Clean Break (A Little Like Destiny Book 3) Read online

  She laughs, too. “He’s not the most adept at technology.”

  “He didn’t understand the filters. I had to show him all the different ones and then I had to explain what happens when you post to My Story instead of just sending it to individuals.” I ignore the twinge of regret I feel that we’ll never recapture that moment.

  “He probably messed up and meant to send whatever it was just to his friends.”

  “Regardless, I can’t help but wonder who it was.”

  She squints at me as she thinks. “When did you say it was?”

  “It was the day I got back home from visiting my parents in Phoenix. He didn’t waste any time finding someone new.”

  “I doubt that, Reese. He was pretty broken up that day between you, Brian, Gramps, and Steve.”

  “Steve?”

  She shakes her head. “Never mind. What did she look like?”

  “Tell me,” I demand.

  She averts her eyes to the window. “There’s some stuff going on with the band. It’s personal and I can’t talk about it.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  She lifts a shoulder. “I don’t know.” Her voice is soft, but she’s got me on high alert. “Tell me what the girl in the snap looked like.”

  I blow out a breath, pissed she won’t tell me more and worried about Mark. “She had this long, straight, copper-colored hair and brown eyes. That’s all I remember. Oh, they were cheek to cheek and they both looked a little drunk.”

  Lizzie thinks for a few beats. She pulls out her phone, taps some buttons, and scrolls around. Then she turns her screen around and passes her phone to me. “Is that her?”

  One quick glance at the image makes me nauseous. It’s Lizzie and the same girl. I nod.

  She laughs. “That’s Penny. Mark’s publicist.”

  “Penny? As in the woman who releases all the pictures of Mark canoodling women?”

  She nods. “Yeah. And I promise, there’s nothing sexual between them.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Uh, yeah, I do.”

  I narrow my eyes at her. “How?”

  “She’s related.”

  “Oh.”

  She laughs. “She’s my dad’s cousin’s daughter. Does that make her a second cousin?” She furrows her brow then shakes her head like it doesn’t matter when she just blew my whole world apart. “I don’t know,” she says, waving her hand in the air again. “We grew up with her, and when the band first started, she did free publicity for them as part of her intern project for school. They started getting popular about the same time she finished her degree. She moved to LA, gained some other clients, and the rest is history.”

  “Thanks for clearing that up.”

  “I wish I could tell you more, but he didn’t open up to me when I saw him. All I know is he looked like shit. He’s not doing well. And,” she nods to the blanket I’m burrowed under, “neither are you. He needs you as much as you need him.”

  “Everyone keeps saying that, but I don’t have any options.”

  “There are always options, Reese.”

  “But he’s the one who asked me to leave. Am I supposed to beg him to take me back when he told me love isn’t enough? I have to protect myself.”

  “Protect yourself all you want.” She stands up and sticks her clutch under her arm. She motions to me with her other hand. “Look where it’s getting you.” She walks toward my front door. “I need to go pay a visit to my idiot brother Butt-head. I’ll see you in October.” She wiggles her fingers in a little wave and disappears out my door before I have the chance to protest.

  eleven

  Justin shows up at my door a few hours later with a U-Haul truck, two of his friends, and a girl I’ve never seen before.

  “You remember Tim and Karl,” he says, nodding to his friends. “And this is Alex.” She’s short and petite with black, chin-length hair and big, brown eyes. She’s adorable and she and Justin make an attractive couple.

  “Nice to meet you,” I say, sticking my hand out to shake Alex’s. “Thank you for coming to help.”

  I can’t help but wonder if she came to help so she could check out the ex, but she quells those thoughts.

  “Justin has told me so much about you,” she says with a warm smile that makes me like her. She’s a stronger woman than I am. I wouldn’t like the idea of my boyfriend hanging out with his ex.

