Meggie sniffed at Mort’s speech. “Not if we leave. Okay?”
“Just tell me why you crying, Fee? If you straight, I can go with a clear conscience.”
“You can leave now with a clear conscience,” Meggie retorted. “The less you know, the better for you.”
“Yeah, Mortician, go,” Cash said. “I was just leaving myself. There’s nothing to tell Prez. Whatever was going on with me and Ophelia is over.”
“Don’t do this,” Fee begged, her pride going out the door, the closer Cash got to hers.
“It’s done,” he announced, offered them all another hard look and stormed out.
Stretch hobbled to his feet. “I-I should go.”
“Don’t you dare!” Fee shouted wildly. “Don’t you dare run behind him and offer a dick suck to get back with him.”
“I can’t run any fucking where,” Stretch pointed out. “I certainly won’t suck that asshole’s cock tonight. I’ll talk to him tomorrow when he’s calmer.”
Mortician frowned but Fee ignored it, too caught up in her pain.
“No!” she screamed. “If I have to let him go, so do you. He doesn’t want me or you.”
“Yeah,” Stretch sneered. “Thanks to you! I fucking knew bringing you into our relationship would ruin me and him.”
“Get out!” Fee shouted.
“Gladly. I’ll never forgive you for what you’ve done. You needed to stop pressuring him. This is all your fault.”
“Stretch, go, brother,” Mort commanded.
Too overcome with tears to do anything, Fee sank to the floor and covered her face. A moment later, she heard her door close.
“Come on.” Meggie wrapped her arms around Fee and helped her to her feet. “Sit on the sofa.”
Once Meggie helped her to the seat, Fee drew in deep breaths, just as Meggie’s phone blasted Christopher’s ringtone.
“Tell him you’re on the way,” Fee suggested, her head pounding. “I need to be alone anyway.”
Meggie studied Fee closely, then sighed and answered her husband’s call, doing as Fee requested, then ending with her usual, I love you.
“I’ll be fine,” Fee swore once she hung up.
“I feel as if this is my fault.”
“It’s not,” Mort spoke up. “Cash a fucking ass. That’s the fucking problem. The way he treated Stretch for months prove that. You two too good to put up with his ass. You and Stretch might work better without him.”
“I said horrible things to Stretch,” she cried. “He’ll never forgive me.”
Worry creased Meggie’s brow. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
She doubted she’d be okay for a long time to come, but she nodded, not wanting to hold Meggie up. She had to get to her husband and children.
“Come to the house tonight,” Meggie insisted. “Sleep there.”
“Okay,” Fee agreed hoarsely, wondering if she should’ve left well enough alone. She might not have had the relationship she wanted, but, at least, she would’ve had them.
Storming away from Fee’s apartment, Cash couldn’t believe what had just happened. He couldn’t believe her. Giving him an ultimatum. Either confront her brother or lose her. He was just settling into the idea of a fucking relationship, knowing all she wanted, and she hit him with that.
He jabbed the elevator button, aware of Stretch hot on his heels.
“Not a fucking word,” he warned, pressing the number one and allowing the doors to slide shut.
“Fuck you, asshole,” Stretch returned. “How could you destroy us?”
Fee lived on the third floor, so the elevator reached ground level in no time. Without answering, Cash stalked into the lobby and out into the cool twilight, heading to his cycle.
Stretch grabbed his collar and jerked him back. Cash reacted, swinging around with a fist to Stretch’s stomach.
“Leave me the fuck alone.”
“So that’s it?” Stretch gasped, clutching his stomach, wheezing out a cough. “You’re just walking away from us? From me? Since when did you and I depend on Fee?”
Cash thrust his fingers through his hair, not having an answer to the question. When had it? He thought of Fee the Saturday she’d come to the party and found him with Daphne. Something about that night changed everything. Maybe, if he knew what it was, he’d have the answer. Right now, he needed to get the fuck away and think. He didn’t need to think of her despair or see Stretch’s hurt.
He turned to his bike.
“If you want out of this relationship, go.” Stretch’s voice halted him. “Fee and I love you. We want to make this work.”