by C. A. Harms
“For a girl shacking up with a man like Landon, you sure don’t look happy.” Spinning around too quickly, I knocked over the tray of tools, and they crashed to the floor. “Trouble in paradise already?” Holly stood in the doorway with a smug look on her face. “I can definitely take him off your hands if you’d like me to.”
“Not now, Holly.” I wasn’t in the mood. I couldn’t do this with her. My chest ached to the point where it was alarming, and had it not been only triggered by stress, I would have been frantic. I knew it was anxiety, and right now, it was spiking through the roof.
“Aww, I feel bad things are falling apart so quickly for the two of you. Is it because of us?”
“There is no us for you and Landon.”
“Maybe not now because you have managed to get in my way, but there once was.” She walked into the room instead of leaving like I’d wished she would. “From the looks of it, there may not be an us for you and him, either.”
“You are assuming I’m upset about Landon, but I can assure you everything between the two of us is great. Better than great, actually.” I didn’t like the way she was watching me, the way she looked at me as if she knew without a doubt I was lying. It pissed me off.
My temper flared; it was something on a normal day I could keep control of. I felt like I was falling apart, and I hated feeling unsettled. I was a planner and organizer; I loved, no, I needed everything to fall into place. My hands were shaking as I grasped the tools in my hand, still crouched down on the floor. Looking up toward Holly and her condescending eyes, watching me, as if waiting for me to fall apart, it was all too much. “What in the hell is wrong with you?” Pushing up off the floor, forgetting about the tools that lay at my feet, I charged toward her. “I’ve had it up to here with your attitude. How delusional are you? It was a fucking kiss, you crazy bitch. A kiss!” I tried not to scream, but my patience was slipping. “You act like the two of you had some epic love affair when in reality he ended things before they even started. Who falls for a guy they went with on a couple dates and shared a kiss? It’s time to move on.”
“I’d call fucking me against a wall in a dark alley a little more than a kiss.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she smirked when I froze. “Oh wait, he didn’t tell you? So typical.” She was more manipulative and conniving than I’d given her credit for. “Landon liked it dirty. He liked that I was a little wild. I figure by now he must be getting real sick of the perfect little girl who wouldn’t know a good time if it slapped her in the face.”
“You’re lying.” She had to be, and I wasn’t going to allow her to get to me.
“It was five dates, and every single time he took me in a new place. Landon loved to hike up my skirt and push me against any hard surface.”
Flashes of our night together after AJ and Rhett’s wedding rushed through my mind. How he took me in the very same way as she described. I felt my stomach sour, and that earlier pain I’d felt returned, only this time with a vengeance.
“Enough,” I whispered, covering my mouth as it began to water. I could feel the bile begin to rise as it burned in my throat.
“Poor Chloe,” she pouted, “can’t face the harsh reality that her perfect little man isn’t so perfect after all.”
Feeling lightheaded, I reached out to gain some much needed support as I gripped the patient’s chair. I felt like the room was spinning and I couldn’t keep up.
One deep calming breath after another I stared at the floor near my feet. I had to tune her out; I couldn’t crumble here, not in front of her.
“Sooner or later, he is going to toss you aside, and when he does, I’ll be there to warm his bed.”
Suddenly I moved before I had the chance to think. My shoulder collided with hers as I passed; I knew I felt it more than her. Bouncing off, I hit the doorjamb with my opposite shoulder and cried out in pain on contact.
The loud howl gained the attention of a few others that were moving about, and one by one people began to emerge from the rooms, patients and employees each watching me with concerned looks.
“Chloe.” I looked up over my shoulder and found Dr. Andrews standing next to Holly. He was the nephew of our long-time dentist and I assumed already been charmed by Holly. The way he seemed disappointed as he stood at her side watching me as if I had done something major to cause a disturbance. “I think maybe you should go home for the day.”
Sure, asshole I’m fine, no need to check on me.
“Holly, are you okay?”
Really? You have got to be kidding me.
The smug look on her face as she ate up his attention was enough to make me puke. With the little pride I had left in me, I gathered up my strength, squared my shoulders, and walked away.
I wasn’t even sure how everything had gotten to the point that it had, but never had I ever felt so lost and confused.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Landon
Slowing to a stop, I rolled down my window and watched as Chloe pulled up next to me. My monster of a truck dwarfed her little Tacoma. Leaning out, I looked down, and the instant I saw her face, I knew something was wrong.
“Hey.” I wanted to reach out for her, but there was no way I would reach her. I also couldn’t open my door without smashing it right into hers. “You okay?”
“Please tell me that what she said wasn’t true. Then I don’t have to wonder why it was you felt the need to lie about something that was before us.” She didn’t even lift her head to look at me, but I didn’t need to see her eyes to know she was upset. It was all in her posture, the sadness of her frown.
“Kitten—”
“Don’t.” Her lips trembled, and my hand was already on the handle ready to take the chance of her getting pissed at me for denting her truck. “Just tell me.” She finally looked up at I felt like my heart was being squeezed so tightly. “It was only a kiss, right?”
