Page 43 of Someday Away

I stiffen at the threat. “Or what?” I challenge as I turn to face him. His jaw tightens.

Then, I do just that—I leave.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

LINCOLN

You need to tell me why you’re being such a hardcore asshole,” Trey demands. “I know it has to do with her parents. I want to hear the whole fucking story. Now.”

After Charlie left the theater, we closed it up in silence. Trey was fuming by the time we got home.

“What? Now you’re fucking her, so you suddenly care about her feelings?” I say, sitting down on the couch and putting my face in my hands. I know I’ve been a dick. I know I was pushing her on purpose. Given her fiery nature, I should have expected she’d push back.

“Don’t do that,” Trey says.

I look back up at him, gritting my teeth. “Do what?”

“Pretend like you don’t give a shit,” he says angrily. “You soften around her. I’ve seen it. And you’ve been giving her hell ever since Halloween. Why are you punishing her but not me? If you’re jealous, just say so. Punch me in the face or something.”

“I’m not jealous,” I snap.

That’s the truth. But I still want her despite fighting the feeling. Everything about Charlie draws me in, and it’s fucking infuriating. Her quiet nature and her ferocity constantly challenge me. What pisses me off most is when I look at her,I see what we could’ve been if the past had been different. But then I see her mother, and my hate wars with this underlying need that’s always been there to connect with her.

I finally sigh, looking up at Trey. “I get it. I fucked up tonight.” I pause, smirking slightly. “But really, I’m kind of not sorry because that was...”

“Hot as hell,” Trey finishes for me..

“Yep,” I say, popping the “p” with emphasis. “Agreed.”

Our eyes meet for a beat, and I wonder if it’s weird that the thought of us being turned on together in the same room with her isn’t weird at all.

“So now that you’ve admitted that, I need you to tell me why you’re intent on torturing her.”

I lean back on the couch, rubbing my eyes. I’m suddenly exhausted. “Her mom fucked my dad, okay?” I say quietly. “Ellen’s the reason my mom left.”

“What?” His eyebrows furrow. “I thought your mom took a job in New York.”

“She did, but she took the job after the affair.” I swallow the emotion threatening to choke me. “Mom and I caught them in the act, and it broke her.” I look over at Trey.

“You do realize none of your damage is Charlie's fault, right?” Trey says. “Your dad was half of that affair and, therefore, half the problem. Not to mention, Ellen tore Charlie’s family apart, too.”

“And then she killed herself.”

Trey flinches at the way I say it so calmly. “Shit. She just told me that her mom died,” he says, frowning. “I didn’t realize it was a suicide. I guess the rumor Seren was talking about at the bonfire was true.”

I sigh. “After I found out about the affair, I was so angry. I made it my prerogative to get revenge, but then Ellen took theeasy way out. Charlie was her only daughter, and that hate just naturally transferred over.”

Trey gives me a pointed look.

I sigh. “Look, I know it was irrational, but it just happened. My dad was a mess without my mom, and he was so guilt-ridden that he shut down.” I grimace. “You were there for the shit he pulled. He didn’t show up to my graduation. He didn’t say goodbye when I left for college. He only bought the movie theater and let me run it because he felt bad about pretty much abandoning his only son for more than two damn years.”

I look over at Trey expecting to see pity, but I don’t—just empathy as he absorbs my pain.

“My mom hasn’t spoken to either of us since it happened. She’s just…gone. I mean shit, Trey, she left you, too.”

Trey drops down next to me, his face uncharacteristically stoic. “I know, man, and it felt shitty, but it wasn’t Charlie’s fault. You’ve got to let it go.”

“Trey, Charlie’s mom didn’t just fuck my dad,” I growl. “She fucked my whole life. It’s been two years, and I don’t know how to shake this anger.”

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