Page 70 of Last Chance Seduction
I hadn’t truly cried in far too long.I hadn’t cried at the saying goodbye to Emily until later.I hadn’t cried at the wedding.Because I had been so busy trying to make sure everyone was okay, that I hadn’t broken into tiny pieces.I hadn’t let the tears come.But I couldn’t stop them now.
So I let Brooklyn hold me, and then as the tears wracked my body, not just for what I had nearly lost a few moments ago, but for everything in the past few years, I let my friend hold me.
Later, Brooklyn drew me a bath, gave me a pint of ice cream and a spoon, and kissed my cheeks.She didn’t say a word, and I knew that was probably for the best.
Brooklyn should be with her boyfriend right then.With her family.With her friends.But instead she was helping sad little Mercy who had probably overreacted and broken everything, and yet, he had just left.Walked away without a fight.
Maybe I wasn’t worth fighting for.
Self-pity was new for me, and I didn’t like it, but the tears I had been holding back since Emily had first coughed up blood, broke through.
And I laid there in the tub, scraping at my cookies and cream ice cream, and knew I had broken a promise to myself.
I had lost the second family I had ever had.But it wasn’t just because of a single lie.
No, because we could have come clean or changed everything in a heartbeat.
I had broken everything because I was scared.And if I had just let myself tell him that I was falling for him, maybe he would’ve fought.
Or maybe it would’ve hurt more in the end.Only with the way that my chest ached right now, I didn’t know if it was possible.
The thing was, he had left.He didn’t fight.So maybe, maybe it was all for nothing.
And maybe I had lost them all and had broken myself anyway.
Brooklyn came into the bathroom later and sat by the tub.She held up her phone, and showed me the countdown to midnight.I just stared at her, wondering what right I had for this woman to be so kind even though I didn’t know if I was worth this type of friendship, this type of caring.
The clock struck midnight, and I might not be alone in this room, but yet, I had never felt more lonely in my life.
And it was all my fault.
ChapterFifteen
Lexington
Give her space.
Give her space.
Those were the three words that Brooklyn had whispered to me when I had gone over to Mercy’s place right after the ball had dropped.Because I was such a fucking idiot, that I had waited too long.
And that meant I couldn’t see Mercy.She didn’t want to see me.Because Brooklyn had opened the door, shook her head, and said to give Mercy space.So I hadn’t walked back over there.And she wasn’t answering my calls.
Fuck.
I paced my office, trying to pretend I could focus on work, but nothing was coming to me.Not only had we lost out on the estate with the Arnaults, but I had also been avoiding my family and their most likely obvious displeasure about the fact that I had lost such a potentially huge contract for us.
All because I hadn’t been able to stand up for myself.Or keep my personal business out of what the hell was going on at work.
Or even stand up for Mercy.
I ran my hands over my face and looked down at my work board.My desk, usually pristine and organized, was a mess.Crumpled up pieces of paper, charcoal pens, everything was sprawled about, and not just in my workspace.
My gaze landed on the leather binder that Mercy had given me for Christmas, and I let out a breath.I needed to fix this.
Only I didn’t know how.
I had always been the one who watched as others walked away from me.
