AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You don’t know what’s best for me, no one does. I’m sick and tired of everyone trying to determine that without me being invited to the table.”
“For so long, you’ve been trained to see the bad in people. Your mother poisoned your mind, turned you against looking for the good in people. But it’s there, all around you. What Warren did, while he shouldn’t have hidden it, was so good. He’s the best of us. When people help you, it isn’t because they pity you or want something in return. It isn’t a toxic favor. Usually, people help out because they want to see that person succeed. Again, please try to remember that before you storm out of here.”
Something flickers over her expression, and then it hardens again.
“Move.” She says it one more time.
I do, reluctantly sighing.
August leaves without a backward glance, and I feel my heart sink to my toes. The devastation is greater than I thought it could be. Just weeks ago, August Percy didn’t mean that much to me or in the context of my life.
Now? She’s beginning to mean everything. And yet, the closer I feel to her, the more she pulls away.
21
AUGUST
One call to Alana and I figure out that Warren is over at the old inn again.
I play it off like I’m just looking to talk to him about something to do with my résumé, when in reality, I’m on the warpath. Finding out he’s at the site of a place he offered to buy for me only makes me more furious. What’s he doing there, trying to buy the inn for me and lie about something else as he tries to foist it on me?
Rationality isn’t even registering right now, even with Evan’s talk to me before I stormed out of his bedroom. I can’t let thoughts of his disappointed expression filter into my brain or how he held me after we had sex. Once upon a time, being in his bed and doing that would have been my ultimate dream. I wouldn’t have left that moment unless you dragged me out by my hair.
But now? Now I’m harder. I’ve been through hell since coming back here, and I’m still in it. While being with Evan like that was incredible, more than I dreamed of, orgasmic, euphoric … I can’t let myself get lost in it. There is too much to focus on now, too many things to juggle. If I pursue a silly crush with my roommate of all people, it may all come tumbling down.
When I pull up, I see Warren’s car parked in front of the dilapidated building, and an eerie sense of calm washes over me. I’m furious, yes, but I’m also in control. I know something that he doesn’t know I know yet, and it feels like I have the upper hand.
The man I thought of as my mentor, role model, and biggest champion steps out of the front door.
“You going to buy this place and lie to me about it?” I stomp up, my voice a bitter clip.
Warren jumps a little, obviously thinking he’s alone, but takes me in. He knows me better than anyone, and I see his eyes assessing me.
He knocks on one of the columns on the front porch. “Who said I was buying it for you?”
That genuine grin, the way he’s so calculated in everything he does, even if it’s for good, has rage bubbling up in me. So much for having the upper hand and playing this cool.
“You’re a piece of shit,” I yell, anger rolling off me in waves.
“Woah, woah, what is going on?” Warren holds his hands palms up, as if waving a white flag.
Fury singes my veins as I look at him, and a ripple of deep sadness mixes in my blood at the same time. This is the person who I trusted most implicitly in my world, and he betrayed me just like the rest. It hurts way more than any other letdown I’ve ever had because I wasn’t expecting it.
“My scholarship. The one that gave me a full ride to college. The one I worked so hard for that got me away from this place and my mother. You know that one? Well, of course you do, you paid for it. And then had Alana lie about it, however you two pulled it off. Next time you decide to stab me in the back, you probably shouldn’t leave the paperwork lying around the house you let me stay in for free.”
“Auggy, stop, I can explain …” His eyes are wide, his expression one of panic.
He knows he’s been caught, and I can see the wheels turning of how he can pedal back to convince me I’m being crazy.
“Don’t even try to gaslight me, Warren. What you did was wrong, so fucking wrong. You lied to me! You went behind my back to set up something that I explicitly told you I didn’t want. Back before I went to college, I turned down your offer to pay for it. So you bypassed me, misled me, and did so anyway without me ever knowing. Do you know how fucking stupid this makes me feel?”
I’m nearly in tears with how betrayed I feel.
Warren approaches me, and I back up a step.
“My whole life, I was lied to and manipulated by the one person who was supposed to love me. You know how that is. Yet you chose to do the same thing.”
His eyes are glassy as he stares at me. “August, I’m so sorry. I hate that I ever made you feel this way. But I won’t apologize for setting you up to have a life you deserve. I love you like family, and if I could give you the world, I would. You wouldn’t let me, so yes, I went behind your back. Maybe I shouldn’t have, maybe I should have tried to wear you down about accepting my money, but you weren’t listening.”
