53
BILLY
As I tossand turn on the couch at the Stallion Station, I can’t stop replaying that argument in my head. Roxy knew all of the buttons to push, and I let her.
It’s as clear as day—I should’ve come home Saturday night and told her what happened with my father. That he invited Sam. That he was being an asshole. That he wanted me to break up with Roxy.
Because now, she’ll never believe me.
In the moment, it was easy to react, but since I’ve had some time to calm my ass down, I get why she jumped to those conclusions. One, I don’t exactly have a stellar past. Two, I suppose I have been distant lately. And three, Ezra spouted off a million lies while he fucked everything with two legs, all while having a very serious girlfriend at home.
So what did I do? I gave her every reason to doubt me.
Nice job, Babcock. Way to fuck things up.
I break out my phone. No messages. I’m not surprised. Roxy is a stubborn woman. Tenacious. It’s something I love about her. When she sets her eye on something, she goes after it with a vengeance.
But the flip side of that is I’m headed for an uphill battle if I want her to forgive me.
When I can’t stand it any longer, I text her.
You’re right. I haven’t been completely honest with you about something. But it’s not what you think. I’D NEVER CHEAT ON YOU. Call me when you get this.
I finally doze off around three in the morning, only to have my alarm go off at five thirty.
Sitting up, I groan. I miss my bed. I miss my woman, and I miss Starley Marley.
Cam walks down in his underwear. “Hey, man. Rough night?”
I rest my head in my hands. “You have no idea.”
“Problems at home?”
“Rox and I got in an argument.” His eyebrows lift, and I nod. “A big one.”
“You do something dumb?”
I blow out a breath. “Sorta, but then I wasn’t honest with her, and when she cornered me about it, I doubled down, and she rightfully flipped out.” Because if the roles were reversed, I’d probably be pissed too.
I’m on my way to class a few hours later when my phone finally buzzes with a message. I scramble to yank it out of my pocket.
When can you get your stuff? Coordinate it with my mom and give her your key.
Damn. I guess she doesn’t want to talk it through.
My chest gets tight when I think of everything I just lost.
What have I done?
54
ROXY
Looking into my rearview mirror,I dab more concealer under my puffy eyes. I miss Billy so much it hurts to breathe, but I’d have to be an idiot to ignore all of those red flags. I did that with Ezra and regret not listening to my gut more.
The fact that Billy couldn’t answer any of my questions is crushing. If I had known he was going to do this to me, I never would’ve dated him. It feels like I just got handed off from one heartbreaker to another.
If I’m going to be a good mom to Marley, I need to be smarter than that.
