Slamming the door behind him, Phillip stomped through the house to the fridge for a beer. He didn’t care if it was only seven in the morning, and he sure as hell didn’t care that he just hailed a cab in only a pair of boxers. All he did care about was the fact that his heart was breaking in his chest, and he felt like smashing someone’s face in. How did she make any fucking sense? She loved him, but she didn’t want to be with him because she was still holding on to what the douche did to her. It was fucking stupid! She was insane and, fuck, he still loved her.
Banging his head on the fridge, he couldn’t grasp what had just happened. He felt so good when she uttered the words, felt like he had just gotten his fix of her, but then she ruined it by crying and saying she couldn’t love him. She blew his ego to hell and probably didn’t give two shits while doing it. It was gut wrenching, watching her cry, because all he wanted to do was wrap her up in his arm and make her stop. Kiss away those tears, promise only to make happy ones fall for the rest of their lives, but she wasn’t giving him the chance to.
Ahhh! Letting out a yell, he punched the fridge and then very quickly regretted it when the pain shot up his arm. Damn it. Opening the freezer, he placed his hand on an ice tray and forced the tears back. He wasn’t going to cry. Not over someone that didn’t want him. He had done that time and time again, but not this time. If she didn’t want him, fine, he’d pick up his shattered heart and move on. To what, he wasn’t sure, but the great thing was that he still had Claire. He’d always have Claire. Well, that was until she turned eighteen, went to college, and left him. Then he’d be alone.
So fucking alone because no one could ever be Reese.
Sucking in a deep breath, he let it out slowly as he shook his head. He wanted to go back and beg her to reconsider, but why should he? He had done nothing wrong. He had played by her rules, he had loved her, and she couldn’t even try to do the same for him when she was there. She only had to allow herself to follow her heart and he would be there waiting for her, but she wouldn’t and he couldn’t understand why. It all came back to the question on why he wasn’t enough? What was he doing wrong?
“Are you okay?”
He looked over his shoulder to find Claire in a long t-shirt and PJ pants. “Fine.”
“Okay, then why did you get out of a cab in boxer and down a beer before slamming your head on the fridge and then punching it?”
How long had she been standing there?
“Don’t worry about it, Claire, go back to bed.”
“I gotta go to school.”
“Skip it,” he said, leaning his head back on the fridge.
“Wow, yeah, I can’t do that but thanks anyway. What’s going on?”
“Nothing, I said nothing,” he snapped. When he turned to see her with a shocked look on her face, he felt like shit. “Please, Claire, not right now, just go. Give me a minute and I’ll take you to school.”
She didn’t say anything for a second but then asked, “It’s Reese, isn’t it? Did she break up with you?”
He didn’t want to bring her into this but soon he was nodding his head as his heart shattered in his chest all over again. When he felt her come up beside him, placing her hand on his back, he became limp and just leaned on the fridge, defeated.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, and he knew she was crying. When he opened his eyes to look at her and saw the tears pooling in her bright blue eyes before rushing down her face, he felt even more like shit.
“Why are you crying, Claire? Don’t do that. I can’t handle your tears, too.”