  I observe the dynamic between Justin and Alex as we all work to get my belongings on the moving truck. He’s different with her—different than he was with me. It’s the way he looks at her. He never looked at me like that, and while we did have something special and we shared a lot of love, it’s clear she’s the love of his life.

  Jill’s home to help with some of my stuff, and I’ll be back tomorrow to help her with hers. I wish we would’ve had our little celebration of our last night in our place together, but I have enough regrets I’m trying to battle. I don’t need to add that to the list.

  She’s quiet, passing by me without talking to me as we both carry boxes to the truck. I think she’s mad at me. Either that, or she’s silently judging the fact that Justin is the one here helping me. I don’t want to argue with her, so I don’t say anything.

  I hate this is how Jill and I are leaving things between us after living together for almost a decade, but if she’s going to be mad at me for something stupid, then I can be mad at her for being the reason I have to move in the first place.

  We get everything packed in the truck—including my couch blankets and pillows—and I drive my car by myself while Justin takes his crew in the truck to Tess’s place. Jill doesn’t join us. Instead, she tells us how she needs to stay back to pack a few of her own boxes.

  Once everything is unloaded, I treat Justin, Alex, Tim, and Karl to beer and pizza. Tess showers and heads out for a Saturday night with some of her friends. She invites me, but I just want to stay in and get myself settled.

  When I have the essentials unpacked and my bed made, I finally lie down and scroll my phone. I see a new Snapchat posted on Mark’s story, another pose with a different woman sent just an hour ago. Bile rises in my throat, but, being the masochist I am, I log onto Twitter out of curiosity just to see what city he’s in. I’m attacked by a steady stream of images, all the same but all with different women. Some are with Ethan, and in one from just last night, he’s kissing a blonde woman. His hand is on her neck, and black ink snakes along his skin. My heart’s already shattered, but another piece somehow chips off.

  I remind myself it’s Penny posting these, Lizzie’s words that they’re old images.

  The reminder doesn’t help...it still hurts. Maybe he has moved on. Maybe these are real.

  I head back to the old house to help Jill the next morning. She’s alone in her bedroom with a few last-minute boxes.

  “Where’s Becker?” I ask.

  “He had some work to do this morning. He’s coming back with a truck in a few hours.”

  “Can we talk?”

  She nods but doesn’t stop packing. I sit on the edge of her stripped mattress.

  “I’m sorry I took my shit out on you,” I say.

  She glances up at me and then her gaze returns to her task. “It’s okay, Reese. You know I love you no matter what. Can I ask you something?”

  I raise my brows.

  “Why was Justin helping you?”

  “He offered.”

  “Is it smart to hang out with an ex?”

  I sigh. “He’s different. He’s got a new girlfriend, and after everything that went down, I just don’t have those feelings for him anymore.”

  “I’m proud of you,” she says softly.

  “For what?”

  “For moving forward. Focusing ahead. I know it’s not easy.”

  I give her a tight smile. “It’s not, but it’s my only option.”

  When Jill’s all moved out of our place and I give her my key to drop at the realtor’s office this week, I head bac
k to Tess’s place. I’m not surprised to see Jason sitting on the couch watching a baseball game, but I am surprised to see Brian Fox sitting beside him.

  My heart wrenches in my chest. Is this what it’s going to be like to live here? Because if it is, I don’t think I’ll be able to stay here long.

  Brian glances up at me when I walk in. His face is healed, completely restored back to its original attractiveness, but we all wear scars on our insides now for different reasons. “Hey,” he says casually, as if he didn’t use me for sex for months in some convoluted effort to get revenge on his brother.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask.

  “Watching the Sox win.” He says it as a joke, like I care about baseball. I don’t. I’m much more of a football gal, but the Sox immediately make me think of Mark and that hat and the woman behind Sevens he lied about.

  I walk into the kitchen and pour myself a glass of wine. I will not be made to feel intimidated in my own home. Moving in with Tess was a bad idea. My two closest friends are dating Brian’s two closest friends, and that proximity makes me uncomfortable.

