“I don’t know. Are you still going to continue to date your little girlfriend?” I spit out, and he actually had the nerve to smile at me. Smile at me. Really? He didn’t say she was his girlfriend, but the fact that he said he was actually dating someone felt like a knife had been pushed into my stomach, and it kept twisting, deeper and deeper.
Sure, I knew Justin was no angel. I figured he had been man-whoring it up since I broke things off. But I never thought he would be dating. The thought never really crossed my mind. Why, in my twisted head, did I think dating was worse than him screwing his way through a line of girls? Oh, well I guess that really was a simple one. Dating meant there were actual feelings. He needed to know her name, get to know her and go out places, probably held her hand and took her to nice restaurants, whispering sweet nothings into her ear like he used to do to me. A couple dates could mean anything.
“You’re jealous, aren’t you?” I snapped my attention back to Justin who dropped my hand, standing there all smug, his arms crossed over his broad chest. Jealous? He really had some balls to even imply that.
“Oh. My. God!” I shrieked loudly. “You have the biggest freaking head of anyone I have ever known. Why exactly would I be jealous? I’m not jealous of anyone.” My throat felt raw from the anxiety that he was causing, and I just needed to get out of there before my head literally exploded. I gripped the door handle, glancing over my shoulder before exiting. Why, I have no idea. I should’ve just left his ass standing there, not wasting any more of my breath or my time.
“So, does this mean you’re gonna think about it then?”
“Fuck off, Justin. Leave me the hell alone.” I whipped the door open and quickly slammed it shut, smiling triumphantly as I made my way down the hall. Let’s see how full of himself he was when he figured out his sorry ass was locked in there. It felt good to know that I had at least one-upped him, until I got into the locker room and realized that my head was even more screwed up than when I first came into the gym. I was supposed to have figured things out during my run, and all I managed to do was confuse myself even more. How in the hell did I keep getting myself into these situations?
I SLAMMED THE front door shut behind myself, my whole body still shaking with built up anger that I just needed to take out on someone. Justin really had some nerve to just show up, do crazy things to my head and body, and then drop a bombshell that he was dating some girl.
Did he think I was still on a high from his magic tongue, so I would just applaud him for telling me the truth upfront or something? Damn him for screwing with my head. I wonder if that was his intention all along, really. Did he even want to make things work between us anymore? Sure, he didn’t want anything from me in return today, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t eventually, and there was no way I was going to be his dirty little secret while he continued his dating. Whoever she was, she was most likely clueless to whom the real Justin Parker is.
I opened up the fridge to grab out lunchmeat to make a quick sandwich before heading into work tonight. I was so not in the mood for that, but I had to pay the bills somehow. I shut the door after taking out the mayo, cheese, and ham, and jumped when I saw Mia standing there.
“Jesus, Mia. Creepy much?” She took a step back as I brushed past her and laid out all of my items on the kitchen island.
I did my best to ignore her, laying out bread and taking my sweet time to add all of my makings for a sandwich. Honestly, it wasn’t too difficult, because she was silent the whole time. I pulled out a stool to sit down and eat, groaning when I heard the one next to me scraping against the wooden floor.
“Um…Della?” The question came out quiet, but I refused to look her way. Apparently, I didn’t even need to acknowledge her because she started talking anyway. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now about our parents. Dad called earlier.”
I nodded my head in answer, taking a big bite of my sandwich so I didn’t have to say anything. I wasn’t sure what to say in the first place, really.
“So….” She dragged out, resting her head sideways on her knuckle, as if she were trying to make me glance her direction. “What does that mean exactly? For us?”
I shrugged one shoulder, finishing my sandwich and wiping the crumbs into a tiny pile. I really needed to take a shower before going into work. I didn’t have time for a heart-to-heart with Mia. Plus, I was beyond pissed about what just happened with Justin. I was upset that Mia lied to him, and I was even more annoyed by the fact that those two had apparently been hanging out.
Mia was a bitch. Plain and simple.
Sure, we never really had a close relationship. It didn’t help that she lived with her mom the majority of the time when we were both still in school, so we basically only saw each other on weekends and holidays. We didn’t have anything in common, and ran with different crowds.
Living together was beyond weird. I thought I was helping my mom out by letting Mia move in with us, maybe pushing her in the right direction, but it hadn’t helped at all, and now, our parents were divorcing. Mia and I had no reason to act like we liked each other or even as if we were related by marriage.
She sighed loudly when I stood up and began rinsing my plate off. “Fine, don’t talk to me. But could you just at least tell me if I should start packing all of my shit? If you’re gonna throw me out, at least give me some warning.” Her voice shook when she said the last sentence and I finally stopped to look at her.
Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, but I could tell they were about to spill over any second. Her hair was disheveled, probably from sleeping all day, and she wore only a pair of yoga pants with a ratty t-shirt. For the first time since she moved here, she actually looked like a normal person. All makeup was removed from her face, her usually heeled feet were bare, and like I mentioned before, she was fully clothed. Miracles do exist.
Don’t let her fool you, Della.
