Cruel Heart

PART 6

Thirty seconds. 

In the back booth of the Sugar Bowl, hidden from the rest of the diner, Mia decided she'd give Lake thirty seconds to explain before promptly throwing her drink in his face. It was the least she could do. She hadn't exactly pulled a crazy ex girlfriend move yet. And considering how they'd ended? Mia felt she was pretty entitled to a few 'crazy' ex moments. 

She'd gone through about a thousand different excuses he could give her. "I wasn't thinking," he could say. Or, "It was a moment of weakness." "I fell, naked, right in between Gigi's legs, 'cause, ya know, I'm a klutz."

 Or maybe even, "I had a limited supply of oxygen as a child and that's why I grew up to be such a mind-numbingly, stupid, dumb-ass." Yep. That one was her favorite. 

"This seat taken?" 

Mia didn't need to look up to know who stood at the other end of the booth. 

"Nope." Her molars ground together in restraint. She couldn't even look at him. Not without seeing Gigi draped over his body like a damn blanket. Wow. She hadn't expected to feel this mad. Over the past few days she'd felt numb when it came to Lake and Gigi. 

She thought it was from a lack of caring mixed with indifference. But now, with Lake standing right in front of her, it was like a flood of rage boiled over her skin. 

"How are you?" Lake asked while sliding into the booth. 

The dim lights caught the sharp planes of his cheeks. His face was too jagged, too harsh to be handsome. And his eyes. That stare held secrets. They drilled into you like he was trying to unravel you. 

Trying to see right through you.

Glaring at him, Mia wondered how the hell she ever thought she loved Lake. She'd been intrigued when they started dating. Mesmerized by the way he could command a room. At first, they're relationship had been a game. A chase of cat and mouse. It had been a good distraction from life. 

So finding him wrapped around Gigi really shouldn't have come as a surprise. 

In the end, there was no love between Mia and Lake. All they had, all they ever had, was infatuation; love without a cause. 

I was confused, she thought bitterly. Lake had been her first real relationship. How was she supposed to know that what they had wasn't love at all? 

"I, uh, I heard your stepmom's back in town–" 

Mia's eyes shot up. The last thing she wanted to talk about was Opal's grand return to town. How did he even know about that? Oh, right. Gigi must have told him between fucking. 

The growing urge to throw something at him boiled her blood. Her shoe would work. It had a six inch heel that would do the trick. Or maybe the salt shaker would work. One good thwack! right to his temple. 

"Skip the niceties," she snapped. So much for playing it chill. Not that that had ever really been an option. "You texted me, so here we are. I'll give you thirty seconds to explain." 

She held up her hand before he could interrupt. "But after that," she continued, "I'm storming right out that door. You're never to try to contact me again. Ever. You don't even think about me, got it?" Mia narrowed her eyes. "But let me make this clear. I don't owe you shit, Lake. So don't you dare expect to be forgiven. Because I'll tell you right now, that is so not going to happen." 

Lake nodded. "I understand." 

She sat back in the booth. "Then start talking." 

Lake took a steadying breath. "I have nothing to say that will make this any better. What I did was awful and I cannot apologize enough."