And Selene will never forgive me.
I head back to the gym, but I’m going to call my clients and cancel. I can’t deal with anyone right now. I’ll get in a hard workout, and at some point I’ll go home. Kylie will be there. And I’ll have to tell her.
I’ll have to be the man she was afraid I’d be.
The sound of the front door wakes me up. I got home from work late, but Braxton wasn’t here, and I didn’t have any messages. I tried to call, but he didn’t answer, so I texted. He replied, saying he was working late. I curled up on the couch with the TV on, and must have dozed off.
He comes in and sets his keys down on the counter.
“Hey,” I say, rubbing my eyes. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know.”
I shift so I can see the clock. It’s after eleven.
“Wow, it’s late,” I say. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He heads into the kitchen and opens the fridge.
My shoulders tense up. He is not okay. “Are you sure?” I ask. I sit up and pull a pillow into my lap. Something about his posture makes me nervous.
He grabs a beer and opens it, but doesn’t look at me. “Yeah.”
My heart beats faster and my hands tingle, like my body is getting ready to flee. “Where were you?”
“Nowhere. Just getting a drink.” He takes a long pull from the bottle.
“Okay,” I say. “Did something happen? You seem upset.”
“No,” he says. He still won’t look at me. “I just needed to do some thinking.”
“About what?”
He doesn’t answer, his eyes on the counter in front of him.
Something is very wrong.
My throat feels like it’s closing and I almost can’t speak. “Brax, what’s going on?”
He’s silent for a long moment. He takes another drink and sets the bottle down. “I think we made a mistake.”
“What did you say?”
“This,” he says. “It was a mistake. We were better off as friends.”
Oh, no. No, he can’t be saying this. “What are you talking about?”
He rubs his chin. “I don’t think I’m cut out for this serious relationship stuff. I thought I could be, but I was wrong.”
I feel sick to my stomach. I’m falling, spiraling down through nothing. Why is he doing this?
Oh, god. There’s only one reason he’d do this to me out of the blue. “Holy shit, did you—” I don’t know if I can say it. “Did you cheat on me?”
He finally looks up. “No. God, no.”
“Then what is this about?”
He takes a deep breath. “We were great as friends—you, me, and Selene. And I screwed that up. I shouldn’t have. We should have stayed the way we were. I’m no good at this stuff, Kylie. It was better before.”
I stand up and wrap my arms around myself. “You can’t be serious. Are you ending this? Are you breaking up with me?”
“I think it’s for the best,” he says.
I stare at him, my mouth open. Tears sting my eyes. My legs shake. I’m not sure if I can stay on my feet. My bottom lip trembles and I cover my mouth with my hand. I think I might vomit. “No,” I say. “No, Braxton. You can’t. I thought we—”
I stop and turn away from him. A sob breaks through, shaking my shoulders. The world is crumbling around me, crashing down, leaving nothing but ruins. My body hurts, like I’ve been hit by a truck. He can’t be doing this to me. He said he wouldn’t. He promised he wouldn’t break me.
I close my eyes. He’ll only break me if I let him. I feel like I’m being ripped to shreds, but fuck if I’m going to fall apart here, in front of him.
Goddammit, I should have known. This is Braxton. How else did I think this was going to end? I saw the end play out as soon as it began.
I slowly lower my hand and take a deep breath, swallowing back the panic that tries to rise in my throat. I clench my teeth together, anger burning through my veins. “This is my fault,” I say. My voice is cold, unemotional.
“What?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I should have known better. I was stupid enough to think I was special. That I was different. God, I was such an idiot. After all those women. I know you. I know who you are, and I know exactly what you do. I actually thought I could be the one to tame you.”
Braxton doesn’t answer.
I put a hand to my forehead. “I fell for it all. I can’t believe I did that. You, Braxton Taylor, confessed your longtime love for me, and I actually thought it was real.” I look up at him, stare him straight in the eyes. “You don’t know what that means. You don’t know what love is. You don’t have a fucking clue.”
“Kylie—”
“No,” I say. “You want to do this? You want to break it off? Fine. But don’t try to tell me it wasn’t all bullshit. You owe me at least that much. You can be fucking honest with me at this point.”