35. I Hate This
THIRTY-FIVE
I HATE THIS
Eve
“What the fuck is going on here?” Jake glares murderous daggers at me and then Lach. I’ve seen Jake mad before, but the look on his face puts mad to shame.
“Nothing” is on the tip of my tongue, but based on Lach’s current state of dress, or undress, “nothing” is not the word I’m looking for here. “Oh. Um. Uh.” All the words are failing me right now. Lach and I still haven’t discussed what we were going to tell Jake. Hence why I’m tongue tied at this moment.
Lach steps around me and guides me to stand behind him. “I hate you had to find out this way, but?—”
“But what?” Jake grits between his teeth. He takes a step toward Lach, causing him to push against me. I rest my hands on his hips to keep him steady. Or me steady.
“Eve and I are… together.”
My heart leaps in my chest. We’ve told each other we want to be together, but this is the first time we’ve told anyone else. Unfortunately, it’s my brother, and after we had sex, which has now kind of killed my orgasm high.
“Together? Fucking? Is that all this is? She’s my little sister. I asked you to look after her, and what the fuck do you do? You fucking sleep with her!”
Lach holds his hands up in defense. “Look, I didn’t know she was your sister when it happened.”
“When the fuck did it happen!?” He glares at Lach, then me.
“In Florida. We met at the resort where Dessa and Garrett got married.” Lach’s voice is slow and deliberate as if he’s trying to calm a fierce tiger ready to pounce.
Jake’s nostrils flare. His eyes narrow to tiny slits and bounce between me and Lach. “So you didn’t know each other when it happened? What did you do when you found out?”
Lach tenses under my grasp. I tag myself in and step out from behind Lach. “This isn’t how we wanted to tell you.”
Jake directs his wrath toward me. “And how the fuck exactly were you going to tell me? By letting me catch you actually fucking?”
I flinch at his words. That almost happened once. His arm sweeps me away.
Lach steps forward, putting himself between me and Jake. “Don’t push her.” His voice is strained like he’s holding back his anger.
Jake ignores me and gets in Lach’s face again. “I confided in you to watch over her. Keep her safe. Instead, you sleep with her. And behind my back! You’re my best friend! And this is how you repay me!” Jake’s fingers clench into a fist.
“I know.” Lach’s face falls. “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out.”
“But you still did it anyway!” Jake seethes, his face flushing molten. The muscles in his forearms flex with every clench and unclench of his fingers.
Oh shit. He’s going to punch Lach. I don’t even think. I just spit out the next words, hoping to take some of the heat off Lach. “I’m pregnant!”
Both Lach and Jake freeze. Lach pinches his eyes shut. I hold my breath.
“Excuse me? You’re pregnant?” Jake turns his head so fast toward Lach I’m surprised he doesn’t get whiplash. “You got my sister pregnant?” He glares at him so hard the vein protruding from his neck is seconds away from exploding.
“No.” Lach shakes his head. “It’s not mine.”
Jake jerks to face me. “You cheated on my best friend?”
“No!” I sigh. “It’s not like that at all.”
“Then someone tell me what the fuck it’s like then!” Jake roars.
“It’s my ex-boyfriend’s, but I only found out recently that I’m pregnant.” I do my best to remain calm with hopes to keep Jake from hulking out.
“What the fuck is going on?” He pushes his hand through his hair. Jake jerks to Lach, his jaw clenching. “Are you having your fun now, and you’ll leave after the baby is born since it’s not your responsibility?”
Without missing a beat, Lach answers, “No. I’m not leaving her.”
My heart soars as much as it can soar, given the circumstances.
Lach clears his throat. “I apologize for not telling you, but I will not apologize for doing it. Because that would mean I regret it happening, and I don’t regret a single thing when it comes to?—”
Time slows to almost a standstill. Before Lach can finish, Jake rears his arm back, and it shoots forward like a bullet from a shotgun. His fist connects with Lach’s cheek with a sharp thwack. Lach stumbles backward, and I jump out of the way to avoid getting toppled to the floor.
When I collect my balance, I turn to Jake. “What’s wrong with you!?” I race to Lach’s side. Blood seeps from a cut on his lip. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” His words are soft. He brushes his thumb across his lip, smearing the blood.
I’ve only seen Jake lash out a handful of times, and that’s when someone threatens the things he cares about, like his bar and me. But Lach is his best friend. He should know he’s not the bad guy. I jerk to face Jake.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I jump to my feet and stomp the two steps toward Jake. “If you’re going to be mad at him, you have to be mad at me. This is just as much my fault.” My heart pounds a million miles a minute. I stab my finger at his chest, and he doesn’t flinch. “Actually, I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is all my fault. I pursued him. He didn’t want to start anything between us, but I couldn’t help myself?—”
“Eve,” Lach interrupts, his hand on mine.
I turn to him. His eyes are soft, pleading that I don’t take the blame for this. “No. He doesn’t get to be mad at only you.” I return my attention to Jake. “No! If you’re going to be mad at anyone, be mad at me.”
“He knew exactly what he was doing!” Jake jabs his finger at Lach. “I trusted him! And he does this?” He directs his anger at Lach, taking a step closer to him. I’m afraid he’s going to punch him again. “Get out. Get the fuck out of my house,” Jake spits, the vein in his neck throbbing.
With a hand on his forearm, I attempt to spin him around, but he doesn’t move because he’s a brick. “Where is he supposed to go? He has nowhere else to go.”
Jake scoffs. “I don’t give a shit, but he’s not fucking staying here. He betrayed me. Lied to me. He can’t do that shit and expect me to also give him a place to live. He can leave now and get his shit tomorrow when I’m not here.”
