Page 60 of Cured

I seethed all the way down in the elevator and out into the street. I didn’t even wait for a taxi and began to walk in the rain. It was raining hard, but I didn’t care. I dodged around the people with umbrellas, stepping into puddles and not even noticing. I was hellbent on rage and probably could have slammed into a brick wall and not felt a thing.

Whitney had been right all along. Ember had used me. She got what she wanted from me last night and then immediately turned around and went after someone else. Jesus! Did she have to go after my mother’s fiancé?

Well, at least my mother had had an opportunity to see his true nature firsthand before they were married. The betrayal I felt was worth it if it would keep her from further pain.

I walked into my house and dropped my laptop bag on the floor. It was so wet that my laptop was probably ruined, but I didn’t give a shit. I went straight to my bedroom, pausing at the door to the guest room and pulling its door closed without even looking inside. I didn’t even want to see that room right now.

After a shower and dry clothes, I went into the living room and poured myself a whiskey. I sat on the couch and for the first time tried to wrap my brain around what had happened.

How had I let her get into my heart? I had trusted her, and she had done this to me. What an ass I was.

I threw back the whiskey and poured myself another. As I stood in the living room, I decided to go into the guest room and pack up her stuff. I would have it delivered to her apartment.

After a fortifying breath, I opened the door and stepped inside. The room smelled like her; the scent of her citrus shampoo floated around me. I glanced around the room and found nothing of hers there. What the hell? I pulled open the drawer she had kept some of her things in and it was empty. I stared at the bottom of the drawer for a long moment.

I went to the bathroom without even closing the drawer and flipped on the light. All of her items were gone. When the hell had she packed her stuff? Had she planned on leaving me all along?

I staggered back and sank to the ground against the door. What a fool I had been, what a goddamned fool.

The next day I was in my office when Whitney knocked softly on the doorjamb. “Hey, how are you?”

“Hey,” I replied and went back to the email I was typing.

“How are you today? You seem a bit out of sorts.”

I sighed and pushed back from my desk. “I owe you an apology.”

She sat down gingerly in the chair across from me. “For what?”

“You were right, about Ember. She was just using me.” Man, that had been hard to admit.

For a second, I thought Whitney was trying to suppress a smile, but it changed so fast I wasn’t sure. “What happened?”

“Believe it or not, I went with my mom over to Stewart’s house and found Ember lying on his couch in his robe.”

“What?” Her eyes went wide and then she began to laugh, “You’re kidding! I knew that tramp wasn’t good enough for you.”

“You don’t have to rub my nose in it, okay?” I sat back up to my computer. “So, anyway, I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” Whitney sounded way too happy for my liking, but I didn’t have the energy to care.

That evening when I got home, my mother showed up.

“How are you doing?” I asked her as I let her in.

“I’m fine, never better. How are you?”

“You’re fine? You find your fiancé screwing my girlfriend, and you’re fine?”

She waved her hand in front of her face. “Really, Colt? Don’t believe everything you see.”

“What are you talking about, Mom?” I stared at her like she’d lost her mind. Was early dementia setting in?

“Don’t look at me like I’m crazy. We talked about it, and everything is fine. We still want you to stand up with him at the wedding.”

“You are fucking crazy if you think I am going to do that.”

“Colt, watch your mouth with me.”

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