stared at her skeptically. She had never lied to me, but something wasn’t sitting right. Sensing my doubt, she moved to me, reaching for my hand.
“I swear on Jordan’s life, and you can look through the phone bill and my Instagram messages if you want reassurance. We barely started talking three or four days ago.”
I nodded slowly, taking her word and the papers.
“I’ll look these over and get back to you in a few days. If everything looks fair, I’ll sign them and we can get the process started.”
I waved the envelope in the air before turning to head back to my truck.
“Ry,” she called, sadness thick in her voice. I stopped walking but didn’t turn around. I wasn’t sure how to feel in that moment—I just felt nothing. “I just want you to know that I would never betray your trust, and I loved you. I love you. It was always just you, and I didn’t anticipate talking to someone this soon. It just kind of happened. But it did just happen, and I need you to know that.”
“Okay, Lily.” My hands balled into fists as I closed the distance to my truck. Throwing open the door, I slid into the familiar seat and tossed the paperwork down before cranking the ignition, the engine roaring to life. My hands slammed against the steering wheel with too much aggression before I turned the wheel and began to drive. I couldn’t pinpoint why I was so upset, I only knew that I was. It was a lot to process in a short amount of time. Seeing Elle, our exchange at the reunion, now this with Lily.
Lily talking to someone else was a good thing. It meant that it was now my chance to pursue what I wanted. To pursue who I wanted. And you know what? There was no fucking time like the present.
I thrust my hips into the air slightly to allow room to pull my phone out of my front pocket, while keeping a grasp on the steering wheel as I drove. Tapping on the Facebook Message app, I quickly found her name, and sent her a message which demanded her address. I made a mental note to get her phone number as well. Within three minutes, she had messaged back.
Good girl.
Inputting her address into my GPS, I drove straight to her house, plan be damned. I was going to just show up and see what happened. Because why the fuck not?