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“Where is she?” Fisher sounded like he was talking through a ball of cotton, like he was struggling to force the words out.
“She and her wandering eye are safe and away from you three dipshits.” He walked out of the room and then turned back to us. “Leave her alone.”
“Dad, I… I didn’t mean… I was just angry and-” I looked desperately to Fisher and Booth. “She told me that I was a mistake and I-”
“Seems like she was right, son.”
I watched him leave and tightened my grip on Connie. Looking down at the shreds of him that remained, I felt my world closing in around me.
“You told us that she said this was a mistake.” Booth inched closer to me. “You said this, not you.”
I wanted him to hit me. I wanted to feel physical pain that might take away from the emotional pain I was feeling. “She said I was a mistake. She was going to come back here and be with the two of you while I had to sit back and watch. I… I couldn’t-”
It was Fisher who hit me. His fist connected with my nose and right cheek hard enough to knock me backwards. “Did you lie about Billy, too?”
I let my nose drip blood down my shirt as I nodded. “She didn’t want him touching her.”
Booth stopped in front of me and patted my arm. “Thanks, Vaughn. Thanks for being so goddamned selfish that you didn’t care who you took out in the process of making yourself feel better. Great friend.”
Fisher rubbed his knuckles as he glared at me. “Fuck you, Vaughn.”
They left me alone in her trashed room, trapped with the memory of her distraught face and the words she’d been called. I sat on the edge of her bed and then sank to the floor in front of it. The edge of one of her books stuck out from under it and I pulled it out with a heavy sigh. She had nothing. No clothes, no books, no Connie. It was all my fault.
50
***Booth***
“You boys should be ashamed of yourselves. This place is disgusting. I refuse. When I took this job, I told you I wasn’t going to clean up after parties. Have you even tried to clean up? Have you seen the bathrooms? I quit.” Mallory scowled down at Fisher and then turned around and stomped out of the house, slamming the door behind her.
He looked over at me and winced. “Well, that sucks.”
We both sat there, staring at the TV even though it wasn’t turned on. When Vaughn came in through the front door a few minutes later, he looked confused. “I think I just saw Mallory burning rubber getting out of here.”
I crossed my arms and nodded. “She quit.”
Fisher decided to turn the TV on finally but quickly realized it was broken. He checked the remote while I watched and I saw that the batteries were missing. He sighed. “Who comes to a party and steals the batteries from a guy’s remote? I wanted to turn the volume up so I wasn’t forced to talk to our roommate.”
Vaughn made a frustrated noise. “I said I was sorry. I’m trying to make it right. With Ella and Dad both hating me right now, I don’t need you two hating me, too.”
“I don’t hate you.” I stood up and walked past him on my way to the kitchen. “I just don’t want to see or talk to you right now. Maybe ever again.”
I gagged at the smell coming from the sink and swore. Four days had passed since the party and we hadn’t bothered touching anything. Every time I thought about cleaning I just didn’t see the point.
Vaughn followed me into the kitchen and stood in front of the sink. He started pulling dishes out while holding his shirt over his nose. “It’s not like I haven’t tried to fix things. This isn’t what I want.”
Fisher laughed angrily from the doorway behind me. “It’s exactly what you wanted. If you couldn’t have her, we couldn’t either. None of us have her. Congratulations.”
“Are you beating yourself up as much as you’re beating the shit out of me? You were cruel to her, too. You made everyone think she cheated on you, the darling quarterback.” Vaughn tossed a plate onto the counter a little too hard and it shattered. “And you, Booth. You think you didn’t do any damage? None of us are innocent. Yeah, I fucked up first and started this shit, but you were both eager to trash Ella as soon as you got your feelings hurt. So fuck this. Fuck you. Fuck me. Fuck everyone.”
I watched as he stormed past us and out the front door. “Where are you going?”
He stopped and spun around. “I don’t fucking know. I don’t want to be on campus. I don’t want to be here. I’m a grown ass man thinking about running away. Okay?”
Fisher rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Jesus, Vaughn. Just come back inside. You can’t run away. We have practice in two hours. We need to clean this place because apparently the only person who hates us more than Ella is our housekeeper. If you’re going to be a baby about us being pissed at you… I guess we can be okay again.”
Vaughn looked at me and I could see how he was barely hanging on. Sighing, I shrugged. “Whatever. It doesn’t mean I’m over it. I just don’t have the energy to replace you as a roommate if you drive your truck into the ocean.”
Hanging his head, Vaughn slowly came back inside and shut the door. “I know I deserve a lot worse than what you’re giving me. I’m sorry. I can’t put into words how sorry I am.”