Forget squeezing, it was more like it was being ripped out.
“There is no logical explanation as to why you would tell me the two of you only kissed if it was anything more than that. I mean, you didn’t know me. We weren’t together.”
I could lie and pretend that everything that I knew she had been told was nothing more than an untruth, but I also understood that it would only make an already bad situation worse.
“I was trying to prove to you that I wasn’t a bad guy. You were so sure that I was and—”
“So you lied about what you and Holly were?” The tone of her voice confirmed that she wasn’t going to accept much of anything in the form of an explanation from me. I’d lied or left off parts; however you wanted to look at it, I’d made my bed.
“Somehow telling the girl that you were trying to make an impression on that you were intimate with her mortal enemy seemed like a bad idea at the time.”
“Yes, lying is so much better.” Sarcasm oozed from her words and her glare. “The perfect way to set the stride for a relationship, what a joke.”
“Can we park and talk?”
“We’re talking now.” Looking down, removing her gaze from mine, I could already feel her pulling away.
“Yes, we are.” I don’t remember a time when I had ever been so scared. “But I want to touch you.” It was killing me not to see her eyes and feel her skin to mine.
“I think the fact that you can’t works much better for me.” Chloe paused. I could visibly see her take in a deep breath as if she was trying to calm herself. “How many times? And are you still?”
“What?” I wasn’t asking what she meant—it was more of a, is she fucking serious—but it didn’t register with Chloe. She was far too upset.
“Sleeping with Holly.” Again with a deep breath. “I need to know if I should get checked.”
“Hey.” When she didn’t take the time to look at me, I panicked. “Chloe!” The roar of my voice as I called out her name made her jerk in surprise. I noticed the way she winced and rubbed along her shoulder and arm. “What’s wrong?”
/> “I should go.” When she reached for her shifter, I undid my seatbelt and slid across the seat, jumping out of the passenger side. But by the time I rounded the bed, she was already pulling away as I reached out to slap her bedside. The contact stung my palm, but it didn’t compare to the pain in my chest.
Jumping in my truck, I shifted into drive, and after a big U-turn in the entrance of my apartment, I floored it to catch up with her.
I figured she would turn off, maybe drive to her place or even back to work since that was technically where she should have been. Only she continued to drive. I continued to follow.
When she made a left onto Parker Ave and continued to drive out of town, I knew where she was heading. Question was, did I slow and allow her the time to cool or did I continue to follow and suffer the wrath of her father the moment he saw she’s upset and found out it was because of me?
***
“Will you call her, please?” I was practically begging Maddison, but I needed her help. I was also very aware of the death stare I was getting from Mike as he hovered near his wife and unborn child. The mere idea of anyone upsetting Mad triggered an untamed beast in Mike.
“Why don’t you tell me what’s keeping her from answering your calls first?” The dark-haired beauty was a tough one, and she was territorial when it came to her family. It’s one reason her and Mike were so perfect for one another.
“Holly and I dated a long time ago.” Maddison arched a brow in confusion. “The crazy girl from her office, the one I am sure she has mentioned in conversation. Bitch, always giving Chloe shit, has this delusional idea that she and I should be together and it’s because of Chloe that we aren’t. And let me just say that is not true. With or without Chloe, Holly and I wouldn’t be anything.”
“So Chloe just found out that the two of you dated in the past? That doesn’t seem like Chloe. That was before you and her.”
“Yes, it was.” I didn’t finish and watched as she flared her nostrils. Instantly, I saw my mistake.
“Are you standing in my living room right now telling me that you cheated on Chloe with some whore from her work? So help me God, Landon, if you—”
“No.” I held up my hands, half expecting her to launch herself at me and scratch out my eyes. That or sic Mike on me and sit back and watch the destruction. “I may have downplayed what had gone on between Holly and me, but to be honest, it really was nothing.”
“Obviously it was something.”
“Mad,” I pleaded and felt like a complete tool. “She won’t take my calls. She’s hiding out at her parents’, I know to keep me away, and I just need her to listen to me. I need to explain.”
“I won’t be your in between, Landon. I’m sorry. But if sides have to be chosen, then I choose Chloe. Right or wrong, she is where my loyalties lie, and you’re gonna have to figure out a way to climb out of this hole all on your own.”
I respected her, I did. But I also really fucking hated her right now.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chloe
“How’s your shoulder?” I felt the bed behind me dip as my mother soothingly rubbed my back. I could feel myself slowly falling apart with the simple touch and did my best to hold myself together.
“It’s better. The pain medicine helped.”
“How exactly did this happen again?”
Lying to my mom, or my father, it felt like the cardinal sin. I loved my parents; I’d always been truthful and sought their guidance when I wasn’t sure what I should do. Only this time, I kept all my doubts and fears to myself.
“Someone dropped a tool tray on the floor and must have missed a few pieces when cleaning things up. I stepped on them, slid, and before I had the chance to stop myself, I was colliding with the frame of the door with my shoulder.”
