Page 28 of Catch My Fall (Catch)

Pulling apart, Tristan and I looked at each other and shook our heads in unison. “Doesn’t he realize that if he wants to be with her, he has to fight for her? He can’t be out having strange bitches giving him blow jobs and leaving lipstick on his shirts and expect her to sit around with her thumb up her ass. I like Trace, but she deserves better than being a second choice.”

He ran his hands over his face in frustration and shook his head. “Look, I know he’s acting like a fucking idiot but trust me when I tell you, Darby isneverthe second choice. He’s going to lose his fucking marbles when he finds out that she has a boyfriend. I was really hoping to keep it from him long enough that maybe she would just dump the guy. We need to get out there and break this up before the shit hits the fan.”

He took my hand in his as we walked out the front door, squeezing it gently as we walked toward my car to find Trace begging Darby to get out of the car and talk to him.

“NO! You had your fucking chance,” she yelled. “Let’s be honest here Trace; you had hundreds of chances and you always failed me. I deserve better than that and I’m moving on. I’ll always care about you, but we’re done for good. I have a boyfriend now and he wouldn’t want me going into the house with you to talk.”

His head reared back as if she’d struck him. “What fucking boyfriend?”

“His name is Brandon Reynolds and I met him at a Gamma party a few weeks ago. We’ve been spending time together and last night he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes.”

“YOU MET HIM AT A FUCKING FRAT PARTY! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND? ARE YOU PURPOSELY TRYING TO FUCK WITH MY HEAD?”

I wasstunned that Trace was completely losing his shit over this. While I had assumed he would be upset, I had no idea that he would freak out.

“I’m not trying to do anything because I’m done trying. Don’t you get it? I deserve to be a guy’s number one choice, not a mere runner up in the sexual Olympics that you have going on every night. Brandon chose me, and you never even tried. My loyalty is to my boyfriend and you don’t get a say in my life anymore. If I want to party at every frat on this goddamn campus, that’s what I’m going to do.It’s. None. Of. Your. Business!”

Tristan was suddenly clutching my hand so tightly that it was almost painful, and I wondered if his anxiety stemmed from some kind of empathetic twin thing.

“Please don’t do this, Darby. PLEASE. I’ll beg if you want me to. I’m sorry!”

She stared at him in silence for a minute and I wondered what she was thinking. Finally she broke the silence by asking, “Tell me how many girls you’ve fucked since the night you saw me run out of the pool hall like my heart was in danger of exploding.”

Even from where I was standing, I could see the color leeching from his face.

“None of that matters, Darby. You know they don’t mean a damn thing.”

“I didn’t ask for excuses. I asked for a number. How many?”

“I’m not answering that,” he said desperately. “It doesn’t matter.”

She stared him down, saying nothing for a few moments. “You promised me you would never, ever lie to me. You said that if I asked, you would tell me. I’ve put up with this shit for years like a bitch, waiting and praying that you would love me enough to change. I never asked, never tried to put you on the spot. Now, I’m asking you. How. Fucking. Many?”

Hanging his head he gave an answer that I couldn’t quite hear.

“Louder. You know I can’t hear you.”

“FOUR! Goddammit, there were four. They didn’t mean anything!”

Shaking her head, Darby looked him dead in the eye and glared at him. “They meant everything. Go back into your house and live your life, Trace. You’ll have the next four, and the four after that, racked up in no time and I just don’t want to be hurt anymore. I’ll see you around.”

Sensing thatit was past time for Darby to get away from Trace, I leaned up and dropped a kiss on Tristan’s lips. “I have to get her out of here. This is too much for her to take. Please get him away from the car so we can go. Text me later.”

He nodded to show that he understood and I ran around the rear of the car to get into the passenger’s seat. As I took my seat Tristan grabbed Trace’s arm and pulled him back from the car. Trace tried to shake him off, but Tristan stood firm. “You have to let her go,” he told him solemnly.

Trace tried again to get closer to Darby’s window. “You’ve got to be kidding! You know that I can’t fucking let her go. I can’t and I won’t, not fucking ever!”

Taking a deep breath Darby put one hand on the wheel and the other on the control to put the car into drive. She didn’t even look at Trace when she said, “You really should have thought of that before.”

She pulled away then and I had to force myself not to look over my shoulder to see Tristan restraining Trace when he yelled, “I’m sorry,” and tried to run to the car.

Tearsrolled down Darby’s cheeks as she drove, but somehow she ignored him and kept right on driving. Quite frankly, I was in awe of her inner strength. Trace was clearly broken, but rather than making excuses for him or trying to fit into his life, Darby stuck up for herself.

Laying my hand on her shoulder, I squeezed it gently. “How about you pull over so I can drive?”

Shaking her head firmly she said, “I’m still standing and dammit, I’m going to stay strong. I can survive this.”

“It’s okay that it hurts, Darbs. You just did something very, very difficult. You’ve known Trace forever and although it’s clear he was just very upset, you stood up for yourself. You’re strong as hell, but if you need a shoulder to cry on, I’m here.”

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