Page 84 of The Love of My Next Life
My eyes go wide and my jaw drops. Lennon looks from Sam to me.
“Both of you stay the hell away from me.”
Lennon turns and stalks toward the road, so I let go of Sam and run after her.
“Lennon, stop,” I shout, grabbing her arm. Lennon turns on me and swings, but I jump back, and she misses. “Jesus Christ, Lennon, let me explain.”
“No,” she spits. “Fuck you, Macon.”
“It’s not at all what you think,” I plead. “You didn’t see what you think you saw.”
“Don’t you gaslight me, asshole.” Her voice is shaking with anger. I have never seen Lennon this mad. “I saw herplasteredto you. I saw her face in your chest and her hands in your hands and your fucking lips in her hair,” she says. “Don’t tell me I don’t know what I saw!”
“Nothing fucking happened!” I yell, aware we’re drawing a crowd.
“She was all over you!”
“I was handling it.”
She laughs again. That hollow, sardonic laugh that I’ve come to hate. Then her face crumples, and she covers it with her hands. I walk closer. She’s crying, and I hate that more than the laugh. I’d rather have her pissed at me forever than hurt and crying.
“Lennon,” I whisper, reaching for her, but she steps away. She takes her hands off her face and my chest cracks open at the sight. Her hazel eyes are red-rimmed and swollen, her face covered in tears. She’s still beautiful, but she’s broken, and it’s my fault.
“I just punched Samantha Harper because of you,” she whispers through her tears. “I broke her nose.” She squeezes her eyes shut and swipes at the tears on her face. “I hate the person you’re making me. I hate who I am when I’m with you, but I hate how I feel when we’re apart.”
Fuck. I step toward her again, needing to touch her, but she backs away from me and shakes her head, holding her palms up at me. I halt my steps.
“When you’re with me, you’re exactly who you’re supposed to be,” I say. I mean every fucking word. “We areexactlywho we’re supposed to be when we’re together.”
“You’ve made me a liar,” she forces out on a sob, then her face transforms into an angry scowl. “I’m lying toeveryonebecause of you!”
Her disgusted tone, her accusation, makes my shoulders stiffen. I grit my teeth.
“All you ever do is lie,” I say through my teeth. “You’re aliar, Lennon. You’vealwaysbeen a liar.” She opens her mouth to argue, but I cut her off. “At least now you’re lying for yourself instead of everyone else.”
She closes her eyes against the steady stream of tears, and we stand in silence for a few breaths. I wait. Like I always have, I wait for her words. I’m always waiting on Lennon.
When she finally speaks, I want to burn everything to the fucking ground.
“This is done, Macon,” she says calmly. “You and me, whatever this was, is over. Leave me alone.”
I take another step forward, ready to tell her no way in hell are we over, but she puts her hands up again.
“Please,” she croaks. “Please.”
My feet turn to lead. My breath stops.
“Please,” she says again, and I give up.
I nod once, then feel my heart shatter as she turns and walks away.
EIGHTEEN
“This isthe lamest bachelor party I’ve ever been to,” I say to Trent after taking a sip of my soda.
He chuckles. “How many you been to?”
“Besides the point,” I say with a shrug. “I could go to a million after this and this will still be the lamest.”