“Is that why you left early?” I nodded, unable to say another word, already feeling the burn in my throat from finding it so easy to make up a story. It wasn’t completely made up, though. I did knock over a tray, the tools fell to the floor, and I collided with the door. I just left out a few things of importance.
“Do you work tomorrow?” Again I nodded, and I thought of the earlier message I had received.
Chloe, this is Dr. Andrews. We would like you to come in early tomorrow for a meeting about today’s events. Let’s say seven-fifteen.
It was all just too much.
“You could stay here, you know, sleep in your old room.”
“I think I’ll just take a nap, maybe stay for dinner. I don’t have anything to wear, and it would be easier to get ready at home where all my things are.” If my parents had their way, I would still be living at home.
After a few more minutes of conversation, she excused herself, and I slowly dozed off.
The vibration of my phone against my hip woke me, and I looked down, seeing Landon’s name flashing on the screen. I knew I’d have to talk to him eventually, but at my parents’ wasn’t where I wanted to do it. I’d wait until later tonight to call him. Maybe by then I would feel a little more rational and a lot less hurt.
At least I hoped I would.
***
“It’s been brought to my attention that you and Holly had a disagreement yesterday.” I stared ahead at both doctors, refusing to look at the bimbo at my side. When I say bimbo, I was referring to her choice of attire today. Tight, and I did mean tight, yellow sweater, a dark bra underneath, and the neckline was entirely too low. It would appear she showed up for this little meeting with a hidden agenda…seduce the doctors.
Considering neither one of them seemed to be able to remove their eyes from her tits, I would have to say it was working in her favor.
“Now Holly has brought us up to speed on the reasoning behind the misunderstanding. She has also explained that this is not the first time.”
Breathe, Chloe, just keep breathing.
“Holding a grunge because the man you are dating now is still hung up on her is hardly fair. After all, she isn’t the one pining.” I blinked not just once but rapidly. Like I was attempting to clear away the fog or the bullshit—same thing. “Holly is a very attractive woman, and she seems like the kind of woman that would leave a mark on any man.”
“Thank you, Dr. Andrews.” The sugary sweet in her voice made me want to vomit or punch her. Yeah, punching her sounded so much more appealing.
“After discussing what should be the right action of reprimand, we’ve decided—”
“Reprimand?” It was the first time I’d spoken in the entire ten minutes we’d been sitting here. “I hope by that you mean her and not me.”
“Punishing Holly doesn’t seem right considering you are the one who not once, but twice, has verbally attacked her.”
“Attacked her? Let’s try she is the one following me, harassing me, and continuing to lay claim on a guy she dated over more than a year ago. This is all so juvenile. I’m not attacking her. She is trapped in some fantasy where she honestly believes that my boyfriend wants her and—”
“Chloe…” It was Holly, offering that same sugary tone she used on them. Gripping the chair tight, so tight my knuckles turned white, I knew slapping her would definitely not help my case. “Landon and I had a connection, a true, honest connection. Something like that is hard to come by, but our timing was way off. I never imagined he’d still feel the same way when he showed up in my chair.”
“My chair,” I corrected her.
“Anyway, I think when I told him that I had moved on, it really bothered him.”
This chick was a nut job. A fool with a circus act of her own. But she obviously had the doctors completely convinced of her story.
“You can’t continue to blame me for him being unable to let go.”
I laughed, not a soft giggle, but a full out, shoulders shaking, hunched over at the waist, snorting like a pig cackle. I was sure I looked like the crazy person, but holy shit, I was trapped in a warped fucking Lifetime movie.
“He called you a psychotic nut job.”
Not really, but close enough. “Said you kissed like a fish out of water and you slobbered. That to me doesn’t sound like a man that is awestruck over a long-lost love.”
“I can assure you that Landon never once had any complaints.”
“Not to your face, because he is a gentleman.”
“Gentlemen surely don’t like dark alleys late at night.” My throat suddenly felt tight, and I dug my nails into my palm, feeling the bite.
“Enough,” Dr. Andrews interrupted, but it didn’t stop him from smirking. That was the moment I realized how bad this had gotten right under my nose. She weaseled her way into my world. “I think now what you need is some time off, Chloe.” I stood up, a reaction I know now seemed argumentative, but one I couldn’t control. “Maybe two weeks, and then we can reconvene to determine if you still have a place here. One thing we can’t have is an employee harassing another.”
Without a word, without so much as an eye roll, I grabbed my purse and walked toward the door. Before even exiting the room, the three of them began to carry on with one another like they hadn’t just shook the ground under me.
This was my life, my passion. Not only was she screwing with my relationship and my head, but now she was messing with my livelihood.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Landon
I sat on the floor by the door of Chloe’s apartment, the putrid smell of cigarette smoke lingering in the hallways. Littered around the area I could see half-smoked cigarettes, appearing as though someone purposely wanted to fill the space. Every so many feet one was tossed, smashed out, leaving a blackened mark on the tiled floor. They were the same brand Holly smoked, and I was instantly filled with an eerie feeling. Something was off, I knew it.
