Page 12 of Boards & Betrayal

My fists clenched at my sides. “This isn’t about responsibility or mistakes. This is about you trying to control everything and everyone around you.”

She stepped closer, her eyes boring into mine. “And what about Ally? You think she doesn’t matter in all of this? You think you can just brush off what happened between you two?”

The sound of Ally’s name on Janet’s lips was like a punch to the gut. It brought back everything I’d tried to bury—the guilt,the longing, the unresolved feelings that still lingered despite my best efforts to move on.

“Leave her out of this,” I said through gritted teeth.

Janet laughed bitterly. “You’re so predictable, Thomas. Always trying to protect what’s already broken.”

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my composure. The last thing I needed was to lose control in front of Janet, especially with so much at stake tonight.

“This conversation is over,” I said firmly.

"I don't think so," she said.

“You caused a lot of trouble with that little fling of yours. You think I don’t know what’s been going on? Nick does too, by the way. You’re lucky it didn’t blow up even more than it did.” Janet’s voice was a sharp blade, slicing through the already thin thread of my patience.

I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles turned white. “That’s enough, Janet,” I growled, my voice dangerously low.

Images of Ally flooded my mind—the night at the Masquerade, her laughter mingling with the music, the way her eyes lit up when she looked at me. Then everything spiraled—Nick finding out, the mess that followed. I didn’t owe Janet any explanations, especially not about Ally. But damn it, she knew exactly how to twist the knife.

“Don’t act like you’re innocent in all this,” she continued, ignoring my warning. “You think you can just walk away from your responsibilities and leave everyone else to pick up the pieces?”

I took a step closer to her, narrowing the distance between us. “This conversation is over,” I repeated, barely containing my anger.

She laughed bitterly. “Over? It’s never over with you, Thomas. You think you can just shut me out and everything will magically fix itself? Newsflash: it won’t.”

Her words echoed in the room, each one landing like a punch to the gut. She wasn’t wrong—nothing had been fixed since that night with Ally. If anything, things had only gotten more complicated.

But I couldn’t let Janet see how much her words affected me. She thrived on that power, on knowing she could still get under my skin after all these years.

“Get out,” I said firmly, my voice cold and final.

She smirked, taking a step back but not breaking eye contact. “Fine,” she said coolly. “But don’t think for a second this is over.”

As Janet headed for the door, she couldn't resist one last jab. "You should be careful about the type of girls you get involved with, Thomas. Ally’s not exactly a step up from the mess you’ve already made."

The words landed like a slap, and my fists clenched at my sides. The rage surged through me, and it took every ounce of self-control not to lash out. Defending Ally felt like the right thing to do, but I knew it would only fuel Janet's fire. She thrived on getting a rise out of me, and tonight wasn’t the night to give her that satisfaction.

Anymore than she already fucking had.

I swallowed hard, my jaw tight. “Get out,” I repeated, my voice low and menacing.

Janet smirked, clearly pleased with herself. “Touchy subject?” she asked mockingly. She lingered at the doorway, savoring her victory. "Nick is the man he is because of me. Not you."

"And you've babied him his whole life, that he has no goddamn backbone," I snapped.

"Oh, I think he has one," Janet quipped, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Or else you wouldn't have ended up in a jail cell with a black eye, would you?"

My jaw tightened, anger flaring up inside me. "Get the fuck out, Janet."

She smirked, waving her fingers in a mock farewell. The door shut behind her with a resounding thud.

I stood there, fists still clenched, every muscle in my body taut with rage. The silence in the room was deafening, broken only by the sound of my own heavy breathing.

I ran my hands through my hair, trying to calm the storm inside me. I couldn’t believe I’d let her get under my skin like that. But that was Janet’s specialty—knowing exactly how to push my buttons, especially before something important.

And she had succeeded.

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