Page 98 of Detour

“Don’t be home. Don’t be home. Don’t be home,” I chant with each step up the stairs.

Being on the sloppier side of my night, I forgot to do a vehicle check on the way in. I never forget.

Coty’s head snaps up from where it was resting on the door—my door to be exact—as I reach the top. So much for getting inside undetected.

His eyes travel up my body starting at my naked toes in my slides while I stand here motionless. Busy debating whether I can chase down Drew in my current state, I miss Coty getting to his feet.

“Hey.”

The raw tenderness in his voice catches me off guard for the second time tonight.

I wave a hand halfheartedly and drop my gaze to his feet, landing on a brand-new doormat where Coty’s perfect ass was previously parked.

“I, uh, got you one finally. I hope you like it.”

The overly sweet act feels out of place compared to the amount of torture I’ve endured all week and irritation sours the surprise.

Pushing past, I kick it aside with my foot. “You shouldn’t have done that. I won’t be here much longer,” I spit with as much venom as I feel churning in my veins.

Coty blocks my hands with his body but I keep my eyes locked on his rapidly rising chest, refusing to look up.

“Don’t say that. Please don’t say that. Whatever happened, I’ll fix it, Angela. Please. Just…don’t leave.” At my silence he continues, “Or I’ll leave. Anything. Whatever you want.” His voice lowers as does his head.

What I want? I want my life to make sense. I want a life that I actually have a say over. One that happiness resides without a constant cloud of misery hovering in the distance, waiting for the perfect time to strike and ruin what I’ve worked my ass off for. I want a fucking chance. A chance to be who I want and not what others keep telling me I am. A chance at being the woman my mother never could be. One that loves freely without consequences coming to those who dare to love her back.

I want the boys next door to have a fraction of what they deserve without having to fight off my relentless demons in the process. I want them to know their parents are morons for missing out on some of the best humans I’ve ever met. I want to not only be a part of their family but to earn a spot there all on my own without their constant help. I want to stand as strong with them as I can without.

But that’s not in the cards for me. It never was. They’ve been stacked against me from day one and I can’t place that burden on them, too. I won’t.

Reluctantly meeting Coty’s sad eyes, I whisper, “please move,” then sigh when it comes out broken just like my heart.

Holding my stare for a moment longer, I watch as a multitude of emotions pass through his eyes leaving me dizzy. Then huffing through his nose, he flies to his side of the hall, flinging the door open and closed without looking back. I don’t know what hurts worse, that I pushed him away or that he’s letting me. I flinch from the sound echoing off the walls and drop my head. Eyeing the pristine welcome mat, I nudge it further away using my toe. This tumultuous cycle I call life isn’t accepting anymore visitors.

CHAPTER 34

Coty

F uck.

Fuck this.

Fuck her.

Okay, maybe not Angela, but fuck whatever stupid excuse she’s come up with to ghost me. Again.

Everything was fucking perfect—until it wasn’t. Just like that, she ripped the carpet out from under me, taking my heart along with it.

I’ve replayed every minute from that night last weekend wondering where it all went wrong. It was like a switch had been flipped from the parking lot to the top of the stairs. The incredibly hot, sexy water being turned to inhospitable, freezing liquid in an instant. I’ve grilled the guys time and time again to see if they said something to warrant her swift change but they seem just as clueless as I am. Her cutting off any contact with them as well should make me feel better, that it’s not just me, however it only gives a finality to everything somehow, causing the panic to grow more urgent with each passing day.

After seeing that fuckwad Steve crowding Angela, then hearing what her boss has been putting her through, I retreated into my own head. The guys and I have been working on a new project, one that will make us our own bosses much like Angela’s striving for with her new education plan. The new shop we’re currently planning was supposed to be ours—mine, Beck’s, and Marc’s. But lately I’ve been rethinking the entire plan, especially after learning more about Angela’s hostile work environment. I’d been planning to redraw the blueprints currently covering my desk with an added bay for a car wash. A car wash Angela would be running. A place for her to flourish without some sleazebag putting his hands all over her. Unless that sleazebag is me, of course. And it’s consensual.

The layout was so clear in my mind once I had the idea that I had to get it down on paper before it left me. I wanted to be there for Angela after Steve’s disrespectful mouth ruined the night but I thought I had time to sketch up something real quick. I was wrong.

“Fuck!”

I snatch my helmet off the coffee table sitting next to Angela’s abandoned one. Beck attached these active cameras to all our helmets with the intent to capture our rides from now on. I’m not in the fucking mood for a play-by-play of the wreckage I’m wading through but don’t have the headspace for taking the damn thing off, so I leave it and storm back into the hallway.

Automatically I notice the discarded mat and stomp over to shove it back in place. The hell she’s moving. The rental agreement she signed ensures I’ve got at least a few more months. Hopefully. I’ll check with Marc to see if he can find out the exact date her contract ends. That’ll be my deadline to fix things with Angela. If it doesn’t work, then like I promised her, I’ll move. She’s been through enough without adding getting chased out of her apartment by the dumbasses next door to the list.