When it came to my turn to greet Leann, she stared at me for just a second before her eyes widened and she stepped forward. “Della, I’m so glad you’re here.” I reached out tentatively at first, but finally wrapped my arms around her, giving her a tight hug. Her head landed on my shoulder, and I heard a muffled sob as her body shook against mine.
That right there did it. I wasn’t much of a crier, but when other people were in pain, I couldn’t help myself. I was crying for Dan, even though I barely knew him, and I was crying for Leann and Justin, and the rest of his family. I hiccupped loudly as the tears flowed freely from my eyes, and Leann continued to hold onto me tightly, crying against my shoulder.
I’m not sure how long we ended up standing like that there together, but Leann finally pulled away, wiping her cheeks before placing her hands on my shoulders and giving them a light squeeze. “Thank you, honey, for being here.” She glanced quickly at Justin who was watching us closely but still remained expressionless. “Would you please come over to the house after….” She trailed off, I’m sure not wanting to say the actual word. That would probably make it too real.
I nodded, giving her a small smile, and she patted my back, nudging me slightly in Justin’s direction. I couldn’t be mad at the woman for trying. I’m sure if I weren’t given that little push, I might have actually turned the other way.
“Hi,” I whispered, when I landed directly in front of Justin, feeling like a complete idiot. Hi? Really, Della?
Justin stared silently back at me, lifting one hand to rub the back of his neck. “What are you doing here, Della?” he asked in a flat tone, his gray eyes staring over my shoulder, like he was trying to avoid looking at me.
“Justin.” I reached out a hand to smooth out the mess of his hair, but stopped midway. We weren’t a couple anymore. We were more like strangers and that certainly wasn’t something strangers did. Plus, Justin seemed disgusted by the thought of me even touching him. His nose was scrunched in distaste, and his jaw was clenched tightly.
“I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” I blew out a breath, and shifted on my heels.
His brows rose, and he shoved his hands back into his pockets. “Okay? Yeah, I’m okay. Fucking fantastic.” His lips formed a tight line as he looked behind me again as if to dismiss me.
It stung, but I knew he was hurting, and I knew all too well about lashing out at people when you were hurting. “Okay, well I didn’t mean to—”
“Stop,” he snapped, holding one hand up to interrupt me, and I bit down on my lip to keep myself from talking. “I have no clue why the fuck you’re here, and I really don’t care. I don’t need to deal with this shit, so please leave.”
My body reeled back as if he had slapped me across the face. I almost wish he had, because I think his words hurt even worse. Tears welled up in my eyes once again, as I stared at this stranger in front of me. I never heard such harshness come out of Justin’s mouth before, especially directed at me. I opened my mouth to say something—anything—that would change his mind. He was in a bad place right now, I got that, but the way he was treating me, just wasn’t Justin.
I clamped my lips tightly shut when he turned his head, ignoring me as I stood in front of him. It was pathetic, and it definitely wasn’t me. Adelaide McGregor did not let people treat her like shit. Ever.
I let out one final huff, feeling just a teensy bit guilty for being a drama queen, before I spun on my heel and headed back out to the parking lot. I was not going to break down. I avoided everyone’s eyes as I left.
Yeah, I’m sure I was the least of their concern at that moment, but it was still embarrassing as hell. What happened to Justin? The one who worshipped the ground that I walked on. The one who never said a hurtful thing to me in the time we had been together.
Maybe I would never find out, because something deep inside me told me I would never see Justin Parker again. And just the thought made every part of my body, inside and out, feel like it was being ripped apart all over again.
WHAT IN THE hell was that?
I popped off the top of my third beer since arriving back at my parents’ house, taking a long swig to try to forget about the whole damn day.