When Tomorrow Never Comes (20 page)

Eric growls out as he lifts me up in his arms while he stands to his feet.

“Take her upstairs, Matt.” He then commands before handing me over into Matt’s arms. “I need to have a little chat with him alone.”

I don’t resist as Matt turns with me in his arms as I cry into his shoulder.

He walks us up the stairs as Eric opens the door to Liam.

“You have some nerve coming over here after making her cry like that. You broke her heart, you know. Both you and Jayce just destroyed any chance either of you had with her.” Eric snarls out.

“If you’d just let me explain…” Liam tries again.

“Just leave her alone, Liam. Leave her alone or I will have you arrested. If I even hear of you talking to my daughter I will have a restraining order placed against you, do you hear me?” Eric barks out.

I don’t hear anything else as Matt walks me into my bedroom, shutting the door behind us.

Sitting down on my bed he rocks me back and forth as I continue to sob uncontrollably.

My heart was broken and my mind couldn’t focus on anything other than the image of Liam standing in his room with Amy.

The smile on her face when I had opened the door had said it all.

She was still his and probably always had been.

Liam had lied to me.

He had betrayed me.

“What are we going to do, Eric? She hasn’t stopped crying since she came back home.” Matt whispers helplessly.

“I don’t know. All we can do right now is hold onto her and comfort her until it passes. Her heart was broken. You know as well as I do that that’s not something easy to get over, especially at her age.” Eric replies softly.

“I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to punch a kid so badly.” Matt sighs.

“Welcome to fatherhood.” Eric laughs lightly.

“I wanted to punch him too along with the other one. I don’t get why anyone would ever want to cheat on our girl.” Eric adds as he strokes his hand over the back of my head in a fatherly way.

Whimpering, I lean back from Matt for a moment. “It’s what I deserve for cheating on Cole.”

Matt shakes his head disagreeing. “You didn’t deserve this no matter what happened in the past. No one deserves to have their heart broken.”

I didn’t agree with him, but I didn’t have the strength to argue with him.

All I wanted to do was curl into a ball and sleep the next two years away.

I wanted to disappear.

Dear Diary,

Heartbreak and heartache, it’s the story of my life. Am I ever going to find love again or were you it for me…?

Two days later I roll over in bed and groan as Matt opens my curtains, allowing the sunlight to bath over me.

“You need to get out of bed, Eve. This isn’t good for you and you’re going to have to return to school sometime soon.” Matt sighs as he comes to stand at the end of my bed.

“Can’t I just stay here forever?” I whine.

“No, you can’t. You’re going to get up, get dressed, and then I’m going to drive you to school. I can’t keep making excuses for you.” He replies sternly.

There was no way he was going to allow me to argue with him.

“Fine, I’ll get up.” I huff out.

“Be ready and downstairs in fifteen, okay.” Matt grunts as he moves over to the door.

“Okay, Dad.” I reply with a hint of annoyance.

He grins and then walks out of the door, shutting it behind him.

Sighing roughly I roll out of bed and then slowly amble my way into the bathroom where I strip down and then move into the shower before turning on the water.

At first it comes out cold chilling my skin before slowly becoming warmer.

A soft sigh leaves my lips as I allow it to flow over my body.

I scrub my hair and then my body until my skin is a light pink. I wanted to wash away any trace of either Jayce or Liam.

If only I could scrub them out of my mind.

For the past two days Liam had come to the house like clockwork. He had begged both Matt and Eric to let him talk to me.

Thankfully they had repeatedly turned him away.

I wasn’t ready to deal with his lies and excuses. I saw what I saw and there was no way that he was going to change that.

The only person that I had remotely interacted with was Ben. He had texted me a few times just to make sure that I was alright.

I felt bad for him.

Not only had I been betrayed but he had been too.

His situation seemed a lot worse than mine considering it had been his own brother that had betrayed him.

I could hide away from everyone but it was harder for him.

Finishing my shower I climb out and grab a towel, wrapping it around myself before heading out into my room.

I stop seeing Ben sitting on the edge of my bed.

He looks up as I move closer. “Crap, I’m sorry. Your dad let me come up.”

“It’s alright. What’s going on?” I ask gently as I hold my towel closer to my body.

Ben sighs roughly as he bows his head. “I just needed to get away.”

I nod in understanding. “I get it, Ben. You can come over here anytime. You’re still my friend no matter what.”

“Thanks, Eve.” He replies softly.

“Why don’t you go downstairs and grab some breakfast while I get ready. Dad always cooks more than enough food.” I suggest.

“Alright, would you want me to drive you to school?” He questions as he stands to his feet.

