Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
Salem
By the time I exit the bathroom, Logan’s gone.
I stare at the cheap motel door, barely breathing. Get the fuck out, I'd said.
And he did.
My chest caves, crumpling in on itself like a paper bag as I stumble backward until I hit the edge of my bed. The wine is still sitting on the nightstand, half-empty. I snatch it and take a long gulp straight from the bottle as my music switches to Killpop by Slipknot.
The liquor burns, but not nearly enough.
I press the back of my hand to my mouth, trying to swallow the scream rising in my throat.
He lied. He fucking lied to me. And I let him touch me. Let him inside me.
My stomach churns, disgust crawling over my skin like ants. I claw at my hair like that’ll protect me from the memory of his hands on me, his mouth. The look in his eyes when he told me he’d been with no one else—the way he’d hesitated. Should have known.
I take another swig and wipe my chin on my sleeve. God, I’m such a fucking idiot.
Flopping back onto the bed, I stare at the aged popcorn ceiling, trying to blink back the sting in my eyes. My mom’s voice creeps into my head.
“No wonder you can’t keep a man. Pretty on the outside, but rotten within.”
“Yeah, and what’s your excuse?” I’d lobbed back at her on one of many nights we’d squared off in the living room. I was in high school by that point, and had begun standing up for myself.
“You are!” She spit viciously. “I gave up everything for you. You ruined my body, my life. I wish I’d never fucking kept you.”
The wine sloshes as I tip the bottle again, drinking until it stops hurting. Or… at least until I can’t tell the difference anymore.
The bed shifts under my weight when I curl in on myself, skin still sore from where I tried to scrub his scent from it. Maybe my mother was right. Maybe I’m just wired wrong.
But I’ll never give Logan the chance to lie to me again.