“We’re going to swing by Olivia’s place and pick something up to drop off to her ex.” Seth tells Jackson like it’s no big deal.
“We’re going? You sure that’s a good idea?”
“No.” I state firmly.
“Yes,” Seth answers over me. “I think it’s a very good idea. Her ex is a douchebag.”
Jackson leans back in the seat and his obvious disapproval hangs in the hair, making me uncomfortable. “All the more reason not to go.” He replies.
“You’re more than welcome to walk home.” Seth says, pulling out onto the road.
“Seth—”
“No,” Jackson interjects. “I’ll tag along, just don’t do anything stupid.”
I glance sideways at Seth. His face is neutral, void of any specific emotion. He wouldn’t do anything stupid, would he? The last thing I want is to get Blade hurt or Seth in trouble. The closer we got to my house, the more nervous I became. I have no idea what I’m going to say to Blade or if he’ll even be home. I pull my phone from my pocket.
“I should probably call him.”
I dial his number and put it to my ear. He answers immediately. “Babe?”
Seth glances at me slightly and his brows furrow. I think he heard it. Momentarily, I’m unsure what to do? Should I correct him or just ignore it.
“Olly?”
Screw it. I’ll correct him next time. “Blade, hey.”
He seems upbeat and excited—like he’s expecting good news from me. “How are you?”
It’s dead quiet in the car and it’s unnerving. “Good, thanks. Are you going to be home today? I need to—”
“Yeah, I’ll be home all day. When are you thinking of coming?”
“I should be there in half an hour.” I look at Seth and he nods.
“Great! I’ve really missed you, Olly.”
I almost cringe. “Yeah, I’ll see you then.”
I hang up and put my phone away. My fingers nervously find each other, tangling in a edgy fidget.
When we pull up outside my home, I grab my travel bag off the floor and jump from the car. Seth and Jackson wait while I run upstairs to grab the little red box. I don’t bother changing my clothes. I’m too comfortable in my jeans and t-shirt. I step into my bedroom and immediately find the red box on my bedside table. My travel bag lands with a small thud on the carpet beside me and I step over it. I grab the box and feel the nice velvet material on my fingertips before I push it into the palm of my hand. For some reason, my hands are shaking and I feel a little anxious. I’m ninety-nine percent sure I know what’s inside... but I don’t know what kind of emotions are going to be opened along with the box. It creaks as my index finger pushes it open a little. I take two deep breaths—in and out, in and out—and open it the rest of the way. I inhale sharply, totally floored by the pretty, gold ring nestled in the white, silk fabric. It’s truly beautiful and something I definitely would have appreciated when we were together. But now, I don’t want it. It represents all of my mistakes and everything I’m trying to learn and grow from. I close the lid and stuff it into the pocket of my jeans, making it bulge ridiculously. I don’t want to spend too much time up here so I run back out the front door, making sure I lock it behind me. I give Seth Blade’s address when I get back into the car, but other than that no one said anything to me, thank God.
***
When we pull into Blade’s driveway the butterflies in my stomach have magnified tenfold and I almost cry. The thought of seeing Blade’s face when I return this ring is going to suck—especially knowing that he probably spent a lot of money on it.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Seth asks, stroking my wrist with his thumb.
A small laugh falls from my lips. “No, I don’t think that will go down too well.”
“We’re here if you need us.” Jackson says, sticking his head between our seats again. And I smile at him.
“Thanks.”
I pull the little box from my pocket and open the door. Blade’s place is much like mine. It’s an apartment complex with the front stairs leading straight to his door. I slide out of the car and shut the door behind me. Blade appears at the top of the stairs and there’s no sign of happiness on his face. I knew I should’ve come alone. He stuffs his hands into the front pocket of his jeans.
“Please tell me he’s only dropping you off.”
I shake my head as I approach the steps. “This won’t take long.”
