Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Sophie
“We’re going down to Starbucks,” Cassandra says, stepping aside and holding open the door for me to step out. “Do you want to join us?”
I’d just finished my intern hours at the rehabilitation center in Montgomery and honestly I could go for a cup of coffee.
I am just about to say sure when I notice a familiar face standing near the wheelchair ramp off to the side of the front steps. With his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face I’d hoped I’d seen the last of him, but luck is never on my side.
My fellow classmate sees me looking beyond her and follows my attention to also notice Ryan standing there waiting. “Maybe next time.” She offers me a wink like this visit is a good surprise and I force a smile.
When they start to move down the block I remain where I am holding his stare.
“Hello, Sophie.” The corner of his mouth tips up and I press my lips tightly together. “You didn’t come over to say hello the other night at the restaurant.”
My stomach does a weird little flip before tensing up, I hate the way he makes me feel.
I shouldn’t allow him to intimidate me. But the fault that I allowed him to know so many things about me, shared secrets and was intimate with a man that all along was violating that trust makes me feel weak and small.
I hate that he makes me feel those things.
“You could have introduced your friend,” he adds, finally starting to move in my direction.
“You know him already,” I force the words out and his brows furrow.
“I do know of him.” His nostrils flare. “His family owns that rundown hardware store in the tiny town you call home, right?”
“A rundown hardware store.” I make a humph sound, a smile covering my mouth for the first time since I saw him.
“I wouldn’t call a store that supplies one of the biggest contractors in our area rundown.
O’Shay could order from any chain, but instead runs millions through that little hardware store. ”
Again his nostrils flare, and his jaw tenses.
“Was this thing between the two of you going on the entire time we were together?”
This time I do laugh, finally finding my footing. This asshole wants to show up here and confront me on issues that are not even relevant. I laugh, because come on, this is hilarious.
“You, of all people, think you have the right to show up and accuse me of cheating.” I take a step in his direction and notice the moment of surprise in his eyes.
“You are a piece of shit Ryan, you were in the beginning and you still are today, maybe worse. You are the one that couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.
You are the one that walks around acting as though he is some kind of treasure to all women, but let me just say you are a joke.
The sex was horrible, and on most days I had to think of what I needed to do the next day just to stay awake.
You are boring, and predictable, and the only thing I did while I was with you was waste my time. ”
“Is that so?”
“Not that I owe you any explanation, but he and I have only been dating a few weeks. But in those few weeks he’s made me laugh and smile more than you ever did.
I don’t have to force myself to call him or spend time with him.
I actually look forward to seeing him and hearing his voice.
He is a good man, and because of him I now know the difference between a man raised right and a boy that is still trying to pretend he is a man. ”
I hold his stare, him doing his best to make me climb back into my shell. He doesn’t succeed. Ryan may have never physically harmed me but I can see now he is unstable.
“It won’t last.” He chuckles. “You’ll get bored there too, because honestly you aren’t that lovable, Sophie. In fact, you are pretty forgettable.”
I feel that familiar anxiety rush through me and I do my best to hold it together.
“If I’m so forgettable, then why are you here? Why are you constantly calling and sending me messages, and why in the hell do you care who I do or don’t date?”
“Don’t confuse this for caring.” He sneers.
“Honestly the moment you finally realize it’s time for you to walk away, I can promise I won’t give you a second thought.
Most of the time we all sit around and laugh at the ridiculousness that seems to follow you everywhere.
Nothing about our time together was memorable.
So believe me when I say, you aren’t someone I waste my time thinking about. ”
Then I take it one step further and hope that I pull it off. Channeling Adley and Kendall I try to pull off the bitchiness they can always master.
“In fact, when I’m with Finn, when it’s him and I alone together, I can’t seem to think of anything really.
He is really good about occupying my every thought.
For hours and hours he holds every single ounce of my focus.
” I bite my lip for emphasis and pretend to be lost in some erotic memory.
“He is really, really good at that.” I add the corner of my mouth tipping upward.
“So being his whore is your new life goal?”
“Did you ever think that he might be mine?” I try not to laugh imagining what he would think if he heard me refer to him as such.
“He has managed to open up a part of me I never knew existed. I’ve come to realize that it wasn’t me.
It was the men I was choosing to spend time with.
Now that I’ve had a real man, I know what I was missing all along. ”
I watch and wait, and when it finally registers in his pea-sized brain that I have no intentions of cowering, he turns and practically stomps away.
And it is then that I finally release the breath I’d been holding in a sigh of relief.
Hurrying to dig my phone out of my bag I call Kendall.
“Can I tow his car yet?” I think if I said yes she really would and I have a feeling he wouldn’t be able to recognize it when she was finished.
“He was waiting for me outside of the clinic when I finished my hours.”
I am met with silence.
“Kendall?”
I hear the sounds of something clanking loudly and then the roar of an engine.
“Kendall?”
“Forget the fucking car Soph, I am hooking him by the jaw and dragging his ass for miles.”
“I handled it!” The last thing I needed was for her to get herself into trouble. “He’s gone.”
“I’ll find him,” she assures me and I don’t doubt her.
“Stop, listen,” I try to calm her down. “I put him in his place. He left scowling after I pretty much told him he sucked in bed and was a boy pretending to be a man.”
She snickers. “Well, you aren’t lying, hun.”
“But I may have managed to leave him with the impression that Finn and I have been doing it like rabbits and that he scrambles my brain with his skills.”
Again I am met with silence.
“We haven’t,” I hurry to add and she starts to laugh. “This isn’t funny, what if Finn finds out?”
“I think that wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because guys like a challenge, and I think maybe just maybe Finn will be like…hell yeah, let’s do this!”
“Remind me why I called you again,” I say, knowing that the moment we hang up she will send out a mass voice chat to everyone.
“Because you love me, and you knew that I’d make you feel better.”
“I hate you,” I say.
“Girl, I bet if you rubbed up on him he would—”
“I’m hanging up now,” I say as I pull the phone away to avoid hearing anything else. Pressing end, I walk to my car and climb inside. But the time I have it started and my seat belt on, my phone pings with a new message.
Lifting it up I see that group chat message and hit play, as Kendall’s voice filters out of the speakers in my car.
“Sophie and I just had a fun little chat. Apparently robot man with a tiny dick showed up to confront her about dating our handsome Finn. But don’t worry y’all she made sure to knock him down a few notches by leaving him with the impression that Finn and her are screwing like wild monkeys and he’s real good at rattling her sweet little brain.
I’m talking hours and hours of dirty stuff that makes her forget her own name.
What I would’ve done to be a fly buzzing around to see his face when she spewed those words.
I bet his face turned beet red and smoke shot out his ears. Yay, Sophie, we need to celebrate!”
My cheeks feel hot and immediately I click on the list of people this message went out to. And. I. Die!
Not only have all the girls received this, but she copied in all the guys too…including Finn!!!
Kill me now!