Changing Course (Wrecked and Ruined #1)(46)

"Get out," he says to Sarah with a scary calm as he tucks Jess under his arm.

The tone of his voice is enough to cause Sarah to let out a small whimper and slides further behind me, attempting to disappear completely. My eyes are stuck to his arm around Jess. She has her hands covering her face and her entire body pressed against his side. It's the wrong time to care. I should be grateful that she has someone to comfort and protect her right now, but it pisses me off that it's him and not me. I hate that he is even touching her right now. With any other friend in the world, I would ask them to take Sarah home, so I could hold Jesse myself. But there is not a chance in hell I could leave Sarah alone with Caleb.

"Caleb, calm down for a minute. You're freaking her out," I say while trying to figure out the best plan to get everyone into their separate corners.

"Are you f*cking kidding me, Brett?" He snaps. "I have no idea what just happened here, but I can promise you that crazy bitch hiding behind you is at the center of this problem."

I feel Sarah start trembling behind me. He's right, she has proven herself to be crazy today. But feeling this woman who used to own my heart shaking in fear, is more than I can take. I reach behind me and pull her into my arms. Our position almost exactly mirrors the way Caleb is holding Jesse. He stands staring and shaking his head in disbelief, while wrapping his other arm around a still hidden Jesse.

"You have issues, Brett. I thought you were moving on from this, but I think we can all see now that you are still stuck, rooted in a past that you will never be able to reclaim. You need to take a good long look at this situation for what it really is. You're walking out of here holding the wrong woman, and everyone knows it but you." He bends over lifting a still emotional Jesse into his arms, and carries her out the back door.

I know he's right, but I can't see what other options I have right now. I look up just in time to see Jesse peeking at me over Caleb's shoulder as I hold Sarah. The pain on her face shatters the few remaining broken shards of a heart that I have left.

Kara walks back toward the front pausing only long enough to finish me off. "You know, I had you pegged all wrong. You talked such a big game last night. That whole bullshit about sunshine and fog. I even believed you." She lets out a humorless laugh. "Get her the hell out of here, and stay away from Jess. I'm not going to stand by and watch you destroy her the same way you did that one." She nods toward Sarah, still nestled in my arms, before walking away.





Jesse

THE FIRST thing I clearly remember is sitting in Caleb's truck. He's talking to me, but I can't think of anything except the image of Brett holding Sarah. Protecting her. It's burned into my memory. I may never be able to see anything else again.

"Are you okay?" Caleb asks, causing my eyes to snap up to his.

"Umm..." I say as my lip begins to quiver. I can't continue without crying again, and to be honest, my head hurts. I need to be in my bed. Alone, except for the seven hundred beers I'm going to need to forget the last twenty-four hours. "Can you take me home?"

"Absolutely." It's only one word, and I've never been so thankful for brevity in my life. I'm not in the mood to talk. Not when I can still hear Sarah telling me all about the night she had with Brett on Tuesday. The night after he and I were together. The idea of him touching her within hours of leaving me is enough to make me ill. She told me every sickening detail of their night together. Her mouth was a knife verbally gutting me open. There are a lot of things she could have told me that would have done less damage, but somehow she knew that giving me the play by play of their sexual escapades was more than enough to send me over the edge. She knew my insecurities and she played right into them.

"She's so pretty," I whisper as Caleb drives us towards my apartment.

"Yeah, she is on the outside. But she's ugly on the inside."

"No, I mean his daughter."

"Whose daughter?" He asks, obviously confused.

"Brett's."

"He doesn't have any kids."

"But she had a picture of a little girl who looked just like him. Big green eyes. Dark brown pigtails. Said her name was Samantha or something."

"Oh shit, this is a whole new level of crazy even for Sarah. Samantha is his niece. Brett's whole gigantic family looks exactly the same. Must be good genes, because his sisters are hot."

"Oh."

"What else did she hit you with back there?" No way am I repeating the things she told me about their sex life to Caleb. I want to get as far away from that particular topic as possible.

"That was really horrible." I hiccup a breath remembering.

"I'm so sorry, baby girl. No one deserves to be on the opposite end of Sarah Sharp's wrath, least of all you."

"So, they really are married?" I know the answer, but after meeting her today I can't imagine Brett ever falling for a woman like that. She's beautiful, I can definitely see why he was attracted to her initially, but her personality couldn't have been more different than the sweet and funny guy that Brett is.

"Yeah, they are." He glances over at me while driving. I find myself wanting to know more about this mystery woman. It's plain to see from her reaction tonight that she and Caleb don't get along. I think it would help to hear their story from someone who isn't in love with her. Apparently, that shows in my face because he shakes his head and says, "Listen, I'm really the wrong person to talk to about Sarah. Kara should be getting off work soon. You two can talk and do whatever the hell girls do in this type of situation. Shit, you want me to stop and buy you some wine?"