Page 27 of Unraveled

“You mean the bad break up where he hit her?” Mom snapped.

Evelyn just watched her son as he watched me. I looked back at him, daring him to deny anything. He knew every ounce of what I’d reported was true.

Except inhismessed up head, maybe not.He’d twisted so many things before.

“We don’t know that he really hit her,” Brian countered Mom. “Once again, it’s all hearsay. No one was there to back it up.” He leaned over the table. “You can try to play off being the good and protective mom, but I know you, Bridge, and you didn’t hear about most of this until today, either.”

Myeyes flashed that time. How dare he? He knew nothing about what our family had been through and why I hadn’t told her.

I caught Zane smirking out of the corner of my eye, and the sudden urge to smack the look from his face came over me. Instead, I narrowed my gaze on his. “That one wasn’t hearsay. Tucker was there that night. He walked in as Zane had me pinned against the wall, about to smack me again. That’s why y’all fought, remember?”

Brian cut in before Zane could answer. “So, the one account where there’s a witness, it’s the young man that’s known for having an ongoing feud with my son? Yes, that’s going to hold up well.”

I shot him a glare. “They only have an ongoing feud becauseyourson hit me last summer when I wouldn’t sleep with him.”

“Does that argument really work, Izzy?” Zane finally spoke. “I mean, you did sleep with Tucker right after I left that night. So, if you were so willing, how do we know that’s the real reason you and I argued? Tucker wasn’t there to hear how it started… This is all assuming that you and I fought at all, of course.”

I glared daggers at him. He’d stayed quiet this whole time, letting me hope he’d at least let the truth be told, but now he wanted to imply that I waslying? He sounded just like his father.

“Youknowwhat happened that night.” It was all I was going to say, but something about knowing he wouldn’t be able to hurt me again after today spurred me on. “I guess I can let that one slide, though. If it weren’t for you beating me and cheating on me, if you could have just been patient for thefewweeks I was away at dance, Tucker and I never would have gotten together then.Wewould have dated, probably for a while. I liked you that much, but your choices ruined it.Yousent me into Tucker’s arms that much faster.”

That one struck home, hurt crossing his handsome face.

“We could be dating right now if you would just leave Tucker. You could have left him right when I told you I wanted you back, and then all of this could have been avoided. We could be happy.”

“Happy with someone who cheated? Whohitme? And in case you’re forgetting, I was already pregnant withTucker’schild, even that first night you cornered me and swore you’d get me back. But you never cared about that, did you? You said it that night before I fell. You would have still taken me.”

“As long as you didn’t keep the baby.”

I barked a laugh. “You expectedmeto give up my child? For someone who’s supposed to love me so much, you don’tknow me at all.”

“I know more about you than you think. Just like I know what losing the baby did to you. It crushed you. If Tucker hadn’t interfered that night, that never would have happened.”

“Ifyouhadn’t cornered me up in the stands and forced a kiss after I told youoverandoveragain that I didn’t want you, that never would have happened!”

I pressed my hand to my face, rubbing at my forehead when I started to yell, the pounding only getting worse. I had to calm down. They were actually letting us get this out, but Mr. Hiller would stop us if we got out of control. I took a deep breath, wanting to scream when Zane spoke again.

“I just wanted to make you see that there’s still something between us. Our chemistry is amazing. It has been since the first time we danced, and I know you’ve felt it. That pull that’s there between us has always been strong.”

“Chemistry isn’t love, Zane.”

“It’s a good start. You and I can be phenomenal if you give us a chance.”

“No, we can’t.” I smacked a hand down on the table. “We can’t be phenomenal or amazing or anything else. We can’teverbeanything.”

“Why not?” he pressed, leaning towards me like I had somehow done with him.

“Because you scare me!”

Whatever Zane thought I was going to say, it wasn’t that. He froze, speechless. Just staring.

“You scare me,” I said again, softer now, but determination still riddled my words with force, and my gaze was fierce, needing him to finally get this. Needing his delusion to be done. “You never approach me when otherpeople are around. Youalwayswait until I’m alone, and then you make me feel like I don’t have a choice but to stay and listen. And it’s not even just how I feel. Sometimes you are literally blocking me from leaving. Do you have any idea what it’s like to feel caged that way?

“Have you ever thought about how many times we’ve been alone together that I’ve ended up hurt? Last summer, even with knowing about my PTSD, you pinned me against the wall, grabbing my wrist and sending me into an attack as you prepared to smack me across the face,again. There were the bruises you left on my arm in the coffee shop last fall, and I was in the hospital forweeksin December. Even if you didn’t outright push me down the stairs, your actions led up to my fall. I lost mydaughter… And today my arms are throbbing and my head is pounding and I keep praying that I don’t get sick again because you got mad–again.”

His hands twitched over the table, my one hint at how my words bothered him. But he needed to hear it. Every bit of what I’d been holding back, he needed to hear.

“And you wonder why I willalwayschoose Tucker. Honestly, there’s no choice. You talk about our chemistry, and yes, we have it, had it. Whatever. But arealrelationship is more than that. There’s friendship, which yes, we were growing, but you lost mytrust, Zane, and there’snothingwithout that.

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