Page 38 of His Good Girl
“I’m an adult,” I hiss. “This is ridiculous.”
“That you may be, but you are too innocent to be involved in any way with Logan Carter. He will corrupt you. Destroy you, and I will not allow that to happen while there is breath left in my body.”
“What? What the hell is this?” I look frantically around, but there is no escaping this car. Not yet. We are headed towards my apartment, still moving through the busy street. I could open the door and jump out but risk breaking my limbs in the process. It seems counter-productive, but my mind is reeling, and irrational thoughts are leaping out at me from all over the place.
“This is me looking out for you and fixing the error that I made. You will not be returning to work at Carter & Jeffers on Monday. Your replacement has already been notified and will be there in your stead. Security knows not to let you in the building. If you try to contact Logan Carter in any form, I will know about it, and I will not take the rebellion against my order lightly. I will be having the same conversation with him, so don’t think you can get around this by having him call you or stop by.”
“What?” Flustered, I’m floundering in a sea of utter confusion. “I don’t understand any of this.”
“And that is why I am keeping you safe. We are at your apartment now, Rena. Go upstairs and forget about Logan Carter. You will return to your temporary job until I can find suitable employment for you.”
“This is outrageous!” I spit out, not moving an inch, even though the car has stopped outside my building. “You can’t treat me like a child. I won’t do as you demand!”
“Oh, but you will, Rena. There are things in the world that are terrifying, and Logan is one of them. His influence over you will see you destroyed, and I won’t allow it.”
“You. You, you, you! You don’t get to say any of this!” The adrenaline is coursing through me. I feel sick.
“He doesn’t want you, Rena. He wants to conquer you. He has no feelings for you one way or the other. He has a complete disregard for you and everyone around him. Do you understand me?”
We lock gazes.
My bottom lip quivers as his words sink in.
Deep down, I know he’s right. I’m not even on the same planet as Logan. He is so out of my league; it’s absurd that I thought I even had a chance with him.
“I hate you,” I spit out, turning and shoving the car door open.
“You’ll understand one day, Serena.”
“Fuck you!” Slamming the door, I stand on the pavement, watching the car drift off, taking my sanity with it.
With my crushed heart, I slump my shoulders and slope into my apartment, dropping my bag and coat on the floor before kicking my shoes off.
In a daze, my mind almost shutting down, I stumble to the bathroom and strip off all my clothes, throwing them into the hamper.
Quentin has no business being in mine the way he was tonight. But his words are sticking with me, and they hurt.
It makes what Logan did to me worse. Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I pull my hair out of the braid, letting it tumble around my shoulders and down my back as I walk into the kitchen, only vaguely aware of my actions.
He touched me, knowing that he was playing with me. He fucked me, knowing he was never going to do it again. I gave it up to him so easily, and now he can’t stand the sight of me. It’s why he didn’t come back to the office all day. I’m better off not going back there. I wanted to quit. I should’ve left on my own terms.
Opening the fridge, the pain in my heart is too much to bear. Stupidity doesn’t cover my actions. Falling for him was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made, and now I’m paying for it. Snatching up the nearly full bottle of wine I opened yesterday, I remove the cork and press the bottle to my lips. Gulping back a mouthful of wine, the fumes burning my nostrils, as I swallow half the bottle, I tilt it to drink more, draining it quickly. This will get me drunk fast on an empty stomach, and that’s what I need. I need to forget. Dropping it in the sink, I lean down to grab another from the wine rack, fumbling with the corkscrew as I open it.
Placing it to my lips, I drink again, gulping back half the bottle before I stop, feeling sick. My head is already swimming as I stumble backward. Pulling open the kitchen drawer, I grab the sharpest knife I can find before staggering to my bag. Rooting around, I find my phone and call Rue.
“Serena, what’s up?”
Moving over to the bathroom, I don’t answer right away. I’m not sure what to say.
“Serena? You there?”
“Yeah,” I croak, my voice sounding drunk to my own ears.
“What’s wrong?” she asks instantly.
“Everything,” I slur, slumping down on the bathroom floor and leaning against the bath. “Everything.”
“Talk to me, boo. What’s going on?”