His blue eyes glower past me and into Seth’s car. Dread rolls through my stomach when I hear two car doors open and close. I turn to them and watch as they lean against the car just waiting for Blade to do something. Jackson is shaking his head slightly—almost like he’s saying ‘I told you so’. Seth face is intimidating, even to me. His thick arms are crossed over his chest and his eyes are dark and daring. I try to give him my best ‘relax’ face and I’m sure he knows what I mean. I turn back to Blade who’s still watching the boys with such disgust and hate.
“Forget they’re even here.” I say, climbing up the stairs.
He drags his eyes to my face and smiles at me, flashing his dimples. “Easy done. Do you want to come in?”
“No.”
He almost flinches. “Why not?”
“Because I don’t want to stay long...” I hold out the little red case. “I can’t accept this.”
He doesn’t take it. “I bought it for you.”
“I know, but we aren’t together. It’s wrong for me to take it.”
“Then consider it an ‘I want you back’ gift.”
Oh boy. This is not going to be easy. “It’s beautiful—it really is—but I don’t want it.”
“Olly, baby—”
“And you need to stop calling me baby. It’s inappropriate.”
He raises his voice, becoming increasingly angry and commanding. “Like fuck it is. You were my girlfriend for six years. I’ve earned the right to call you that.”
I scoff. “You haven’t earned a damn thing. You were my boyfriend for six years. I was your girlfriend for two. That’s when you started cheating on me.”
“I don’t think it was—”
“Two years, Blade.”
He stares at me, waiting for me to say or do something. Blade’s gaze drags over my head to Seth and then back to me.
“And you think he cares about you?”
I almost laugh. Seth does care about me. I’ve spent enough time with him to know that he does. “Yes,”
“Trust me,” his hand rests on my shoulder. “I’ve seen him with the girls at Heaven’s. He doesn’t respect women, Olly.”
Ha! Pot. Kettle. Black. I shrug him off. “You don’t know a damn thing about him. I get how he comes across, but he’s different with me.”
Blade works his bottom lip between his teeth, an annoying habit that I’ve had to put up with the last six years. To avoid seeing it, I’d try to avoid arguing with him.
“Have you fucked him?” He blurts out startling me from past annoyances.
My voice comes out a lot quieter than I intend. “That’s none of your business.”
Blade pushes past me, almost knocking me down a step. Panic sears in me, this is exactly what I wanted to avoid. My legs shake and threaten to give way as I jump from the steps and chase after Blade. This is too much drama for me to handle. A slight smile pulls at Seth’s lips and his large frame pushes off the car as Blade comes in close.
“Have you fucked her?” Blade demands, stopping just short of Seth.
There’s a devious gleam to Seth’s eyes and I realize I’ve seen it before. He has the same look as he did that day at my work.
“I’ve done more than that.” Seth smirks.
Jackson pushes his way between the two boys and his hands fly to Blade’s chest, causing his yellow polo shirt to bunch up. He inches him back a bit.
“Don’t do anything stupid, guy.” Jackson warns in a low voice.
Blade shrugs him off and shoves him backwards. “You’ve probably fucked her too.”
I cringe. Hearing him talk about me with such a disgusted tone makes my chest constrict. I look at Seth, he glowers at Blade now, his eyes glinting with a dark and lethal gleam. I swallowed harshly, feeling my hands begin to shake with panic.
“Nah, man.” Jackson assures him, casually. “She’s his.”
“His?” He almost spits the word and he snaps his ice blue eyes to me. “His?”
I swallow hard. “Yes.”
I thought I’d be happy rubbing Seth in Blade’s face, but sadly… it makes me feel like shit.
“But I saw you all over the internet. You looked so uncomfortable and you were wearing the dress I bought for you. I thought—”
“That doesn’t mean anything... Selena made me take the dress.”
I extend the little red box to him again. His gaze drops to it and then back to my face. In my six years of dating Blade, I’ve never seen him so hurt... and it’s too much for me. I need to leave.
“Take it.” Seth says, leaning back against the car. “She doesn’t want it.”
