Page 58 of Hard To Stay

Emily took a deep breath and swallowed, relief was written all over her face. “Thank you, Brad. I appreciate that. I wish the same for you.” I could tell she wanted to say more, but there was no way in hell she was going to start a conversation with me in front of Chase. Her eyes briefly met mine and in that split second, I could see the smile in them. She knew. She could always see right through me. She didn’t need to say anything else because there was really nothing left to say. We had both moved on and found happiness with other people.

As I reached the bottom of the steps, my eyes landed to where my group was taking up space at the bar. As I walked closer, my steps slowed, and I assessed my surroundings. I noticed two things: one, everyone was staring at me like I had two heads. The second was, Lexi was nowhere in sight.

I froze.

A million scenarios ran through my head, but their expressions told me all I needed to know. My eyes slid shut as the reality of my actions came crashing down around me. I was so hell bent on setting things straight with Emily that I had royally fucked up again. I knew how insecure she was about my ex, and my stupid actions just fueled her imagination. I needed to find her. I had to get moving so I could fix this.

“She left.” Faith was the first to speak up, and the tone she used only confirmed my suspicions.

I hung my head and closed my eyes tight. I had nothing to say. Lucas walked over and put his hand on my shoulder. “Bro, she was pissed. You need to give her some space.”

The more I thought about it, the more I hated myself. “What did she say?”

Lucas took a step back and hesitated. If he was at a loss for words, I really was fucked. “She knew who you were talking to.”

My body locked tight with panic. “I wasn’t thinking. I saw Emily and just wanted to talk to her. That was the first time I’ve seen her since we broke up. What the hell was I supposed to do? Just pretend she wasn’t there?”

“Yeah, well that was a dick move.” Faith cut in, “you know how insecure she is about Emily, but you couldn’t jump off that stool fast enough when you saw her. No regard for Lexi’s feelings whatsoever.” She shouted, causing Sawyer to come stand between us. My eyes dropped to the ground; there wasn’t an excuse in the world that would be good enough.

I lifted my head feeling like the world’s biggest asshole. “She completely misinterpreted what she saw. I need to talk to her so I can explain.” I said, glancing around, meeting each of their judging eyes. Something made me stop and take notice. My eyes bounced to each of them. “How did she get home?” When no one answered, I felt my eyes shoot up into my hairline. “Don’t tell me you let her walk out of here alone?” I shouted, seeing red.

“Relax.” Lucas said, trying to get my temper under control. “I watched her get into a cab.”

A burst of energy shot through me. I was moving so fast my friends couldn’t keep up with me. What were they thinking? I pulled my phone out and dialed her number. I wasn’t surprised when she let it roll to voicemail. Once the line beeped, I started groveling for forgiveness. “Lexi, I’m so fucking sorry. I’m on my way to you right now. Please call me back. I love you, sweetheart. Only you.” I hung up and threw my phone back in my pocket.

I ran out into the street and banged on the trunk of a passing cab. I jumped in the back before the driver had even come to a full stop. I shouted out my address, hoping like hell that’s where she went. I buried my face in my hands and prayed that I wouldn’t lose her over this.

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