“I guess you’re right. He should be in there somewhere, darlin’. Have a good night.”
I gave Jerry a small wave and made my way into the bar.
It wasn’t super crowded. I had seen it busier, but I was glad for the small numbers tonight. It would make it easier to find Kane. I approached the bar to order a drink while I looked for him. While standing there waiting for the bartender to take my order, a few people stepped away from the bar and I was able to see Kane leaning against the far wall on the other end.
I automatically smiled at the sight of him, but that smile was short-lived when I saw Katie sway her way up to him. I stood there and watched as she placed her hand on his arm and I fought the urge to go break every one of her fingers, but this was a turning point for me. This would be the point where I could put every doubt I had ever had about Kane to rest.
I stood there, the rest of the bar, and everyone in it, melting away until it was just Kane, Katie, and I left. I held my breath waiting for him to shake her hand off his arm … but that didn’t happen. What happened next was Katie pressing her body against my boyfriend before she wrapped her free hand around the back of his neck and brought his lips down to hers.
My stomach dropped to my feet as I watched Kane kiss Katie, and when I couldn’t stomach it anymore, I turned and ran out of the bar. I had made it to the sidewalk when I heard someone calling my name. I couldn’t make out the voice of who it was over the pounding of my heart in my ears, and I didn’t want to turn around in case it was Kane. I didn’t want to see him. I didn’t want to look at him and remember seeing his lips pressed to Katie’s.
I felt a warm hand touch my arm and I immediately jerked away. The pounding in my ears had let up enough by now, though, that I could hear Jessi’s voice talking to me. I looked at her, but her face was all blurry. It was then, I realized, I was trying to look at her through my own tears.
“Kelsey, what the hell is wrong? You’re scaring me!” She firmly took my elbow him her hand. “Where is Kane? Did something happen?”
Just hearing his name wrecked me. I wanted to be away from here, away from him. “Jessi can you take me back to the dorms?” I managed to ask, though my throat closed off on the last couple of words. I was begging my body to go ahead and sob, just go ahead and let it all out right here on the sidewalk, but I wouldn’t do that.
“Sweetie, you have to tell me what’s wrong. You are really scaring me now,” Jessi pleaded with me.
“I need to get out of here right now, Jessi, and I swear I will tell you everything. Just please, take me back to the dorms.”
She nodded and wrapped her arm around me and began walking me toward the parking lot. I then noticed Landon standing a few feet behind her. He was flipping his keys back and forth on his finger. Clearly not knowing how to handle the situation. Just before we walked past him, Jessi paused. “I need you to take us back to the dorms.”
Landon nodded, then pointed over his shoulder with his thumb toward the bar. “Okay, do you want me to run in real quick and let Kane know what’s up?”
“No!” I said a little too loudly but I didn’t want him to tell Kane anything. He had lost the right to know any of my business the minute his lips touched Katie’s. “No. I just want to go to the dorms … now. If you guys are wanting to stay, I will walk back.”
Jessi shook her head. “No, its fine. We will take you.” She then glared at Landon and he hurried along to unlock his truck for us.
I climbed inside Landon’s truck and shut the door. Jessi laced her fingers with mine and gave me a small smile. I wasn’t looking forward to telling her what had happened tonight. She was going to flip her shit and try to kill Kane, I just knew it. But I didn’t want that. I just wanted him out of my life.
I can’t believe I had been so stupid to just give him everything like I had. I guess Nate had been right. I didn’t know the real Kane after all.
As soon as we were back in our dorm, I began telling Jessi everything that had happened that night. How I had finished studying and went to Shot’s to surprise Kane, and how I had found him with Katie. Like I knew she would, she was ready to head over to Shot’s and castrate him.
I loved my best friend. She was always willing to do whatever it took to make me happy, but there was no fixing this. This was a broken heart. I had been stupid enough to trust Kane with the most fragile part of myself, and he had let me down. My heart had already gone through so much when I had lost my mom, that I wasn’t sure if it would ever be right again after what Kane had done to it tonight.
While I had been telling Jessi about what I had seen Kane do, the screen on my cell phone lit up. We ignored it. I didn’t have to look to know who it was from. Finally, after the third time it lit up, Jessi grabbed my phone from my nightstand, “You want me to text him back? Tell him he can go straight to hell and take that whore with him?”
I shook my head. “No. I can handle him.” I took my phone from her hand. “I need to do this alone, though.” I said as I got up and went into the bathroom for some privacy.
When I was in the bathroom, I locked the door then turned to rest my back against it. I stared at my phone and the unopened text messages before I slid my back down the door to sit on the bathroom floor. The first text from him read.
Kelsey, where are you?
Shortly after he sent that one, he sent another.
Baby, I don’t know what happened. Landon just stopped by and told me that Jessi and he found you outside of the bar crying? What is going on?
And then finally...
Talk to me, baby. Please.
I took a deep calming breath before tapping out my reply. My hands were already shaking from the fury I was feeling about what he had done tonight.
Do not text me again. Do not call me. Forget you ever met me, Kane. I’m done. I am SO done.
I took another deep breath to try to calm my nerves, but it didn’t help. My phone shook in my trembling hands, and I could see that Kane was typing out his reply. Not that it mattered. There was nothing he could say that would change what he’d done tonight.
My screen lit up again and I looked down.
I am coming over. This is just crazy. I don’t know what’s going on. I leave you, go to work and the next thing I know my best friend is telling me he finds you in the middle of the sidewalk crying your eyes out? I don’t get it Kels. WHAT HAPPENED? ...... I’m on my way now. We are going to talk about this.
My breathing became erratic. He can’t come over. I can’t face him right now! He had crushed my entire world, and I wasn’t sure what I would do to him when I came face-to-face with him again.