Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33555 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Why? Was she that bad of a person? That boring?
She sniffled.
Nate had pushed her dates away, and in doing so, she had thought it was because of her.
Her job was a fake.
Everything was a complete and total lie.
To add to everything, she now might be pregnant with Nate’s baby. Was that all a lie as well?
She pressed her palms to her eyes and tried not to cry, but the tears wanted to fall.
The knock at the door forced her to lift her head. Getting to her feet, she made her way to the main door and looked out to see Mitch standing there.
“I know you’re in there,” Mitch said.
“Go away then and leave me alone.”
“Not going to happen.”
“Why? Did Nate pay you to come and say those words?”
“Nope,” Mitch said. “I came to see you because that’s what friends do, also to explain stuff to you. You can keep me out and I can talk to you through the door and then everyone can know your business. I don’t care.”
Carly didn’t want everyone to know the humiliation she was going through. She growled and pulled open the door. “Stop. Just stop. You have nothing to say that I want to hear, and you should just leave.”
She should have known it was pointless even trying to talk to Mitch. He was a force to be reckoned with, and he pushed his way into the apartment.
“You know, I could call the cops.”
“And after all this time, turn into a snitch?” he asked.
She did flinch at that term. Carly was no snitch. She prided herself on always having her friends’ backs, no matter what. And Mitch knew it.
Instead, she slammed the door closed. “Say what you want and get out.”
Carly brushed past him and moved to sit on the couch. She didn’t want to go back to her bedroom, as that now felt way too private. There would have been a time she didn’t care. It was Mitch, and he was like a brother to her. Just like Dalton and Reese, but that was never happening again. She didn’t have anyone. It was a sobering thought.
“I get that you’re pissed,” Mitch said.
This did make her look at him, and she wanted to scoff but remained silent. There was no point in getting into a conversation with him. She just wanted him to leave.
“Okay, I was hoping for you to scream and shout at me … it would have made this a whole lot easier.”
“How?” Carly asked, and then hated herself for giving in. “How would it make this easier?”
“Because then at least you would be talking to me,” he said. “Look, I get it. All of this makes us look bad.” Mitch grabbed the back of his head, grimacing as he did so. “None of us needed to be paid, Carly. You need to know that. I was already coming to keep an eye on you, but you know Nate. He has to take care of us all. You know what it’s been like for all of us. We’re not going to turn down an opportunity to make money. None of us are.”
“Nate didn’t even need to do that. You don’t get it. He lied to me, about everything. The dates. This place. You guys. What hasn’t he lied to me about?”
“He hasn’t lied to you about us, and what does it matter if he stopped you from being near a couple of rancid snakes? None of them put up a fight, Carly.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Doesn’t it? Because as far as I’m concerned, it pretty much fucking does. None of them cared to fight him. To tell him to fuck off. They were only interested in a good time, but then the others didn’t want to deal with him. None of them did. They were all a bunch of fucking cowards and the last time I checked, Carly, we all agreed you don’t deserve a goddamn coward.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?” she asked. “Why didn’t any of you tell me?”
Mitch shrugged. “Because we all knew Nate was in love with you and he needed to be ready to tell you. We couldn’t do that to him or you. I know it doesn’t sound like a great excuse but I’m being honest about this … about all of this.”
Carly couldn’t be angry at him, she wanted to be but knew deep in her heart it would be pointless.
“How can someone be in love with you and do that?” she asked.
“It’s Nate. Think about it. All that guy has known is disappointment. He doesn’t trust easily, but the only person he cares about is you.”
“That’s not true,” she said.
Mitch chuckled. “Look, I know he cares about us in his own way, and I don’t give a shit about what order of care or love or whatever, but you’re different. You always have been. Nate is in love with you. He cannot stand the thought of anything bad happening to you, and like an asshole, he did what he had to do. Just because he asked all of us to stop by, or paid us, doesn’t mean we wouldn’t have done it anyway.” He held his hands up. “That’s all I’ve got to say. You can be angry, you can be upset, but hopefully you’ll see it was all coming from a place of love.”