Page 57 of Scorned
Drag and his crew had picked me and Erik up on the side of the highway and drove us to the van we’d left when we met Naomi. We stashed our masks and cloaks in the tote like she’d requested, and after filling Drag in on some of the things we’d found, we followed them home.
On our way back, Jimmy called and alerted me that Lyric and Sage knew where we’d gone, and Lyric had very politely kicked him out of our cabin. He explained he didn’t snitch directly to them, but since he and Nellie were now a couple, he’d figured it would be okay to tell her about the mission, and she was the one who told them.
Seriously, I didn’t even tell my girlfriend, so I had no idea why he’d thought it would be okay to tell his.
Despite my frustration with Jimmy, my primary concern was Nellie and I questioned why she’d shared information with Sage and Lyric.
Is she a teenage girl stuck in a woman’s body? Or she is purposely starting shit?
Either answer to my thoughts pissed me off, but I had no room for my anger when I needed to be focused on my groveling.
When I stepped through our cabin door, Lyric sat on the edge of the couch and said nothing as she glanced up at me, her face unreadable.
I did notice her constant joyful smile had disappeared because of my foolishness. I had murdered her happiness, smothering it with lies and severe commitment issues.
Fuck.
“I’m sorry, mama. I didn’t have a choice. We needed info and I was the only one able to get it.”
She dropped her head down, looking at her hands that were nestled between her thighs. “Winston, I . . .”
“It’s okay. You can yell at me. Tell me I’m an asshole and I messed up.”
Tears had welled in her eyes when they met mine again. “Actually, I was going to say that maybe you’re right. I’m not sure that us being together is what’s best for me, either.” She stood, grabbed a duffle bag off the floor, and slung it over her shoulder. “I’m staying with Stephanie for a while.”
She walked past, and I placed my hand on her shoulder trying to halt her so we could talk. “Hold up.”
Her sudden wrenching away shocked me, as it was something she had never done before. “Don’t.”
“What happened to happy for now, Lyric? That doesn’t exist anymore?”
Her heart raced as she looked over her shoulder at me. “You damaged our happiness when you lied to me.”
And without another word, she left the cabin. I stared at the door, wondering if I should go after her and maybe show her some kind of grand gesture.
Could I be a gallant knight with a sword, riding in on a white horse when I feel more like an antihero?
Should I pour my heart out to a woman I haven’t fallen in love with yet?
My feet wouldn’t move, locked onto the wood planks of the floor, and maybe, just maybe, this was for the best.
The last time a girl broke my heart I was still human. I hadn’t really let anyone else get close since then, and for good reasons. Between my heartbreak, Peach’s, Vivi’s, and Sage’s, I had seen too much—felt too much.
Obviously, it always ended in disappointment.
The woman that broke my heart had cheated and repeatedly lied to me.
I despised liars.
Had I done the same to Lyric? I would never cheat, but had I accidentally broken her heart by lying?
I suppose I did.
But my intentions were to protect her. I didn’t want her worrying about us for hours, or worse, trying to stop us from completing the mission because that wouldn’t have happened.
Am I laying down a double standard?
I plopped down at the computer desk and propped my feet up on it.