Panic pounds in my chest. This can’t be happening right now. None of this. “Jake, you can’t be serious. You’re being irrational.”
“Irrational would be strangling him with both hands. I think I’m being perfectly rational,” Jake deadpans before he stomps away.
Lach rests a hand on my arm. “It’s okay.”
I spin around to face him. Fear. Panic. Hopelessness. And everything in between races through me. “No. It’s not. He’s being irrational,” I choke out.
“He’s not. I did all those things he said.”
“But he punched you.” My voice softens. “You’re bleeding.” Tears prick the corners of my eyes, and I reach up to brush my thumb over his cut. He flinches at the contact.
“I deserved it.” Stepping out of my reach, he picks his shirt up off the floor and shoves it over his head. Next, he finds his jeans and tugs them on. His hand rubs his jaw where Jake punched him.
“Where are you going to go? Let me come with you. Give me a minute to get a bag together.” My gaze flits around the room, figuring out everything I need to pack.
He clasps his hands on my biceps. “You stay here.”
The tears grow bigger until they’re too big to hold back any longer. One slides down my cheek and then the other. Lach lifts his hands and brushes them away with his thumbs.
My heart thunders in my ears. “Where are you going to go?” My words are barely a whisper. I don’t want him to go. I don’t want to be without him.
“I’m going to make a couple of phone calls. If I have to, I’ll get a hotel room.”
My heart plummets to my stomach, a cold dread washing over me. “I hate this.”
His face falls, and he nods. “I know. I do too.”
“What do I do?” I’ve never felt so helpless in my entire life. Even when I was a teenager with shitty parents, who were basically non-existent, at least I had Jake, but now I don’t even have him.
He cups my cheeks, his warmth the only thing that’s comforting. “It’s best I’m not here right now. Jake needs some space, and me being in his house won’t make anything better. We’ll figure this out. I promise.”
My eyelids droop. I wait for Lach to kiss me, even if it’s on the forehead. To offer me comfort that everything will be okay like he says, but it doesn’t happen. His warm touch disappears, and his hands fall to his sides. My heart breaks for a completely different reason. Glancing up, I meet Lach’s eyes. His once bright blue irises dull to almost gray. The same heartbreak I feel is etched on his face. He pivots on his heels. I watch his retreating frame until he disappears from the doorway. I hold my breath, hoping he comes back to tell me he changed his mind, but the sound of the back door closing echoes through the house and smacks into my chest. The last of my tears roll down my cheeks. I wipe them away. All the fear and hopelessness dissolves into hurt and anger. My blood boils, and Jake is sitting in the bullseye of my wrath. The pounding of my feet throughout the house rattles the walls and everything on them. I find Jake in his bedroom, pacing back and forth.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” His head jerks up to meet mine. “I can’t believe you just kicked out your own best friend.”
He freezes a few feet away from me. “A best friend wouldn’t sleep with his best friend’s sister and keep it a secret for months.”
“We didn’t want to hurt you. Why can’t you see that?” Jake has always been the last person I wanted to hurt. He’s always been there when I’ve needed him. I don’t want to lose him over this, but I also can’t lose Lach.
He scoffs. “Well, congratulations. You did exactly that.”
“I didn’t tell you either. This is just as much my fault.” I point to my chest. It’s not fair for Lach to take all the heat for this. There’s only one person being unreasonable here, and it’s Jake.
“You’re my sister.”
“And he’s your best. Fucking. Friend.” I blow out a deep breath and stare up at the ceiling. Yelling at each other won’t get us anywhere. “Look,” I lower my tone, “we both know that sometimes our friends are worth more than the blood family we have. So congratulations for once again pushing people out of your life who care about you. Just like you always do. You can be sad and miserable for the rest of your entire life. But I’m going to live mine. Just so we’re clear, I’m not going to stop seeing him. I don’t care what you say. He’s the one man who has made me feel good about myself. Even though this baby isn’t his,” I rest a hand on my belly, “he wants to be in my life. Our lives. And I want him, no, I need him in mine. So, if you want to kick me out too, go right ahead. Otherwise, I can’t stand to look at you, because I can’t believe you’re doing this.”
He says nothing. We have a stare-off, the intensity of the moment thick in the air. He’s acting like a stubborn, overprotective older brother, but he doesn’t need to shield me from Lach. His best friend. His lips part a fraction as if he’s about to say something, but he slams them shut. With a sharp jerk, he rips his gaze away and forces his way past me, his body brushing against mine. I spin around as he stomps down the hallway. I follow him, hot on his heels toward the back door. With a yank, he throws the door open, letting out a loud bang as it slams shut behind him.
An entire gauntlet of emotions race through me. More tears fall and fall and fall. I wipe them away, but they won’t stop. I jog to my bedroom, the floorboards creaking beneath my feet, and slam the door shut. Climbing onto the bed, I curl myself into a ball. I knew it was going to be difficult, but I didn’t expect it to play out like this. Jake’s always been the protective older brother. He’s always watched out for me. Always been there for me. But he doesn’t understand he’s trying to take away the best thing that’s ever happened to me. What if Lach decides this is too much for him? That I’m not worth all this trouble and leaves? What if he goes to Rachel’s? More tears fill my eyes and fall, staining my pillowcase.
My phone chimes with a message. Stretching my arm over to the nightstand, I glance at a blurriness of jumbled words on the screen. I lift the corner of the blanket and dry my tears.
Lach
It’ll be okay. I promise. We’ll figure it out. I’m staying at Rylee’s tonight. And we’ll figure everything out later.
We. He said we. He still wants us to be a we . I type back a reply.
Eve
I miss you. I wish you were still here.
Lach
Same, Sunflower.
I’m going to grip the tiny thread of hope with all my might because that’s all I have right now. He’s all I have right now.