  “Where’s Tess?” I ask.

  “Shower,” Jason says, his eyes not moving from the television screen.

  I sit on a chair across the room from Brian. I feel his eyes on me, but I refuse to look at him. He finally stands and moves across the room, taking a seat on the end of the couch closest to me. “How’ve you been, Reese?” he asks.

  I take a sip of wine and press my lips together. “Fine.” The single word is short and I keep my eyes on the television.

  “You doing okay with the move?” he asks.

  “Yeah.”

  “Doing okay with everything else?”

  I finally tear my eyes from the screen to focus on him. “If you mean the fact that you used me for months, no, I’m not okay with that. If you mean whether I’m okay with you coming between Mark and me, nope, still not okay. So, no. I’m not doing okay with everything else, and I fully blame you for that.”

  “I’m sorry,” he says softly. I see Jason’s eyes edge from the television in our direction.

  “What are you really doing here?” I ask. “Is this a thing? Do you hang out here a lot?”

  He lifts a shoulder. “Not a lot. Jason mentioned you were moving in with Tess and I wanted to check on you.”

  “Thanks for your concern, but it’s not your business.”

  “It used to be,” he says softly.

  I nod. “Yeah, it did. Before I knew how much you were screwing me over.” With those as my parting words and the image of regret in Brian’s eyes, I get up and go to my bedroom.

  twelve

  Homecoming weekend is a huge deal at my school, and as I pin curls into place on my head for tonight’s ball, I think back to when I met Brian to beg him to donate to our fundraiser for this very weekend. I brush the thought away. I don’t want Brian in my head, especially not after seeing him sitting on Tess’s couch last weekend.

  I don’t have a date for tonight’s ball, but I have Tess, who decided to bring Jason, and I know Justin will be there with Alex. Since the Homecoming football game is Friday night and the kids’ dance is Saturday, the black-tie ball and auction for adults is Thursday. This year, the grand prize is a Toyota Tacoma, but there’s trips and concert tickets and all sorts of goodies up for grabs.

  I feel like Cinderella in my gown as I walk into the banquet hall located just minutes from my school. I make my way to the bar first—it’s an after school function and there aren’t any kids around.

  I bump into Justin and Alex, who promise to sit at my table, and then I find Tess and Jason. As I talk to the two of them, my heart races as I spot dark hair and green eyes across the room chatting with my principal.

  And it doesn’t race in a good way.

  “What the hell is he doing here?” I ask.

  Jason and Tess follow my line of sight, and as if he can feel our eyes on him, Brian turns and spots us.

  “Since he was the single largest donor, they offered him a free meal,” Jason explains.

  I blow out a frustrated breath. “He didn’t have to take it.”

  “I’m pretty sure there was more than one reason he did.” Jason’s voice is quiet.

  “Spill it,” I say.

  He looks uncomfortable. “He wants to talk to you.”

  I roll my eyes. “How nice of him to attack me first at my home and then at a work function.”

  “It’s not an attack, Reese,” Jason says.

  Tess puts her arm around my shoulders. “We’re here for you, babe.”

  I don’t even get a chance to respond because Brian starts making his way over to us.

  “Hey,” he says softly.

  “We’ll leave you alone,” Jason says, tugging Tess’s arm. I give her a pleading look, but she follows Jason to the bar. So much for her parting words of we’re here for you.

  “What are you doing here?” I blurt before he has a chance to speak. I avoid looking directly at him as I pretend to survey the room.

  “I owe you an apology.”

  “You owe me more than that.” My words taste bitter on my tongue.

  “You’re right.”

  I take a sip of wine for strength. “I’d like my dignity back, for one.”

  “What I did is unforgivable, and I fully admit that. I was acting from a place of jealousy and hatred, and you got caught in the crossfire. For that, I apologize.”

  “It’s not okay.” I look around the room and absentmindedly recognize some people.

