Page 112 of Stealing for Keeps
I can feel my eye swelling, and it’s tender to the touch.
“I can’t believe you punched me,” I say. I’m going to have a hell of a black eye tomorrow.
“I can’t believe you’ve been hooking up with Claire behind my back,” he throws back. “You know how I feel about her. I trusted you. I welcomed you onto the team and helped you. I thought you were my friend.”
“I am your friend,” I bark back in a hushed voice. “You don’t own Claire or my feelings. I tried not to fall for her,but I did. I’m sorry. I should have told you, but it just happened.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet.” He makes a deep, throaty sound of disbelief. Another quiet moment passes with our anger hanging between us before he asks, “How long?”
The question catches me off guard.
“How long have you been hooking up with her?” he repeats.
“Awhile,” I admit. “But—”
“No, forget it.” His icy, blue eyes cut through me. “I don’t have anything else to say to you. We’re done.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Claire
When I wake up, I lie there for a moment, wondering if I’m going to be sick again. My stomach hurts but not in the same way it did last night. My head feels fuzzy, and my skin is gritty from sweat. I’m clutching my favorite childhood stuffed animal to my chest. It smells like dust and the perfume I was obsessed with when I was twelve.
I roll away from the light streaming in from the window. Austin is sleeping in the bed next to me. He’s on top of the covers, about as far away from me on the mattress as he can get, but he has one arm stretched out toward me. I smile at his messy dark hair and his rumpled shirt.
My bedroom door opens, and I freeze, then relax when Vaughn steps quietly into my room. He’s holding a glass of water and saltine crackers.
Sitting up, I feel the aches and pains of last night return. My body feels like I got beaten up.
“Hey,” I say, voice rough and throat sore.
Vaughn closes the door behind him and walks over to my side of the bed.
“Is anyone else up?” I ask as he hands over the water and then sets the crackers down on the bed in front of me.
“Your mom is showing a house,” he says. “She left a note on the counter. Ruby is watching TV.”
“I bet she was happy to see you,” I say.
“I was happy to see her too. I told her she was a shit for getting you sick.” He smiles happily, but it falls off quickly, and he glances over to where Austin is sleeping. “He stayed up all night watching you like a worried mother hen.”
“Sounds like you did too.”
“I pretended to sleep mostly.”
I guess that means they didn’t work things out. Though I’m not really surprised.
“Why did you stay then?”
“Come on, Claire. You know why.”
But the thing is I don’t.
“It was supposed to be me and you against the world forever.”
I open my mouth to remind him that he’s the one who broke up with me, but he beats me to it.
“I know. I fucked up, but I never stopped loving you. I just didn’t know how to be everything for you and the team, my dad, myself. I thought…” The blue of his eyes is so intense. Just like him. “You were so mad at me, and I get it. I should have been there for you when you got hurt. I just didn’t know how to be. I felt like an ass being able to go do the things I love when you couldn’t. The thought of calling you while I was gone at camp having the time of my life felt like I was kicking you when you were down. So I didn’t. And I’m sorry.” He blows out a breath. “I thought that we’d find a way back to each other when things were easier. And now I don’t know… Maybe it doesn’t get easier.”
