After I left Jared's house, I slid into my car and slammed the door closed behind me. Heartache and blinding anger played tug of war with my emotions and I gripped the steering wheel tightly. A small part of me hoped he would come chasing after me, genuinely apologize and say he didn't really mean it, but I knew better. I remained there a few minutes in silence, watching in the dark and hoping to see the door open. How could Jared do such a thing to me? Just a few weeks ago, he so passionately told me that he never wanted to share me with anyone, ever again, but then tonight he was completely willing to hand me over to Shannon.. Why this sudden reversal? And he couldn't tell me about it before he brought Shannon into it? I couldn't be mad at Shannon because judging by his eyes, he was as shocked as I was. As I pushed the key into the ignition, I glanced up once more before I left. Damn him.Everything that I have going on in my life right now and he decides to pull this. Even though I love Jared, he could infuriate me every so often. God, I wish I had been brave enough to slap that cool smirk right off his perfect face before storming out. I murmured at the thought while wiping the tears from my eyes. I'm willing to bet that not many women have actually put him in its place. No, he's used to getting his way all the time.
I couldn't wait to get home and drown my sorrows in a nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, but deep down I knew that getting drunk would only temporarily numb me. Maybe what I really needed was some sober time, alone with my thoughts. I love him so much and the thought of losing him scares the hell out of me, but there's got to be a limit to what our relationship can handle. So many thoughts in my head and it figures, I would catch every damn red light on the way home.
Twenty minutes later, I pulled into my usual parking spot. I took my heels off and locked up my car before rushing to my apartment in hopes of avoiding my nosy neighbors. I really didn't want any questions.
Throwing my shoes on the floor just inside the door, I dropped my bag and phone on the table and went right into the bathroom. All I really wanted to do was get into a hot bath and try not to feel sorry for myself. This would be difficult given all that has changed in recent weeks. Sitting on the edge of the tub and waiting for the water to heat up, I poured a capful of lavender scented bubble bath in and listened to my ringtone echo all the way down the hallway. Believing that it was Jared, I ignored it. I had nothing to say to him. When the bathtub was full enough, I stripped down and slipped beneath the bubbles.
The longer I sat there, going over our big fight the night Colton invited himself over, the more I felt guilty. Perhaps if I hadn't called Shannon to begin with, then maybe things would still be going well between all of us. I had to admit to myself that I'll likely never get over my feelings for Shannon and this would have at some point eventually caused a problem between us. But I couldn't prevent the rage I felt from tonight from coming to the surface.
Leaning all the way back in the tub, I hoped the heat would relax my tense muscles. A trip to the gym would certainly help with some of my frustration, but unfortunately, there was nothing to help ease the pain in my heart. My mind drifted from Jared and Shannon then back to Lola. Two and a half weeks ago, I was left with no choice but to confront my sister. I had to tell her that Lola knew the truth, which is why she ran away. I expected Kimmie to come at me guns blazing for taking Lola in and not notifying her immediately, and she did. There were a lot of insults and threats, but once I told her about the footage on Lola's phone, she immediately changed her tune. Turns out my sister cares more about her prized reputation than about Lola.
Even though she was more than willing to sign over custody, she said something that kind of made sense to me. She said that before we begin involving lawyers, I may want to consider any skeletons I might have in my closet, because once all of this gets out, all of our lives will be on public display.