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He looks completely dejected for a second, and I hate the look on his face but then he looks up and flashes a shy smile. “It’s okay. I understand that you’re trying to protect yourself. I’ve got to give you actions, not just words.”

My God, he can’t be serious. How much clearer could I have been? Do I need to be cruel to him to get my point across? I hate the idea but I’m seriously running out of patience. I’m just about to do what I need to when he looks down at his watch and squeezes my hand.

“I’m gonna be late if I don’t leave right now but I’ll be in touch. I promise.” He leans in and kisses my cheek before pulling away and heading down the stairs before I can say anything. Holy shit, this is a disaster. No one can possibly blame me for this though. I feel like I spelled it out pretty clearly for him.

Frustration reaches a breaking point inside me, and I suddenly remember where I was headed before Kyle showed up. Squaring my shoulders, I march out of my apartment and down the steps, prepared to go to battle with Trey. That man has no idea the storm that’s headed his way right now.

I jump in my car and crank up the music as I start driving toward the bar, doing my best to bury the hurt under all the anger I feel right now. I don’t want to admit how much his actions last night hurt me, at least not in front of him. I honestly don’t know what he was thinking or hoping to accomplish.

Trey is always so controlled, and I know it’s something that he works really hard at so he’ll never resemble his father in any way but last night, he was a different man than the one I’ve fallen in love with over the last few months. I hate that I doubt him, even a little bit. Yesterday, I would have sworn up and down that Trey was as good a man as they come but when he treated me the way he did, it left a mark on my heart. And while I think I still trust him, there’s this little voice in the back of my head saying, “what if?”

Even thinking that he might not be the man I thought he was brings tears to my eyes. I brush them away and tell myself again and again that he’s still the same Trey I’ve always known. This is just a fight, and we’ll get through it. I hope.

I reach the bar in record time and slam my door behind me before marching up the steps outside to his apartment. I pound on the door, my heart racing as I picture what happened last night in my mind, and my anger returns full force. He opens the door, and I immediately shove him. He stumbles back a few steps, his eyes wide with shock, but it quickly morphs into that same look he had last night.

“You son of a bitch,” I yell at him, trying to push him again – anything to convey to him how much he hurt me – but he grabs my wrist and pulls me into his body. He presses his lips to mine for a second, and I fight him off but he leans in again and this time, I submit – my heart crying for all the wonderful things I was feeling two days ago.

“I don’t want you seeing him again, Addy. You’re mine. This,” he says, running his hands down my back and latching onto my ass, “is mine.”

I yank my lips away from him and step back, my chest heaving as I try to breathe again. “You don’t get to forbid me from seeing anyone.”

“The hell I don’t,” he growls, and I hate that I love that sound spilling out of his lips. “We both know he’s not the one you want so why the hell are you going out with him? Are you trying to make me jealous again? I told you I would fight for you but I’m not going to be walked on.”

His words hit me hard, and I shake my head. “And I’m not going to be treated like a whore. Besides, it wasn’t like that. Not for me, at least. I went to have dinner with a friend – nothing else.”

“But he wants more, right? I mean, how could he not? Look at you, Addy. Of course he wants you back.”

“What the hell does it matter, Trey? I don’t want him, and I told him that.”

He grins, tightening his hold on me. “Who do you want, baby? Say it.”

“No, I’m not doing this. The way you treated me last night…” Tears well up in my eyes as I speak, and I look up to the ceiling in an attempt to force them back down. “I’ve never felt worse than I did last night, and there’s nothing I could have done to deserve being treated like that. Especially, by a man who claims to care about me.”

“Addy,” he says, his voice cracking. I wiggle out of his hold and take a couple of deep breaths to try and calm down. When he takes a step forward to grab me again, I take two more back and hold my hand up. Memories of last night keep coming back to me, and the dam is about to break. I need to get out of here and give us both a little space.

“I need some time to think,” I blurt out and immediately wish that I could pull them back.

“How much time?” His eyes hold an ocean of pain and regret but I feel like I can’t back down on this. I need to stand my ground. No one is going to treat me the way he did.

“I don’t know.”

“Addy,” he says again, and I know I’m about to lose it. I need to leave now. I take one last longing look at him, wishing that I could just rush forward and let him wrap his arms around me but I don’t do that. Instead, without another word, I turn and flee his apartment, tears streaming down my face before I even get to the car.

* * * *

Emma and Daisy giggle about something, and I force a smile to my face to cover up the fact that I wasn’t really paying attention. My two best friends in the world may be beside me but I’ve never felt more alone. It’s more than just Trey’s absence, it’s the fact that it feels like he’s gone. He won’t be over later. I can’t call him or text him, and it’s totally my fault. I’m hopelessly floating in a sea of regret with nothing to hold on to to save me from my own mistakes.

Before I even left his apartment this morning, I wanted to rewind the clock and take back those words but my stubborn pride kept me going, driving away from the only man I’ve ever wanted a future with. By the time I got home, it occurred to me that maybe I pushed him away because of my fear. When he looked at me last night with regret in his eyes, it broke a part of me. I’m more scared than ever to tell him everything about my mom. I just hope I don’t see that look again when I do.

“Addy, what the hell is going on with you today?” Emma asks, and my head snaps up. She’s got a laser focus on me as I force another smile.

“Nothing. Just got some stuff on my mind.”

“Like what?”

Damn, she’s persistent. I wave my hand through the air, trying to brush it off but the look on her face lets me know that she will not be so easily deterred. “Oh, it’s no big deal. I guess I’m just a little distracted by it.”

“Okay, Addilyn, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” she says, leveling a glare at me, and I just stare back at her for a second. Jesus, she’s scary when she’s pregnant. These hormones are no freakin’ joke. I sigh just before my phone chimes. My heart skips a beat, thinking it might be Trey but I frown when I see the text from Kyle on the screen. And an idea hits me.