Then, the worst thing that could possibly happen, happened.
“Oh. My. God.” Serena’s voice, from the other side of the partition, cut through Bri like a knife. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing, or am I hallucinating?”
“No, I’m seeing it, alright,” Trey’s voice answered, sounding as shocked as Serena did.
Perfect. The two people Bri would’ve rather died than have seen this, were here. Her stomach twisted, and for a moment she thought she was going to throw up.
“Wow. Can you say obsessive? Seriously, this is borderline creepy,” Serena huffed.
“Yeah, like if Bri ever disappears or turns up dead, you know Cole did it, kind of creepy,” Trey snorted.
“You know, I don’t get it,” Serena sneered after a minute. “Seriously, what is so damn appealing about her? I don’t get what he even sees in her.”
“Right,” Trey scoffed, not believing her. “You just don’t want to see it, because then you’ll have to admit that there’s someone out there better than you!”
Bri could feel the glare she knew Serena was giving Trey.
“Besides,” he continued, mockingly, “how could you want to ruin such a sweet little love story?”
Bri’s stomach bottomed out, and her heart stopped.
“What?” Serena asked.
“Don’t you see it? Look. Bri starts out as a sad, lonely, pathetic excuse of a human being, and then she meets Cole. He warms her, pulls her out of her sorry excuse of a life, makes her feel things she’s never felt before.” The sneering, mocking tone of Trey’s voice caused tears to form in Bri’s eyes. “And then, they fall in love, and live happily ever after. Cole saves Bri from her sorry, pitiful existence.”
“Oh, my god! I can’t believe I didn’t see it before,” Serena practically squealed with glee. “She’s his project! Something he needs to fix up and save. Now that I totally see.”
“Yes, and somewhere along the way, the fell in love,” Trey mocked in a falsely sweet voice. “How pathetically sweet!” He and Serena both laughed.
“That is not love. That is obsession,” Serena snorted. “And soon it’ll wear itself out, and Cole will move on. And poor little Bri will be right back where she started, sad and alone.” Serena laughed happily. “Come on, let’s get out of here. These pictures are freaking me out.”
As Serena and Trey left, Bri’s humiliation overcame her, choking her. Tear threatened again, but she refused to let them spill. Anger seeped into her, and slowly began to build, helping to keep her tears at bay.
How could Cole do this to her? How could he put her on display, and expose her like that?
Her anger at him mounted, until it consumed her. She was a writhing mass of fury, and she longed to be able to unleash her wrath on him. She didn’t realize she was about to get her wish.
“Bri? What are you doing back here?”
Chapter 28
Cole stepped up beside her, and Bri had to work really hard to keep her rage in check. She knew that if she exploded, everyone on the other side of the partition, and in the reception room next door, would be able to hear everything. And she’d had enough public humiliation for one night. If she and Cole were going to fight, she did not want an audience.
“How long have you been here?” Cole asked softly, oblivious of the raging inferno in front of him.
“A while.” Bri kept her voice low and flat, refusing to look at him.
“Oh. Did you seen my exhibit?”
Her anger spiking, Bri finally turned her eyes to him.
“Yes. I’ve seen it.” She couldn’t mask the anger in her voice.
“Dang it, Bri, why didn’t you wait for me?” Cole was hurt and frustrated, but Bri was beyond caring. “I wanted to be there when you saw it. I wanted to be with you, to see your reaction.”
“To see my reaction?” Bri’s eyes narrowed as her anger bubbled over. “You wanted to see how humiliated and mortified I was to have all of my most personal and private feelings plastered all over a wall for everyone to see? Or maybe you wanted to see everyone else’s reaction when they found out what a hero you are, saving me from my poor, miserable life, and finally giving me a reason to live?”
“What? Bri...”
“Are you sure you didn’t want to see how everyone else reacted to me?” Bri cut him off. “Watch as they laughed and whispered about me? Or worse, how they pitied me and felt sorry for me?”
“What?” Cole looked horrified.
“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you missed it!” Bri turned and stormed off through the reception room as quickly as she could without drawing too much attention to herself. She didn’t turn when she heard Cole call her name, or acknowledge him as he chased her through the halls. In fact, she didn’t stop until she was outside the building. She moved over into the shadows, away from the door, and rounded on Cole.