Julian was outside, his hand lodged on the car door as he tried to pry it open.
“Julian,” I called out to him. He spun around and stumbled. From the corner of my eye, I spotted Delaney’s car pull in the driveway.
Julian’s gaze left mine and looked behind me to Brielle. “Well, look who it is. My wife, the lousiest pussy I’ve ever had. I left everything for you, you cock tease! For months, I was your sick puppy. You dangled your vagina in front of me like it was filet mignon. In reality, you’re nothing more than chuck meat.”
My hand drew back, and with one swift motion, my fist collided with Julian’s jaw. “You want to hit someone, you pick on someone your own size,” I growled.
His body fell to the ground, but he pushed himself back up and darted in my direction. His arms went around my waist, and he slammed me to the ground.
“No!” I heard Brielle crying as the air was shoved out of my lungs.
“Stop it!” Delaney cried, but Julian and I continued to wrestle. I took a few punches to my ribs, but I returned them with a few body shots. “Goddamn it, Nate, your son is watching!” Delaney’s voice screeched.
I wanted to defend Brielle, but I didn’t want Caleb to see such rage in his father. Shoving Julian off my body, I stood. Without another word, I marched toward my house and didn’t look back. I couldn’t. I was too afraid that if I didn’t walk away when I did, I might have killed him for laying his hands on her.
I slammed the sliding door shut. “Fuck!”
It was my fault.
It was my fault she was with him.
Chapter 27
Brielle
Julian slept on the couch after his argument with Nate. Delaney asked me what was going on, but when she saw my face, she knew. She had a few choice words for Julian, who told her to fuck off before he took off down the street. Once he was out of sight, she asked if I wanted to take a ride with her and Caleb to get ice cream. I apologized for Julian and told her I was too exhausted to move. Once I was upstairs, I rushed to my phone and sent Nate a text message. I’d had the same number for ten years, and he was still stored in there as Nicole.
Me: Thank you.
It was the only thing I could say.
He didn’t respond. I was positive his number was still the same, as I’d compared it to Julian’s phone many times in the past. It wasn’t until the following day I heard from him.
I woke up to a painfully bruised cheek. Well, a re-bruised cheek as the purple and blue marks from the previous blow were only beginning to fade away. Julian snored peacefully on the couch while I got ready for work.
It had rained most of the morning and gray skies lingered above. My mood worsened when I screwed up a regular’s order. Bart had been coming to the diner for lunch for the past fifteen years. Every Monday he ordered the meatloaf special, but my mind was lost in the fight between Julian and Nate and I switched his order with someone else’s.
Most southern men were polite. Bart wasn’t.
“How stupid do you have to be?” He shoved his plate in front of him. “For fifteen years I’ve been coming to this damn joint.”
I’m so very sorry.” I reached for the plate. “I’ll get your meatloaf right out.”
“I’ve been waiting for the past twenty minutes. Do you think it will be right out? Do you? How stupid are you?”
I bowed my head, embarrassed that most of the other customers were staring in my direction. “I’m very sorry, sir.” I cleared my throat. “Your lunch will be on me.” I hoped that offered him some solace.
“I don’t understand.” He pushed off the chair and stood. “I’ve been ordering the same thing since God knows when. Your job is so mindless an imbecile could do it.”
Tears began to drip out of my eyes. I had nothing left in me to fight anyone else.
“Enough!” Nate’s voice was stern and loud behind me. “She’s apologized, sir, and it was an accident. Now either wait the twenty minutes for a new one or get out.”
The diner was silent. All eyes were on us. Bart muttered a few more words before he sat back down.
“Are you okay?” Nate asked.
I shook my head and ran toward the back exit. Star Diner backed up to a small stream and wooded area. It was the place most employees used for a quick break.
I’d wanted something different when I came here. A chance for Julian to get the help he needed. I wanted to be happy. Instead, I was screwing everything up. And Nate always seemed to come to my rescue, which only made it more painful. Kneeling on the grass, I let a soft sob escape me. Black drops appeared on my skirt from my mascara. I scooped a bit of water from the stream and ran my fingers under my eyes. I heard footsteps approaching.