Chapter 20
Dillon
I sat down on the edge of the bed and angrily brushed the tears out of my eyes. It shouldn’t surprise me that this was all a game to Zane. But for some insane reason it did. And now I wasn’t just heartbroken, it felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest and stomped on. Repeatedly. There was an unbearable ache in my chest that had started the second I heard Zane tell Kade that our relationship was just an inconvenience he was willing to put up with.
Fuck him.
It was getting harder and harder to catch my breath the longer I sat there and the room seemed to be getting smaller. I thought last night had been our breakthrough, our new beginning, but I’d been so, so fucking wrong.
I have to get out of here.
I would pick up the pieces. I could get through this. After all, I’d made it through Travis and our horrible marriage. His betrayal didn’t seem to sting quite as badly right now after listening to Zane tell Kade that I was playing him just to get a story. He’d never forgiven me for deceiving him in the first place, that much was crystal clear. This charade was all just to clear his name and when he left me I was supposed to second guess everything, blame myself for why things were screwed up between us.
Except now I knew the truth about how he truly felt.
And I honestly didn’t know if it was better knowing or not knowing.
I moved from the bed quickly, dragging my suitcase from the closet and gathering all my things. My hands shook as I threw everything into my suitcase. Fuck wrinkles and designer labels right now. I had one central focus—getting the hell out of here as fast as I could.
If I could focus on that goal, I would get out of here without breaking down, hopefully without seeing anyone on my way out either. I sure as hell wouldn’t give anyone the satisfaction of seeing me broken—especially Zane—not after last night. I fought back the lump in my throat as I thought about how he had made love to me. He was so…different. Sweet. Dare I say loving. We were different.
Was that seriously just last night?
I glared down at the bed, like it was the problem, not the man that had just ripped the rug out from underneath me with a few words to his friend that I wasn’t meant to hear. I wanted to tear the sheets off the mattress, throw them on the ground in frustration, but instead of giving in to all the hurt and anger, I channeled that energy into throwing things in my bag.
Internally, I scolded myself for ever trusting Zane. I should have known better than to fall for him. Not to mention, I’d been warned. Several times. Maybe those nurses were right and I should have played him, but it was too late now. There was no way I could go on while my heart was involved and in a million tiny little pieces.
Within minutes I was ready to go and my cab was set to get here any second. At this point I didn’t care if I left anything behind. The only thing that mattered was leaving before Zane made it back to our room. He was expecting me to come downstairs, so maybe I’d be able to sneak out without him even knowing.
Almost as if my thoughts conjured him, the doorknob turned. He walked into the room, his steps sure and steady, like we were still on even footing. It was almost comical watching him walk in with his self-assured crooked grin and perfect teeth while I wanted to punch him in the face.
Stupid asshole.
“Hey baby, I wanted to catch a quick shower,” he said as he sat his wallet on the table by the door. “I thought I might have a few minutes since you hadn’t come downstairs yet. Kade wants to go down to the falls if you’re okay with that.” When he finally looked up at me, he frowned. “What’s going on? Why are your bags packed?”
I shook my head. “Does it even matter?”
My voice was flat. Unfeeling. Unwilling to let him in again.
He crossed the room in three strides, but I held up my hands to stop him from touching me. If he touched me, I might lose whatever sense of control over my emotions I’d convinced myself I had. Confusion and concern etched his face and it just made me even more livid.
He tried to reach for me again, but stopped himself as I took two steps away from him. “Of course it matters. What the hell is going on?”
“I mean does it matter since I’m only a piece of ass that you were keeping around so you would have a date to your brother’s wedding? You know, especially since you planned on ending it after the article is done anyway.”
His breath caught in his throat. “Baby, I didn’t—”
“Didn’t what? Mean for me to hear that?” I hissed. “If you haven’t picked up on it yet, whatever this was between us—this game—is over Zane. I’m done.”
“There’s a reason I said those things, none of it is true. Just let me explain—”
“No thanks,” I said shaking my head. “I really don’t give a fuck what you think and I don’t want to listen to any more of your lies. I get that you were a player, that you really didn’t want a relationship, but you were the one to push for this, not me. I wanted it just to be sex, and that wasn’t enough for you. Thanks for that by the way.” I grabbed my bags and narrowed my eyes. “Tell me this, was it always just a game to you?”
He took another step for me and I shoved past him.
“God no—”
“You know what? Don’t answer that because I really don’t want to know, Zane. None of it fucking matters anyway.”
I couldn’t believe how calm I was, angry yes, but still incredibly calm. As much as I wanted to scream and yell and throttle him, I wasn’t.
He moved between me and the door. I made myself look up at him, but I made sure to mask my face before meeting his eyes.
“Dillon, will you just let me tell you what’s going on. Please,” he begged. He took a step closer and I took two back, shaking my head. Would he really never get it? I was done.
“Talking is overrated, remember Zane? You taught me that.” I brushed past him and rested my hand on the doorknob for a second. “I honestly thought I was different to you, but now I know how stupid I was to think that.”
He didn’t turn to face me, but I saw the resigned slump of his shoulders before turning away. Good. Maybe he would actually feel some guilt for whatever screwed up form of entertainment he got from all this bullshit.
I was tired; tired of being lied to and led on for his amusement.
“Please don’t leave,” he whispered.
“I’m already gone, Zane,” I said as I closed the door behind me. It clicked into place behind me and I slumped back against the door, fighting back the growing lump in my throat. My heart and my head hurt like hell, but I couldn’t start dissecting where things went wrong right now. The only thing I needed to focus on now was making it to the airport in time to make my flight. I would make it home without losing my mind, and I needed to put one foot in front of the other to make that happen. Fuck Zane Turner and all his manipulation and lies.
I was going home.