She was probably doing this on purpose, so I would feel sorry for her. I couldn’t forget what she had done and how she treated me on a daily basis. We weren’t friends, and soon, we would be stepsisters no more, so there was no reason for her to be here any longer. Right?
“I haven’t decided what to do yet, Mia. I haven’t really had the time to process everything.”
I dried my hands off, dropping the towel back onto the counter, and pushed off with my hands to head in the direction of my room.
“Della, wait.” My feet didn’t stop until she tacked on, “Please.”
I slowly faced her, crossing my arms over my chest, and tapping my foot. “What? Make it quick because I need to get in the shower before work.”
She bit her lip, chewing on it hard before fidgeting in place. “Listen, I know I haven’t been exactly easy to be around. And then the whole thing with Justin.” I rolled my eyes, not really caring to hear his name at the moment, but she continued on, “When I ran into him, it was by complete accident. It’s not like I was searching for him or anything.”
I really wouldn’t put it past her. The first time she met Justin, she had gone beyond flirting with him. I figured she probably would’ve looked him up as soon as she made it into town. I really shouldn’t have been too surprised that those two were together as friends, or whatever they were.
“And then we started hanging out. I thought maybe there was a possibility that we could be something more than friends. There’s just something about him that’s so…sexy. It’s such a turn-on.”
“Mia, I don’t have time to talk about Justin and how sexy he is, so please, get on with it.”
“Ugh, fine. So, anyway, I started insinuating things when it came to you and Nash, not giving him the complete truth when he asked questions about you. I didn’t lie to him, but I didn’t tell him the full story. I was being selfish. I know I was a bitch about everything, Della, and I know we don’t exactly get along. But I just wanted what you had. That’s all. And I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you because of that. Sure, I might’ve initially thought it was funny, but
I can see how much your breakup with Justin has affected you. Maybe things will still work out between the two of you.”
I snorted loudly. “I highly doubt that, Mia. Sure, at one time I thought what Justin and I had was possibly something more, something that could last forever. But it was stupid and immature to think. I’m done with him, for good.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “Never say never, Della. Forever isn’t always easy.”
My eyebrow shot up, Mia’s insight shocking me into silence. I guess if I thought about it, she was right. Forever isn’t always easy; it rarely is for most people. Most people don’t get a happily ever after without putting some kind of effort into it. God knows Justin and I have had plenty of roadblocks along the way. I shook my head, clearing any thoughts about that situation away.
“I guess you’re right, Mia. That still doesn’t mean I forgive you for lying about everything. You actually let Justin think I was pregnant? I just don’t get that. But I can understand wanting to lash out at people. I know I did plenty of that myself. So just know that whatever you’re going through will eventually get better. But you have to actually try.”
She swallowed thickly, nodding her head at me. “I think I can do that. So, what do you think about the whole living situation?”
“I don’t know, Mia. Give me some time to think about everything.” I tilted my head toward the stairs. “I need to get ready. Whatever I decide, though, I promise I’m not going to throw all of your shit out on the street.”
She laughed lightly. “Well, at least I have that going for me.”
WOW. I DON’T think I could’ve made a bigger mess of that if I actually tried. I thought showing up at the gym today was a good idea. No, I wasn’t stalking Della, watching her every move, but I was keeping tabs on her. For whatever reason, Mia thought we needed to be friends. Apparently, I was her only one. And I was pissed at her.
So, she offered to keep me updated on Della, so maybe I’d give our friendship another shot. Mia called to let me know the news about her dad and Della’s mom getting a divorce, and pointing out the fact that Della was into running lately. So, the rec center was my first guess, and it was the right one.
Della was beyond pissed, and really, I couldn’t blame her. I was doing exactly the same thing I had done last time, even though I didn’t mean to, I just caught up in the moment. Things weren’t serious with Blaire; we had only known each other for a short amount of time. Yes, she was a great girl: smart, beautiful—the list was endless, I’m sure.
But she wasn’t Della.
What in the hell was I supposed to do?
I already had a date set up with Blaire, and I guess we would still meet up. But I would tell her that there was someone else in my life, even if Della didn’t want me.
My phone rang as I drove across town and I took it out of my cup holder to answer it.
“So, if I get kicked out of the house, do you think I can move in with you? Pretty please?”
“Mia.” I blew out a breath, rolling my neck as I flipped on my turn signal. I was off tonight, but all I felt like doing was going home and shutting down my brain for a while. That would stop me from thinking about Della, the taste of her still on my lips. The way her body molded perfectly to mine. The feel of her falling apart while she rode my fingers—see? I had to turn it off, or I was going to drive myself insane with the need to have Della again. I would be fine with just having her in my bed, even if it were only to sleep.
“Don’t worry.” She laughed lightly, bringing me back to the here and now. “I’m sure I can find somewhere.”
“Della isn’t going to kick you out, Mia. You two might not get along, but she has a heart, even if she doesn’t always act like it.” I pulled into my driveway, cradling the phone against my shoulder as I got out of the car and headed inside.
“Really…so does that mean she had a heart and finally took you back?”
I grunted a response as I kicked off my shoes. Mia was one of the last people that I wanted to talk to about Della right now. Really, I didn’t want to talk about it with anyone.
