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“No, I’d expect it. Women have been all over you since you went pro,” she says emotionlessly, like that isn't the reason she broke up with me.
“And I always politely put distance between us because I loved you,” I growl, trying to keep calm, but I'm clearly losing the battle.
“Exactly. Loved. At one point in time, you loved me, but not anymore.” She shakes her head and drops her gaze so I can't see her eyes anymore.
“That’s where you’re wrong. I never stopped loving you, babe. You’ve always been it for me, but I'm done chasing you.” It’s such a lie. I'm never going to stop chasing her, but maybe if she thinks I’ve given up, she’ll want me back. “How many times am I supposed to beg you to listen to me and to let me back in? If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that I can't force you to do something you don’t want to do. If you wanted this relationship, you would’ve fought for it, but you didn’t. You got tired of us and you walked away.”
“I got tired of feeling like I wasn’t enough! Fuck, Cord! Do you know how hard it is to watch other women flirt with your boyfriend and wonder if you’re enough to keep him around? Every night I fell asleep wondering if we got married, would you eventually cheat on me and leave me, just like my mom did to my dad? That fucking destroyed him! He turned into a man I don’t even recognize anymore. He beat my brother and took all of his anger and hurt out on us. Every part of his life was turned upside down when the love of his life walked away. So, I'm sorry if I don’t want to go through the same thing one day. I'm sorry for protecting myself and ending things when I began to see the red flags flying high in the air.”
“What red flags? I’d never hurt you.”
“No, but I knew I was head over heels in love with you and it wouldn’t be enough when some cleat chaser threw herself at you.”
“Don’t you get it, Mace? It doesn’t matter how many women throw themselves at me when I only see you. It’s only ever been you and you tossed all of that away because of something I didn’t even do. Hell, I didn’t even know you when all of that went down with your parents. But I guess it’s good to know where I stand with you. I'm just a piece of shit who would ultimately leave you for some cleat chaser. I'm glad you think so highly of me.”
I rise from the couch and toss a box of Macy’s favorite chocolates on the coffee table. I’ve been hiding them since I got here. I figured I’d give them to her after we talked, but we’re done. This isn't going to solve anything. It’s clear she doesn’t want me around and I can’t change her mind on the matter.
“Have a goodnight, sweetheart. You’re getting what you want. I'm gone and I’ll leave you alone from now on.”
Just saying the words is like a thousand knives to my chest. I don’t want to walk away from her and I definitely don’t want to keep my distance from her, but I'm not sure what else I can do.
I tug the door open, refusing to look over my shoulder at her. Right before I walk through the door, a hand slams the wood shut in front of me. Macy squeezes between the door and my chest, looking up at me with big eyes, brimming with tears.
“Stop it. I don’t want you to go. Not like this,” she whispers.
“Sometimes we don’t get what we want.”
A single tear slips down her cheek and before I can stop myself, I brush it away with my thumb and cup her face in my hand.
“Cord…”
“Goodnight, Mace.” I press a soft, lingering kiss to her forehead before carefully moving her out of the way and slipping out of her apartment.
This time she doesn’t stop me. I make it all the way to my car before my emotions win and tears cloud my vision. I hate seeing her hurting so much. She’s lost and she doesn’t know where to go from here, but I can help her. I’ll stop at nothing to give Macy the future she always wanted, even if I'm no longer a part of it. Even if I have to watch her find her happily ever after with another man.
Chapter 9
Macy
Cord shuts the door behind him and I stumble backwards until my body hits the wood. I slowly lower myself to the ground and hug my knees to my chest.
For so long I’ve been able to keep my distance from Cord. Cici’s nice enough to let me know when Cord’s going to be at something and it’s given me the opportunity to happily stay home when he’s going to be there.
I was able to pretend he didn’t exist or at least we didn’t live in the same town. Charlie and I became so skilled at avoiding the topics of our exes, I could almost act like I had never met Cord Powell at all. Like Wyatt never existed on Mulberry Lane. Like we weren’t both completely heartbroken over the men we once loved.
But now, it’s like those lines are blurring and I can no longer deny his existence. He’s right, if I want to keep Charlie and Cici in my life, I'll have to figure out how to be friends with Cord again. There’s no other way.
Macy: How do you become friends with your ex?
Cici: You want to be friends with Cord?
Charlie: Kiss him and make sure he’s still an ex… *smirking emoji*
Macy: Listen here, you wench, I thought we discussed how I'm not getting back together with him!
Charlie: You said when Wyatt and I got back together, you would get back with Cord. *winking emoji*
Cici: You and Wyatt are dating again? What the heck, Charlie!
