Page 104 of Limbo

Pete sees me coming as he takes his shot, eyes wide. I slide onto the stool next to Jordan and empty the glass waiting for me. I slam it down and set my glare on Jordan. He returns the look, neither of us saying anything until Pete disappears behind the curtain to hide upstairs.

“So, I met Tyler and Lauren tonight.” Jordan reaches for a bag of ice Pete left on the bar and holds it over his soon-to-be black eye.

“A bar fight? Are you kidding me?”

“He swung first,” Jordan says, pouring himself a shot.

“Unprovoked?”

He shakes his head and grins, clearly finding humor in the situation.

“Damn it, Jordan.” I cover my face with my hands. “He broke up with her because my friends are too much drama.”

“Technically, he broke up with her because Johnny told him to.”

I groan into my palms, losing all patience for him. “Not any better.”

“Sorry, I don’t understand how this is a bad thing.”

My hands drop to the bar. “She dragged me out of my bed and out of the house in the middle of the night. Cate was screaming, Connor didn’t know what the hell he should do, and if Pete had finished cleaning up before I got here, I might still be driving around without socks on.”

“How was I supposed to know any of that would happen?” He tosses the bag of ice down, not the slightest bit sorry for setting off this chain of events.

The longer I look at him, the angrier I become.

I push my stool back and stand up. “I can’t deal with you right now.”

When I try to walk away, he jumps up and grabs my arm. “What do you want me to do, Callie? Apologize? Because I won’t.”

“What I want is for you not to get in a fucking bar fight with Tyler in the first place,” I yell.

His hold on me tightens, and he shouts back, “Ship’s already sailed on that one, beautiful. What else?”

“Don’t for one second think you get to be upset with me for being mad at you.” I rip my arm away, more pissed off with him than I’ve ever been. “How am I supposed to take care of Connor and Cate if she won’t let me in the house?”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” he asks, genuinely shocked like the possibility never entered his mind. “This guy tried to sexually assault you. If not for Johnny, he might have…” He never finishes, walking away and dragging his hands through his hair. He circles back and stops in front of me, expression hard. “He’s out of your life, and I couldn’t give a fuck about the rest.”

Frustrated, tired, and buzzed, I’m close to saying or doing something I’ll regret. Holding up my hands, I back away from him. I go behind the bar to the curtain. “I’m too angry for this,” I say, pushing my way through.

I leave him downstairs in the bar and head up to Pete’s apartment. Not knocking, I let myself in. Pete is on the couch and looks up from his phone. “Given the yelling, I take it he told you about Lauren?”

“He starts a fight with Tyler, gets me kicked out, and thinks I should be, what, grateful?” I rant and pace the large room that holds the bedroom, living room, and kitchen. “For what exactly? Not having anywhere to stay or for him making it a million times more difficult to keep an eye on Cate and Con? Can you believe him?”

“You want the truth?” He stands up and tucks his phone in his pocket. “Because it’s not the same as what you want to hear.”

I stop by the couch. “Are you saying you’re onhisside?”

He stares at me with an expression as stony as Jordan’s. “Your mom’s boyfriend almost raped you, Callista.”

I shake my head, unsurprised that Trey ran his mouth about what I’d told him about Tyler but irritated all the same. “Tyler never would have—”

“Don’t,” he says, cutting me off. “Trey didn’t believe your bullshit about it not going that far, and neither do I. He was going to rape you that night, and chances are, he would have finished the job at some point if not for that guy down there.”

Not wanting to admit how close he might be to the truth about Tyler, I cross my arms over my chest. “So, it’s okay for someone to just bulldoze into my life and fix one problem by creating a fuck-ton more?”

“Even if Jordan made a mess while doing it, he did what was best. If you can’t see that, then you really might be a fucking idiot.” He tugs at his hair and continues, “You asked whose side I’m on. I’m on yours. I always have been. Trey, Jordan, Connor—everyone’s on your fucking side but you apparently.”

“Well, since you and Jordan are on the same team, why don’t you go downstairs with him and leave me the hell alone?”

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