“He broke Kacey’s heart!” Karson yelled, trying to come at him again, but Karl stopped him.
“And like your wife said, they are adults. It’s none of your fucking business, now stop!” Karl yelled, his booming voice shaking even Jordie’s bones.
Regina looked at Jordie and then to Kacey. “Kacey Marie, what in the world? You two were together?”
“Yes, Ma! Obviously!” Kacey yelled. “What is wrong with all of you? Why is everything such an ordeal all the damn time? And why is my love life always on blast?”
Ignoring her outburst, Regina looked to Jordie and glared. “You broke my baby’s heart?”
“I did, but—”
Before he could finish, Regina slapped him across the face, causing Kacey to cry out, “Ma! Jesus!”
“He broke your heart,” she said simply, throwing the rag she had at him and walking away.
Looking at Kacey, Jordie scoffed. “Very violent family you have,” he said and she shot him a deadpan look.
“Shut up,” she snapped. “And can everyone just calm the hell down?”
“No, not until I beat the shit out of him,” Karson yelled, his chest puffed up, his eyes wild. Jordie had always known it wasn’t going to go over well when Karson found out, he’d even expected it to come to blows, but the anger in Karson’s eyes was scary.
He could actually lose his best friend.
Holding his hands up, he said, “Karson, buddy, listen to me. I deserve everything you’ve done, and more. I do. But you can’t beat me up any more than I already have. I fucked up.”
“What else is new? You always fuck up!” Karson yelled, and that hurt. Looking away, Jordie nodded.
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry isn’t good enough! She should never feel like she isn’t enough!”
“Absolutely,” Jordie said. Turning to Kacey, he reached out, taking her elbow in his hand, running his thumb along it. “You were always too good for me. Always more than enough. I was too fucked up to see it. I’m pretty sure I told you I was gonna regret hurting you that day, and I have. Ever since you walked out the door.”
When she looked away, moving her elbow out of his grasp, he looked to Karson. “Bro, I’m sorry.”
Karson went to say something, but Lacey stopped him. “We forgave him. Everything he did all those months ago. Together we did, and you told me we can’t go back on it. That was old Jordie,” she reiterated, and to Jordie’s surprise, when Karson looked down at her, his expression softened. “We said that nothing mattered except his actions from the moment he apologized.”
“But he never told me about this.”
“Because he was embarrassed and also a little fucked up from it. They have their own issues, and who are you to get mad about it? What will that fix? He made the mistake. He’s the one who has to live with it.”
“Yes, but hitting him makes me feel better,” Karson said before glancing up at Jordie. “And I’m not sorry.”
“Don’t blame you,” Jordie agreed. “It hurt.”
“Good,” Karson said as he shook his head.
A silence fell over the room and Jordie didn’t know what to do. Kacey was looking twenty shades of pissed, Karson was shaking, and Regina wouldn’t look at him. Karl and Lacey were the only ones who looked approachable, but still he didn’t move. That was until he noticed the clock that said he needed to go.
As he smacked his hands together, Karson’s gaze cut to his and Jordie nodded. “I fucked up, I’m sorry. But I gotta go, gotta work on me a bit.”
He knew his feelings shouldn’t have been hurt when Karson didn’t offer to go with him, but they kind of were. Karson had been going with him all the time, except when Lacey wanted to go. Those were the times he spoke of Kacey, because Lacey supported them. The pain he was feeling at that moment was brought on solely by himself. He’d had every opportunity to talk to Karson. Instead, he’d hid what happened.
He was a coward.