  “I don’t deserve your forgiveness.”

  “You’re damn right about that.”

  Brian sighs. “I hate this—I hate that my brother won’t talk to me, I hate that you hate me. I hate that I screwed you over so badly. You never deserved that, Reese.”

  I cut him off again. “Blah blah blah. Like I believe a damn word out of your lying mouth.”

  He looks wounded as he blows out a sigh. “I donated the Tacoma.”

  My eyes dart to his. We both know the car will bring in a ton of auction money, and it was generous of him.

  But I can’t help the cynical part of me that believes it all stems back to Mark. Brian didn’t donate anything except someone else’s money.

  “I wish your brother was here.” The words are out before I can stop them. I know I’m saying them to hurt him, but there’s so much truth behind them that even I can hear the pining in my own voice. I’d love it if he were here—love to see what he had to say to someone who damaged everything we held so close to our hearts. I’d love to see him and rush into his arms and beg him to take me back.

  Brian’s eyes flash with hurt, and I feel a little dart of satisfaction that I put it there.

  “I’m worried about him, Reese.” His voice is low as he says the words just as I turn to leave, but I still catch the apprehension in it. It matches Lizzie’s tone when she expressed the same concerns to me, but it’s not my problem anymore and I can’t let it be for someone who wrote me out of his life.

  I hurry across the room toward the table where I find Justin and Alex.

  “What’s wrong?” Justin asks when I slide into the empty seat next to him.

  “My ex is here.”

  Alex laughs. “You’re sitting next to him.”

  I can’t help my small smile. “A more recent ex.”

  “Mark? Or Brian?” Justin asks.

  “You’ve dated two guys since Justin?” Alex asks. She looks impressed.

  “Brothers,” Justin whispers to her.

  I roll my eyes. “It’s a long story.”

  Alex looks around. “This sounds interesting.”

  I give her the short version. “I met a guy, liked him, but we didn’t exchange numbers. Then I met a new guy, started dating him, and found out he’s the first guy’s brother. In the end, the second brother orchestrated our entire relationship as a way to get revenge on his brother.”

  “So which one is here?” Alex asks.


  I fiddle with the stem of my wineglass. “The one who used me to get revenge.”

  “Want me to kick his ass?” Justin asks.

  I glance over at Brian and then back at Justin. I narrow my eyes.

  “What?” Justin says. “You don’t think I could take him?”

  I make a face and Alex laughs just as Jason and Tess join us. To my complete and utter horror, Brian pulls out the chair next to Jason. Before he sits, he reaches across the table to shake Justin’s hand.

  “Brian Fox,” he says politely.

  “Justin Nolan. And this is my girlfriend, Alex Russell.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Brian says as he sits.

  Well this is certainly a scenario I never imagined. I remember thinking it would be strange to sit at a Thanksgiving dinner next to one brother while I pined for the other. I remember thinking Mark and I would share passionate glances across the table while Brian sat beside me.

  In all those wild scenarios, I never imagined sitting at a school function next to Justin while Brian sat across the table from us as I pined for Mark.

  A few awkward beats pass, and then Tess eases the tension by asking how Justin’s classes are going. He launches into a long spiel about how hard his kids have been working, and we lose Brian and Jason to their own work conversation.

  When the interminable dinner finally ends, it’s time for the auction. This is the biggest fundraiser of the entire year, and the top ticket item is Brian’s donation.

  Or so I thought.

  The truck goes for a cool thirty thousand, but then Mr. Monroe says he has one final item up for auction.

  “I’ve managed to keep this item a secret, but it’s the biggest valued item we’ve ever had. It doesn’t have a retail price on it, but I’ve been told it goes for upwards of four hundred thousand dollars.”

  My ears perk up as I wonder who donated such a valuable item.

  “When I was first approached about this item, I didn’t even know the person who called me. I had to ask my daughter, but she filled me in. Apparently, he’s the lead singer of a very popular band.”