Page 274 of Face Off

She stares at him.

Lyric’s attention moves across the rest of us. Nobody reaches for her or tries to soften what happened.

Temple stands near the fire with her blanket hanging from one shoulder and the remains of her destroyed s’more still in one hand. The humor has disappeared from her face, but she doesn’t look intimidated.

Lyric notices. “Congratulations. He’s available now.”

Temple lowers the s’more. “This has nothing to do with me.”

“It will.”

“No.” Temple steps closer to Briggs without touching him. “You don’t get to cheat on someone, humiliate him in front of his friends, and then throw him at another woman like he’s something you finished using.”

Briggs looks at her.

Temple’s eyes shine, but her voice remains steady. “He isn’t disposable because you didn’t know how to love him.”

Lyric retrieves her purse from the chair. “He’ll call me tomorrow.”

Briggs flinches.

“You always do,” she adds.

I step directly into her path. “Not this time.”

“You can’t stop him.”

“I will sit with his phone in my hand even if he fights me. I will take whatever he throws at me because you will destroy his fucking life and I’ll never let that happen.”

She studies my face and understands there is nothing left inside it for her to manipulate.

“Leave,” I say.

Lyric walks toward the castle without looking back.

We remain near the bar until the doors close behind her. Briggs stares into the darkness while his shoulders rise and fall beneath the effort required to remain standing.

Bliss approaches first. “Don’t,” he says.

She ignores him and wraps both arms around his waist.

Briggs looks down at her. His hands remain at his sides for several seconds before he folds around her so completely that Bliss nearly disappears against his chest.

“I feel so fucking stupid.”

“You aren’t stupid.”

“I knew.”

“That doesn’t make you stupid.”

“I knew, and I kept letting her explain it.”

Bliss tightens her arms. “You loved her.”

“That’s supposed to make it better?”

“No. It explains why leaving hurt worse than staying. It doesn’t mean you deserved what she did.”