Page 64 of Unbearable
I hand her keys back to her. “You really do need to find someone else to work on your car. It’s for the best.” We’re standing close, about a foot apart and I can smell that body spray. Instantly I’m reminded of our breakup and why she left. I’m also reminded of the fact she cheated on me.
Berkley licks her lips and my gaze follows. I don’t know why, but it does. Sensing her opportunity, she places her hand on my chest. “How much do I owe you?”
It’s not that I want to doanythingfor free for her, mostly because I still owe so much on that fucking credit card and she should be paying that motherfucker off. But if I do this, maybe she’ll leave and stay out of my life. Maybe. So I try it out and tell her, “It’s on me.”
“I’ll pay you,” she breathes out, suggestively. I know exactly what kind of paying she has in mind. Before I can step back, she leans in and kisses me.
I react immediately.
“Leave,” I tell her, twisting my head away so she can’t do it again. My stomach lurches at the thought of her lips on mine. Mostly because I’m immediately reminded of the fact that she’s not Raven.
She doesn’t lower her hands so I take them from my chest, gathering them in one of mine and letting them fall at her side.
She smiles. She thinks that’ll work.
Raising my hand to her hair, I take a fistful of her hair.
“I like that,” she breaths, slouching toward me. “You know how rough I like it.”
I pull tighter to the point she winces. “I said leave. This isn’t happening between us.”
“Why?”
“You know why.”
Her brow knits as she searches my face for the answer. She’s playing dumb but deep down, she has to fucking knowwhereshe went wrong. She knows.
Swallowing hard, I step away, creating distance, my back hitting the edge of my toolbox. Maybe then she’ll see it as my shoulders sag on a sigh and I nod my chin in the direction of the door. “I don’t want you here.”
I don’t care that my words will hurt her. I want her to feel the pain I had when I realized I wasn’t the father of the baby we lost. I want that devastating reality crashing on her.
“It’s really over between us, isn’t it?”
Closing my eyes, I pinch the bridge of my nose as I talk. “It is.”
“Seriously?”
I don’t understand why she doesn’t get it. “Yes. Go home.”
She chews on her bottom lip, playing with her keys in her hand as she steps back. “If I leave, that’s it. I’m not coming back again.”
Our gaze meets. I’m hoping she finally sees it was over for me a long time ago. I made the mistake of sleeping with her a couple weeks after we broke up and I think she thought I’d always be there if she needed some. I’m notthat guy, which is why it only happened once. Hypercritical of me considering my relationship with Raven? Yeah. Probably.
“That’s exactly what I want,” I tell her.
There’s hurt in her expression, a deep hurt because she knows it’s finally over. It’s been over for a while but she’s finally fucking getting it for once. “I can’t believe you’re ending us like this.”
“No.” I shake my head adamantly. “Youended us.Youdid that. I’m just sticking to the new plan.”
“With everything we’ve been through, I can’t believe you’re going to walk away from our history.”
I lose all dignity and control I have. “You fuckingcheatedon me, Berkley! You told me you were pregnant with my baby.”
That same shocked expression she wore in the bar that night I hinted at this marks her face. “It was your baby.”
“See, that’s how I know you’re lying.” I wait for her eyes to meet mine. When they do, I can’t help the sarcastic smile. “Ican’thave kids.”
“What?”
Resentment punches my chest. “I. Can’t. Have. Kids. The medication I’m on made me sterile when I was a kid. Don’t blame me for ending us. You did that.”
For a moment, she’s speechless. It’s a goddamn miracle.
“Nothing to say now? I guess being called out on what a lying bitch you are is the only thing that can make you fucking speechless. I’ll have to remember that one.” Her breath hitches and for a moment, I think I might need to stop, but no, that’s not fair to me. Never once has she considered me in any of this. She’s always made the decision and I let her, not anymore. “Maybe I’ll pass it along to Rawley?”
I’ve never seen such agony on her face as I do right then. I hurt her bad with that one. She blinks three times, my words hitting her heart. “Fuck you, Tyler.”
She walks away from me, leaving me standing alone in the shop like I wanted.
