Page 6 of Ashes of Us
"I don't want to listen." My hands were shaking again, so I pressed them against my thighs. "I don't want to hear about how it was a mistake or how you're sorry or how it didn't mean anything. I want you to pack your things and leave."
"It didn't mean anything," he said anyway. "I swear to God, Piper, she doesn’t… you're the one I love. You're the one I want to marry."
"You don't get to say that to me." My voice cracked. "You don't get to stand here and tell me you love me when you've been fucking someone else for months."
"I wasn’t… we… we didn't?—"
"Don't." I held up a hand. "Don't you dare try to tell me what I saw."
"Okay." He ran his hands through his dark blond hair, the same gesture he always made when he was stressed. "Okay. You're right. I'm not going to lie to you anymore. But Piper, please, I made a mistake. A huge, terrible mistake, but we can fix this. We can go to counseling, we can?—"
"Get. Out."
"This is my home too." His voice shifted. Harder now. "I'm on the lease, Piper. You can't just kick me out."
I stared at him.
He was pulling the lease card. Actually standing here, reeking of guilt and another woman's perfume, and pulling the lease card.
"You want to stay here?" I asked.
"I want us to work this out."
"You want to stay in this apartment?”
"That's not what I?—"
"Fine," I said.
"Fine what?"
I turned and walked toward the bedroom. "Keep it."
"Piper, what are you?—"
I grabbed my duffel bag from the closet and started throwing things into it. Underwear. Bras. T-shirts. My hands were shaking so badly I kept dropping things.
"What are you doing?" Liam appeared in the doorway. "Piper, stop."
I shoved past him to the dresser. Grabbed jeans, leggings, a sweater. I didn't even bother folding any of it, just stuffed it all into the bag.
"You can't just leave," he said. "We need to talk about this."
"Move."
"No." He planted himself in front of the closet. "Not until you calm down and listen to me."
"Calm down?" I looked at him, the man I'd been planning to spend my life with. "You want me to calm down."
"This isn’t… God, Piper, you're not thinking clearly.”
"I'm thinking very clearly." I zipped the duffel bag. "You cheated on me. While I planned our wedding. While I baked you cakes and folded your laundry and told my second-graders about how I was getting married to the best man in the world."
His face crumpled. "Piper?—"
"You want the apartment?" I slung the bag over my shoulder. "It's yours. Enjoy it."
"Where are you going?"