“I’ll take that as a no. What happened? Did she kick you in the balls when you showed up?”
“Not exactly.”
There was a long silence before she started laughing uncontrollably. “Oh my….” More laughing. “You didn’t….” She hiccupped loudly, and I collapsed onto the couch, not seeing what exactly was so funny.
After Mia was finally able to calm down, she cleared her throat. “So, let me guess. Something happened between the two of you, what I really don’t want to know, and then you just had to bring up that you started dating someone. Am I right?”
“Maybe.”
“Why would you do that?” she shrieked. “You’re such a dumbass. Did she kick you in the balls after that? I feel like kicking you in the balls for her.”
“Whatever, Mia. Things ended between us last time because of me not telling the truth. I didn’t want to lie to her again.”
“So, when exactly did you tell her?”
I sighed deeply as I stood up to head toward my bedroom.
“Your silence is an indication that you didn’t exactly tell her at the best time, and judging by the pissy mood she was in when she came home, I’m thinking that I’m right. How do you get yourself into these situations?”
“Who knows? My brain tends to turn off when it comes to Della.”
“Well, stop thinking with your dick and maybe things would actually work out for you sometimes.”
“Gee, thanks for the advice. I’ll talk to you later, Mia.”
“Bye, lover boy,” she sang out, just as I hit the end button, and then tossed my phone on the nightstand.
Mia was somewhat right. When I saw Della today, all I wanted was to have her sprawled out beneath me, moaning out my name. And that’s exactly what I had gotten. I would’ve much rather been buried deep inside of her, but I knew that was way too fast at this point. Really, what we did was way too fast. I didn’t want Della to think that the only reason I wanted her was for sex. Our relationship had been about so much more than that, and if we were going to start fresh, I needed to figure out a way to take things slow with her. As slow as possible, I guessed.
I drifted off with thoughts of Della running through my head, like usual. Sleeping would be so much better if she was just in my bed with me, instead of being so damn stubborn about everything. I must have fallen into a deep sleep, because the next thing I heard was the annoying alarm sound coming out of my phone.
IT WAS WORK time all too soon.
I got dressed for the day, and headed in. Our shift started out pretty smoothly, and I hoped that it stayed that way. I was still stuck on Della, trying to figure out exactly what I should do. I needed to make it up to her somehow. But she would more than likely tell me to fuck off again, knowing her.
“What’s got you thinking so hard today?” Ty asked, breaking me from my Della fog. I really needed to stop doing that shit. Being distracted on the job wasn’t exactly the best idea for my line of work.
“Nothing much, just got some shit going on.”
“Really?” He grinned, turning sideways to look at me. “Got anything to do with my girl Blaire? She’s been talking non-stop to Emily about you. I’ve been hearing all of the juicy gossip.” He rolled his eyes before taking a sip of coffee.
“Yeah, Blaire’s a great girl,” I responded vaguely as we pulled back into the station. Blaire really was. She was smart and beautiful, and I could have an actual conversation with her. All of the other girls that I went out with in an attempt to forget about Della were faceless. I didn’t get to know them because, really, I didn’t care. There was never more than one date, nothing happened physically with any of them.
I only messed up once after Della broke things off. No, I didn’t run off and fuck a bunch of girls because I was brokenhearted. It had been months after, but before I saw her again at Shorty’s. I’d like to say I was shitfaced, and that was my excu
se, but I wasn’t. I picked up some random girl at a club I had gone to with Nate, and we went back to her place. I thought maybe it would help me forget about Della, but all it really did was make me feel even guiltier. There was no getting Della out of my head, or my heart.
She was irreplaceable.
“Well, I heard that you’re going out again,” Ty said from behind me as I started changing out of my uniform in the locker room.
“Yup.” I answered simply, even though this date would be the last. I wasn’t going to string Blaire along, when the only girl on my mind was Della. It’s not like we considered ourselves an item or anything, but I needed to let Blaire know that we wouldn’t be seeing each other again. Hopefully she took it well.
“And then we’re all going out this weekend.”
“What?” I finished pulling my t-shirt back on, and looked over at Ty who was smiling widely, already fully dressed.
“Yeah. Didn’t Blaire mention anything to you?” His eyebrows twisted in confusion as I shook my head. He shrugged one shoulder. “Oh, well, I guess I’ll tell you then. The four of us are gonna go out this Saturday, maybe go to dinner and then hit up a couple of bars. Sound good?”
“Listen, Ty, I didn’t really think I should say anything to you first, because I figured you would go blab to your wife, but….” I paused, shifting uncomfortably in place as his eyes continued to narrow. Ty could be one scary guy when he wanted to be, one of the reasons he was so good at his job. “Things aren’t working out with Blaire. I was going to tell her when we go out for dinner.”
The next thing I knew, my back was slammed against the metal locker, the rattle echoing in the mostly empty locker room, and Ty’s hand was around my throat.
“That. Is. Not. Happening!” he bit out. My eyes began to bulge, and I considered all of the different ways to get out of his hold without actually hurting him. His fingers loosened, and he shook his hand as he released. “Sorry, man, didn’t mean to get so worked up.”
Twisted Bliss Page 9