I nod. “That would be great.”

He nods and then moves out of my room.

I shut the door behind him and then turn around to get ready for the day.

Once I’m ready with just a plain pair of jeans and a white tee shirt I stare at myself in the mirror. My hair was braided over my shoulder and I had on a pair of dark brown sandals.

I force a smile but it quickly falters.

I couldn’t muster enough strength to be happy.

Closing my eyes for a moment I clear my mind the best that I can before turning away from my mirror.

As I take my next step I open my eyes and focus on heading downstairs to join Eric, Matt, and Ben for breakfast.

I was back to taking things as they came instead of looking forward to my future.

Breakfast goes by fast and soon I find myself on the back of Ben’s bike on our way to school.

It had taken a lot of convincing on my part to allow Eric and Matt to let me ride with Ben. They were still afraid of me having a blackout.

The only way they let me go was thanks to Ben who had come up with the bright idea of tying my hands around his waist that way if I blacked out I wouldn’t fall.

I didn’t like the idea but I would have done anything so I wouldn’t have to talk.

I loved Eric and Matt but I wasn’t ready to talk to them about my feelings yet.

All too soon for my taste we pull up to the school and Ben quickly releases my hands before bringing the bike to a full stop in a parking spot near the front of the school.

I hop off first and then slip off my helmet.

He slips off next and takes his helmet off before shaking his head.

Standing by him I wait until he’s ready to head into the school.

Walking side by side we enter the school and then turn down the hallway towards our lockers.

We both pause around the corner as we spot Jayce and Maggie together.

Maggie’s back was against the lockers and Jayce was leaning in close talking to her intimately.

Seeing Jayce like that with her still stung but I knew it had to be harder for Ben.

Reaching down absently I take Ben’s hand in mine for support.

He glances over at me with a sad smile. “Thanks, Eve.”

I nod and then take a step forward with Ben. We could do this together and keep each other strong.

At least that’s what I was hoping for.

Unfortunately that isn’t how things work out as Jayce and Maggie turn their attention towards us as we move closer.

Jayce’s smile falls as he spots my hand in Ben’s.

I didn’t know why he would care but it appeared that he did.

Ben tugs on my hand to keep us moving forward and soon we pass by Maggie and Jayce before we finally manage to make it to our lockers.

We break apart.

I focus on my locker and dial in the combination before it opens with a click. I place my helmet on the top shelf before gathering the books and things I would need for the day, slipping each thing into my bag.

Once I have everything I shut the door and turn to walk down the hallway to my first class.

Each step I take was like taking a step through thick mud.

I wasn’t ready to face Liam yet.

When lunch rolls around I make my way into the lunchroom feeling pretty confident with myself.

Liam hadn’t been in any of our classes so far.

And for the most part I had been able to ignore Jayce and Maggie.

Sitting down at the table that I normally used during lunch I begin eating my meal in peace until Ben joins me and then Jayce and Maggie.

We all remain quiet as we eat.

Being near them was tense.

I was just waiting for one of them to make a remark or get into an argument, but thankfully no one even glances in the other’s direction.

Once my sandwich is gone I place my hand inside my bag to grab something else to eat but my bag is abruptly ripped from my hand as Amy joins us.

She tosses my bag to the floor and then leans down into my face from the other side of the table.

“I hate you.” She bites out. “You took him away from me.”

I shake my head and laugh in amusement. “I didn’t take anyone away from you.”

“Yes, you did. He broke up with me just to be with you.” She argues.

“And now he’s going to leave us both thanks to you.” She adds.

My whole demeanor rapidly changes. “What do you mean?” I question, becoming worried.

“I mean that he called me a little bit ago and said some weird stuff. He sounded like he had been crying and then he said something about leaving.” She replies with an attitude.

Without a second thought I stand to my feet and turn to Ben. “You need to take me home now.” I demand.

He nods and wordlessly rises to his feet before rushing after me as I run through the halls towards my locker so I could get my helmet.

Ben grabs his helmet from his locker and within a few minutes we meet out by his bike.

We both hop on and he starts the engine with a roar before taking off down the road towards home.

My heart was pounding in my chest.

All of the fears I had felt when I had found Cole come rushing back like a flood.

What Amy had said had scared me.

It was eerily similar to what Cole had said to me the day that he had called.

“Please, hurry.” I call out over Ben’s shoulder.

He responds by revving the bike’s engine causing us to speed down the road faster.

To me we still weren’t traveling fast enough.

Time was against us.

I only hoped that this time I would make it to his house in time to stop him from making a very stupid mistake.

I wouldn’t survive losing him.