Blade’s long, thin fingers reach out and curl around the box. His cool fingertips linger on mine for a little while longer and I drop my sight to the concrete before pulling my hand away. Blade moves to the side and without looking at him I step toward the car. When I’m right beside Seth, his voice breaks the uncomfortable silence.
“You know what I did after the fight?” Seth says to Blade with a sardonic grin.
Oh shit. My eyes widen and blood drains from my face. “Seth—”
“I ruined the dress.”
He did not just say that. I look at Blade, his face is unreadable, but he embodies anger just by the way his body becomes tensed. I open my mouth to speak—to tell him that Seth is lying, that he didn’t ruin the dress and he’s just trying to get a rise out of him, but Blade’s angry growl forces me to clamp my mouth shut. “You motherfucker!”
Before Blade has the chance to approach Seth, Jackson is pushing on him, trying to drive him away. Seth steps forward and I throw myself at him. Underneath my hands his muscles are tense and ready to go.
“Relax,” Jackson shouts while Blade thrashes against him.
Jackson can easily control Blade. He’s not bigger than Seth, but he is a hell of a lot bigger than Blade. Innocent bystanders walk by quickly, unable to peel their eyes from our predicament. We have to get out of here. Someone is bound to call the cops any second now. I don’t know much about Seth’s tournament, but I do know a fight of any kind won’t sit well with them.
“Let’s go,” I hiss at Seth, pulling on his arm. He takes no notice of me and so I elbow him in the ribs. Still nothing. I elbow him again—harder this time and he grunts, finally giving me attention. “I said let’s go.”
“C’mon, Jackson.” Seth calls offhandedly, walking around to his side of the car.
I waste no time in opening the door and climbing into the car. I need to get out of here. I can’t stomach seeing Blade’s disgusted/depressed expression for a second longer. Jackson straightens his black tee and heads back toward the car. I drop my attention down to my legs not daring to make eye contact with Blade.
“Sorry,” Seth apologizes. I look at him and he gives me a guilty, almost sad smile. “I shouldn’t have provoked him.”
“Save it. You're not sorry at all.”
Like I expected, a cocky smile tugged at his lips and I scowl at him. The back door slams and Jackson sticks his head between our seats for the third time.
“Can you believe the balls on that guy? Jesus. He was gonna to try and take the both of us.”
I scoff. “He wouldn’t have done anything.”
Seth quirks an eyebrow at me. Did I say something weird?
“You’re defending him?” Jackson sneers, leaning back against the seat. “Unbelievable.”
“Shit,” Seth grunts. “Maybe he does have a magic dick.”
Jackson snickers, but I don’t find it funny at all. Not in the slightest.
“He doesn’t have a magic dick.” I spit. “You two are just being immature. Poor guy. I was trying to return his gift and make it as easy for him as I could.”
“Did he make it easy for you when he cheated on you God knows how many times?” Seth’s voice is hard.
“No, but I—”
“But nothing. You don’t owe him anything.” He runs his hand over his face, exhaling heavily. “If I wasn't in this God damn tournament I’d drop him just for using that aggressive tone with you. He’s a piece of shit. You deserve better than that.”
Something in me triggers, sending my anger meter sky-rocketing. “You mean I deserve someone like you? Someone who I know nothing about and has no quarrels with fucking me, but a huge issue with relationships? Yep, I got everything I deserve right there.”
After a few seconds and a few long, deep breaths I realize I might have been a little harsh. I rub my forehead, regretting everything I said. I feel sorry for Jackson. Serious talks are something that should be kept private, not shared. He must be so uncomfortable right now.
My hands and legs shake nervously all the way home. Not once do I look in Seth’s direction even when I feel his gaze on my face. When we pull up outside my house, I say a quick goodbye and slide out of the car. I’m barely at my steps when I hear another car door close. Of course he’d follow me when I’m not in the mood for his attitude. I stop walking and turn around.
