Piper

I couldn’t believe I was in Austin’s bed. I’d had a crush on him for years, and two weeks ago, I’d finally worked up the nerve to tell him how I felt. That talk hadn’t gone the way I’d hoped. Though we were only two years apart, Austin had called me a child. I was sixteen years old—hardly a child.

Everything had changed when he’d called me upset. I’d been the one he’d called when something big was bothering him. Austin had needed me, and not just as a friend. I didn’t know what had upset him so much, but I’d been the one to offer him comfort when he needed it most. There was still a lot we needed to discuss when he woke up—like how we were going to handle his plans to move to Los Angeles. Since I’d graduated early, I could go with him. We just needed to convince my parents. My dad wouldn’t be happy about me moving away with Austin, but he’d get over it. I loved Austin. True love was something my parents understood.

Looking over, I watched Austin sleep. His blond hair was getting longer. When I’d come to help my dad a few weeks ago, I’d heard Austin’s father yelling at him to get it cut. I liked it longer. The previous night, I’d run my fingers through his soft hair for the first of many times. Everything seemed perfect.

His blue eyes opened, and he looked confused.

“Fuck me,” Austin muttered before closing his eyes and rolling onto his back.

I frowned. That definitely wasn’t the reaction I’d been hoping for. “Good morning,” I said nervously.

Austin looked over at me and sighed before ripping my heart out with four simple words. “This was a mistake.”

I nearly gasped from the pain.

“Are you saying that because of our age difference?” I asked.

My parents were also two years apart. They’d married when my mom was my age, after she’d gotten pregnant with me. It wasn’t the ideal way to start a marriage, but they were still together.

“That’s not it.” He climbed out of bed and put on a pair of shorts that were lying on the floor. With his back to me, he ran both hands through his hair and tugged on the ends. “I wish I’d never seen my dad with your mom.”

“My mom?” I asked softly. There could be an innocent explanation. My mom handled the business end of my dad’s company. Austin’s dad might have been signing a new contract or making changes to his existing contract. There were plenty of reasons for him to be with my mom, but Austin’s anger didn’t fit with an innocent explanation. “Why was your dad with my mom?”

When Austin turned toward me, his eyes were filled with rage. “He was fucking her, just like his other whores.” He spat out the words before letting out a frustrated breath. “That’s how we ended up like this.”

“No.” The word was barely a whisper. My throat was tight with the effort to hold back my sobs. He’d slept with me because he thought my mom was sleeping with his dad. Pain mixed with anger, and I latched on to anger. Anger I could handle. He was wrong about my mom. How dare Austin say something like that about her? My parents had a great marriage.

I sat up in bed with the sheet clutched to my chest. “You’re lying.”

“It’s the truth,” he argued. “I wish it wasn’t. Fuck my life. I wish you hadn’t shown up in that dress two weeks ago. If I hadn’t seen your mom with my dad. If only you hadn’t told me how you felt.”

“You’re blaming me for what happened?” I demanded.

“You think I’m blaming you?” he asked. “I fucked this up. I was so pissed, I brought you back here and treated you like a whore. My father fucks your mother, I fuck you. You’re the only innocent person in this whole messed up scenario.”

Stupid! I’d been stupid for thinking Austin was worthy of my love. My nails dug into the palms of my hands as I struggled to get my rage under control. I wanted to scream and throw something at Austin. Tears burned the backs of my eyes, but I would not cry in front of him. He didn’t deserve my tears.

“Turn around, please,” I whispered.

Austin opened his mouth to argue, but then closed it and turned his back to me. I climbed out of bed and frantically searched for my discarded clothes. I quickly dressed and hurried toward the door.

Austin’s hand landed on the door before I could open it. “We need to talk, Button.”

“Don’t call me that,” I ground out. For years, I’d loved it when Austin called me by my last name. It had started when I was eight. Now, the nickname seemed more like a condescension.

After letting out a sigh, he continued. “We need to talk about what happened.”

“No,” I replied. “We aren’t going to talk about it. In fact, I hope we never talk again.”

“Button.” His voice was ragged.

“Don’t!” I snapped. “I’m going home.”

“I’ll drive you home,” he insisted.

“No. I’d rather walk,” was my angry response. “Or better yet, I’ll whore myself for a ride. I already whored myself to you for the ride here.”

“Shit,” he muttered. “Listen, Button—”

“Don’t fucking call me that!” I shouted before turning to shove him. “You made your point. Leave me the hell alone!” Throwing the door open, I raced down the hall and out of the house. I heard Austin’s shouts behind me, but I didn’t stop. Over the next few weeks, I ignored his calls and deleted his messages without listening to them, until he finally stopped calling. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or disappointed when he gave up on me. In the end, it didn’t matter. Austin was a mistake, but I’d learn from this mistake. No man would ever use me again.