The Last Boyfriend (Forever Love #1)(41)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“I don’t blame you, Angelique.” Zane’s voice was tender. He leaned towards her, but I couldn’t see what he was doing. “My heart is broken too.” He sighed as he pulled back. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same.”

“I’m sorry,” Angelique whispered, and I wanted to burst into the room and scratch her. You had your chance bitch, I wanted to scream. Let him go. I won’t break his heart. My breath caught as a sob escaped me. I stepped back quickly and walked to my room. I closed the door and locked it, and then went into the bathroom. I ran the bath, stripped off my clothes, and turned off the lights before I stepped in. The tears started streaming down my face as soon I got into the tub. I submerged my face in the water and sobbed as I lay there. I sobbed with abandon and confusion.

Why had Zane been dating all of Braydon’s exes? Had he been sleeping with me just because Braydon had shown an interest in me? It would make sense after all. He had been coming to the diner for months and he had never been anything other than cordial and friendly to me as a server. He’d never shown any extra interest or asked me out. He hadn’t shown me any interest until I had gone to the party and he had seen me with Braydon. Immediately after that, he had taken me to his house, taken care of my car, given me a job, and seduced me. He had changed my life and everything had gone so quickly. How had I gotten myself into this situation? This was why my Last Boyfriend Plan had been in place. It was to save me from unneeded heartache. It had been in place to protect me. But I had thrown it away in a heartbeat, just to be with him.

I had, once again, allowed my emotions to supersede my brain. I had known that Zane Beaumont was bad news. I had known that a guy like him would only break my heart. And now, here I was, heart broken.

I had a made a mess of everything. I scrubbed my skin as I lay in the bathtub. I couldn’t believe I had withdrawn from my classes. What was I thinking? I closed my eyes and took some deep breaths. It’s going to be okay. You’ve gotten through worse. I repeated over and over to myself. I should be happy for Zane. He had his true love back now. It seemed to me that he and Angelique were made for each other. I’d never seen him that tender and caring towards anyone before.

I yawned and closed my eyes as I leaned back in the tub. I felt so tired. I thought I heard a banging on the door, but I was too exhausted to get up and check. All I could think of was Zane on a different date every week. And all of the girls were Braydon’s exes. I had scoffed at them when I saw them. I had thought they were all so dumb. I had felt superior to them, knowing that he came in with a different girl every week, but the joke was on me. It was me who had believed I could change him. It was me who was sitting here with a broken heart. And all I had been was another notch in his bed. Another girl he had taken away from Braydon. I sighed and turned over and realized I was still in the tub when I swallowed some water. I sat up quickly, spurting out water, and jumped out of the tub. I wrapped myself in a towel and walked into the bedroom, too tired to put on any pajamas. I jumped into the bed and sunk into the sheets. I felt lonely without Zane there to snuggle with. I missed him. I started crying again. How could I miss him this badly already? I hated him. I wanted to scream and shout at him. How could he have done this to me? As I drifted back to sleep, I realized that I could stop Zane from thinking he had won. If I went back to Braydon and dated him, then it would show Zane that he hadn’t stolen me from him. He wouldn’t have won. That’s what I have to do, I thought to myself as I fell into a deep sleep. I have to date Braydon.

Chapter 14

“Lucky, open up.” A voice was shouting through the door and I groaned from under the covers.

“Stop banging,” I shouted back, without opening my eyes.

“Open up the door.” Zane’s voice was furious and it sounded like he was going to break the door down.

“Okay, okay. Hold on.” I groaned as I got out of bed. My head was aching and I was still wrapped in my towel. “Good morning to you too.” I greeted Zane and he rushed into the room.

“Where is he then?” He ran to the bed, opened the closets and then ran to the bathroom. “Where is he?”

“Who are you talking about?” I shook my head puzzled.

“Braydon. You both left the party at the same time and you locked the door.”

“I had a bath and went to bed.” I rubbed my eyes and took in Zane’s disheveled appearance. “Did you sleep in your clothes last night?”

“Did you sleep in a towel?” He grabbed my shoulders and looked down at my face. His eyes looked wild and crazy, and for a second I was worried that he was losing it. “Why are your eyes red?” He frowned.

“I don’t know.” I looked down.

“Wait a second.” He rushed back into the bathroom. “The tub is still full. You didn’t fall asleep in the tub, did you?”

“Kind of.” I admitted sheepishly. “But I—”

“Lucky, do you know how dangerous that is?” His voice rose. “Why do you seem to have no concern for your life?”

“I woke up and went to bed.”

“After you fell asleep in the tub. A tub that is full of water, I may add. Do you know how many people have died in bathtubs?”

“This isn’t a horror movie, Zane.” I joked, but he didn’t crack a smile.

“You may not care about your well-being, but I do.” He turned away from me. “I’m going out for a bit.”

“I see.”

“I have to take Angelique home as Braydon just left her here.”

“She stayed the night?” My voice cracked.

“Yes, of course.” He sighed. “She slept in my bed.”

“I see.” I wanted to cry again, but I wasn’t going to let myself break down in front of him. “I suppose you are back together now?”

“What are you talking about?” Zane’s voice was loud and angry.

“Zane dear, are you ready?” Angelique popped her head through the door. “I borrowed your shirt, I hope you don’t mind.”

“It looks better on you than me, so of course, I don’t mind.” He smiled at her softly. “Go downstairs and I’ll meet you in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” She left the room, with her blonde hair swinging and I stood there in despair. This was truly turning into a nightmare.

“Are you going?” I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of hearing pain in my voice. That was reserved for me alone.