I shook my head. "What?"
"Me," he repeated. "I'mthe dumb-ass, because I bought that act of yours."
"What act?"
Ignoring my question, he said, "But hey, it was a good one, right?"
I shook my head. "It was no act."
"And about the house," he continued. "Fuck yeah, I'm glad I bought it. The place was going to shit. Another year of neglect, and evenIwouldn't have been able to save it."
He pointed to the floor. "So maybe you should get down on your knees and thank me if the place means so much to you."
By now, I was literally sobbing. I hated myself for doing it, but I couldn’t seem make myself to stop, not even when I reminded myself that he wasn't worth it, not if he couldn't be honest after everything we'd shared.
But apparently, we were done talking.
Without another word, Brody squeezed past me and left the bedroom entirely, leaving his duffle bag where he'd dropped it.
And me? Like a total idiot, I called out after him, "Wait, you forgot your stuff!"
He kept on going, pausing only long enough to turn back and say. "Wrong. I've got everything I need. And baby, that's not you."
With that, he turned toward the front door. He'd barely left my sight when I heard the front door open and then slam quickly shut.
A moment later, I heard the sound of a vehicle – his truck, obviously – squealing out of the driveway.
And that's when I totally lost it.
It was over, truly over.
No second chances. No nothing.
I don't know how long I cried, but it was long enough to know that I was the worst hostess ever.
Instead of being upbeat for Cami, I spent most of the day – and then half of the night – crying on her shoulder.
This was the last night of our so-called vacation, and I wasn't sure who I hated more – Brody for everything he'd done or myself for crying over him when he wasn't worth it.
At noon the next day, the town car arrived right on schedule to drive Cami back to Petoskey.
For all kinds of reasons, I hated to see her go, especially in a car provided by Brody.
If only I'd taken some time to think, I might've planned another method of getting her back home. But with everything else going on, I hadn't.
Now I felt awkward and embarrassed about the whole arrangement – especially later that afternoon when Waverly returned with all of her suitcases, along with a new smugness that was hard to ignore.
She had news.
And, like everything else today, it wasn't good.
Chapter 62
Arden
When Waverly made her little announcement, I couldn’t help but stare. "You're kidding, right?"
She smiled. "Nope. Sorry." And yet, she didn't look sorry. She looked like she was loving every minute of this.
