Page 74 of Very Bad Things

“You can’t do this. You can’t intimidate us into leaving here; you don’t own this city.” Rick’s face grows red, sweat beading on his forehead and upper lip.

I motion with my finger to one of the men across from me. He reaches into his holster, handing me his firearm.

“Oh, what are you gonna do, kill me?” Rick’s tone is cocky. I turn the gun around, holding the barrel while I smack him right in the mouth with the butt, blood instantly gushing from his lip as he yells in pain.

“Now, Rick, I don’t think you’re taking this very seriously. I also don’t recall asking for your opinion. I did ask if I made myself clear with the instructions I gave. So, you have forty-eight hours to get that apology emailed out and Miss Flowers reinstated and your resignation handed in… then you have three days after that to disappear. This is your last chance”—I turn to look at him—“do I make myself clear?” He nods profusely, moaning as blood drips through the crevices of his fingers. “Great.” I smile, handing the gun back and nodding toward the men before exiting the vehicle. I climb into my car, driving back over to Daphne’s apartment.

“What happened? Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s okay, baby.” I pull her into my arms, burying my face in her neck as I rub her back. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect this woman. I know that it’s not often you get a second chance to do things right with the woman you love. I also realize it’s even more rare that you get a second chance at love. “Let’s go home, sweetheart.”

23

DAPHNE

“What’s going on, Daph?”

Xana looks at me as she tosses her bag into the booth and takes a seat. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever after you just ran off to Florida. I’m still mad at you by the way for making me have to reach out to your dad to find out that information.”

“I know I owe you a serious explanation.” My shoulders drop, feeling like I can finally tell her everything that’s been going on. “But you might want to buckle up because it’s pretty wild.”

I explain to her about how after Weston and I had been intimate, I found out about Natalie because she showed up to talk to me, then I tell her the entire play-by-play of how I was fired and Weston found out and took matters into his own hands.

Xana’s mouth hangs open. She hasn’t said anything in several seconds. “Holy shit,” she finally says, reaching for her water. “Holy fucking shit,” she repeats herself, shaking her head like it’s going to make everything I just told her make sense.

“Yeah.” I laugh awkwardly. “It’s been a crazy few weeks. I’m so sorry I didn’t explain things earlier. I just felt—well, completely fucking insane honestly.”

“Yeah, I’d say. Damn, I just thought that you and Weston had a fight or he broke your heart or something, but this is so much more. How are you doing now? Are you okay—like actually okay?”

“I am.” I let a long overdue sigh of relief I feel like I’ve been holding in for a month. “I really am. And please, don’t think I didn’t want to tell you all this because I didn’t trust you. I wanted you to focus on your engagement and your happiness because you deserve that so much. Plus, I needed some time to figure out how I felt about everything.”

“I get it. No need to apologize.” She reaches across the table and grabs my hands. “You’re my best friend and I’m always going to be here for you. I know that sometimes it takes time to come around and other times all you need is just that person to sit with you, saying nothing at all. So where are you and Weston at? Are things good there too?”

“We are. I—I screwed up.” I hesitate for a moment. “I fell in love with him.”

“Oh my God!” She flattens her hands on the table.

“But it worked out because he fell in love with me too and actually, he said it first.”

“Don’t scare me like that!” She playfully swats at me. “Aw, Daph, you guys are in love? That makes me so happy. Wait, so you guys worked out the Natalie thing then?”

“Yeah. We talked about it and she ended up apologizing to him and me. The funny thing is, I’m pretty sure she’s messing around with Preston.” I laugh, remembering them making out behind the school. “Anyway, I go back to work tomorrow and I moved in with Weston and he wants to get married and have babies like yesterday.”

“Well, that escalated. Wait, you’re not…?”

I shake my head as I sip my iced coffee. “No. I only just stopped taking my birth control like a day ago.”

“Wow, so you’re actually doing it? You’re going to be a mom?” Her eyes well up with tears the second she says the word mom and it makes me laugh. “I’m going to be an aunt?”

“Stop it. I’m not pregnant yet, but yes.” I smile. “I realized that this is how it’s supposed to be. I was meant to meet him. I feel like I finally have that kind of love I have always wanted. I didn’t know what I was missing before and I don’t say that to talk negatively about what I had with Carson because what I had with him was exactly what I needed at that time in my life. My dad told me something that was eye-opening for me. He said, you can love somebody with every part of your being and they can love you back just the same but no love you experience with someone will be the exact same. It’s almost like different people unlock different parts of your heart and I think that’s really beautiful.”

* * *

“Hey, you’re back!”Preston pokes his head into my classroom.

“I’m back,” I say a little nervously. I have no idea what everyone was told about my absence. I came into school an hour before the kids arrive so I have time to put my stuff away and think about what I want to say to them. I know as first graders they’ll have forgotten any of this happened by lunchtime today but still, I want them to know that I missed them and I’m back for good.

“Are you okay? Back for good?” He steps into the room, walking over to my desk with a genuine look of concern.

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