Chapter Twenty-Five
West
It’s late, but I’m up. On the couch, staring at the ceiling like usual.
I keep going over tonight. Not even the part where April and Reed got exposed. My only concern is Blue. We actually sat and talked. It was nice to just be in her space without having any sort of misunderstanding.
Yeah, I wish she’d stayed, wish she had let the night flow naturally like it was starting to, but I’m grateful for what little time I got.
I flip onto my side and reach for the remote, but before I click the power button, the doorbell has me snapping a look toward the front entryway.
I’m on my feet the next second, fighting the feeling in my gut that something’s wrong.
People don’t show up at your door in the middle of the night if everything’s fine.
I pull the door open without looking through the peephole. And when I find Blue staring back at me, light rain plopping down onto her hair and shoulders, my heart sinks.
Especially with that distraught look on her face.
“Can I come in?” she says.
Hearing her ask to enter her own home… it’s jarring.
“Are you serious?” I feel the scowl on my face as I step aside.
How the hell did we even get to a point where she’d even have to ask that?
Blue steps in and ignores my question because she’s clearly someplace else. Her eyes are distant, like she’s functioning on autopilot, disconnected. I don’t miss how her hands are shaking either. And why the hell is there paint all over her clothes?
The lack of answers makes my nerves even more on edge.
“What happened?”
She doesn’t answer right away, and it drives me crazy guessing what this could be about.
“Can we sit?” she asks.
I nod, and she follows me into the living room and drops down on the sofa. I wish I’d thought to hide my pillow and blanket first, but it is what it is. I probably look fucking pathetic, like I can’t cope without her, but the worst part is that both these things are true.
It’s too late to worry about the state of the room—a fast food bag tossed to the coffee table, empty water bottles on the end table, a t-shirt on the floor.
I drop down on the sofa, leaving a cushion between us in case she prefers the space.
“What is it?”
“Well… you said to tell you if something else happened. I promised I would, and…”
Her words trail off there, and I’m even more confused than before she started talking. But she seems to realize she’s not being clear and closes her eyes, breathing deep before she starts again.
“I went to the center when I left Dusty’s,” she explains. “I thought I’d get some painting done and clear my head, but… something happened.”
She peers up at me, and I feel inexplicably on edge.
“Something like what?”
She looks away, wringing her hands in her lap. “Seth showed up.”
Even without having the full explanation, I’m already seeing red.
“What the fuck did he do?”
“West—”
What… the fuck… did he do?”
She stands with a sigh. “I knew this was a mistake.”
I stand, too. “No, you did exactly what you should’ve done. Now tell me what the hell this asshole did, so I can decide just how bad I’m gonna fuck him up.”
Hugging herself, Blue starts to pace. “I should’ve just gone to Hunter’s.”
I think we both know that wouldn’t have worked. Pandora has a knack for airing out what we wish would stay hidden.
“I’m gonna need you to tell me what’s going on before I go ask Seth for myself.”
She meets my gaze then, and only now do I realize just how upset she is.
“He… he kissed me,” she confesses.
If I thought I felt rage before, I was wrong. Because this… this is rage.
My fists tighten, and I ignore the surge that pulses through my shoulder. All I care about right now is fucking Seth up.
“Where are you going?”
“Stay here.”
“West—”
I don’t stick around to hear her out. Instead, I’m out in the garage, starting my truck. The phone is already ringing with Ricky’s name on the screen before I even pull down the driveway.
“You good?” he answers, groggy and half asleep
“Will be. I need a favor.”
He yawns, and I hear Dez in the background, asking if everything’s okay. Ricky says something quietly to calm her down, then he’s in my ear again. “Name it.”
“Think you or Diego can get me an address?”
“Of course. Send me what you have, and I’ll hit you up first thing in the morning.”
“Nah, it has to be now.”
I turn out onto the street, going twice the speed limit as I head across town, having no real idea where I’m going yet.
Ricky’s quiet for a few seconds, and I flip my wipers on while I wait. I’m sure he has a million questions, but he only asks one for now.
“Who are we looking for?”
“Seth Groves.”
He’s quiet again, probably because he knows exactly who that is.
“Anything you wanna tell me?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Nope. Just need to check in on him. Think you can get the address?”
He sighs on the other end. “West—”
“I just need the address. Can you do that?”
Another deep breath. “Yeah. I can do that.”
“Thanks. Call me the second you have something. I’m already on the road.”
“I got you.”
The call ends there, and I grip the steering wheel, picturing that asshole in my head, putting his fucking lips on my wife.
I can hardly think or see straight, but one thing’s for damn sure…
I’ll be thinking extremely fucking clear when I find Seth.