Never Doubt Me: Judge Me Not #2(35)

Suddenly, surprising both Jared and me, Will skids to a halt. He scrapes back a chair from the table and plops down in it. Then, he whips out his phone and starts to make a call.

“I’m calling the f*cking airline and changing my ticket,” he announces.

But when he finds out how much it costs to make a last-minute adjustment to an existing ticket, he disconnects and slams his phone down on the table.

Jared glances from the phone to Will. He mumbles, “Dude, be cool.”

Will ignores Jared and states to no one in particular, “I gotta call my mom.”

He leaves the phone on the table, hits speaker, and dials. When his mom answers, things spiral from bad to worse.

Abby informs her son that not only is she not giving him any money to change his ticket, but his flight home has actually already been changed!

“What the f*ck are you talking about?” Will spits.

“Don’t you swear at me, young man,” Abby states calmly.

And then she proceeds to inform her youngest son that she has extended his stay in Harmony Creek. Now Will is not due to fly back to Vegas until mid-August, which is two and a half weeks away.

“Greg and I are booked on a cruise to Mexico that leaves Los Angeles in two days,” she says, dreamily, as if there’s not a care in the world. “We figured, with you gone, this would be the perfect time to travel.”

“Well, it’s not perfect, Mom,” Will says, his voice cracking.

His anger has turned to an emotion I can only describe as despair.

“My life does not revolve around you,” Abby replies dryly. “Anyway, we’re flying to LA tomorrow, so it’s too late to change our plans. Everything is set.”

“You can’t fly to Los Angeles tomorrow,” Will whispers into the phone. “I need to come home, like, today. Why would you do this?”

“I’m sorry, Will, but I have a life to live, too.” His mother sighs. “I thought you were having a good time in Ohio. I figured I was doing something nice in extending your ticket. I thought since you and your brother are getting along so nicely, you’d enjoy the extra time with him.”

“You don’t care about me or Chase,” Will croaks out, defeated. “You always put yourself first, Mom, always.” My heart breaks a little at the depth of sadness in Chase’s brother’s tone. You can just hear how this is breaking him.

But sadness turns to anger when, suddenly, Will snatches the phone up from the table and whips it across the room. The cell whizzes past me and hits the pantry in the corner. It skitters across the linoleum as Will’s fist comes down on the table.

My heart hurts for Will, yes, but I need to take control of the situation before things get too out of hand.

I clear my throat and say in what I hope is an authoritative voice, “Settle down, Will.”

He turns slowly to glare at me. “Really?” His eyes fill with defiance. “Really? And who the f*ck are you, Kay? Do you seriously think you have some right to tell me what to do?”

Holding my ground, I reply, “I’m your brother’s girlfriend. And since he’s not here, I’m the closest thing to family.”

Will laughs derisively. “Sorry, Kay, but just because my brother sticks his dick in you doesn’t make you family.”

I am momentarily speechless, not to mention completely saddened. So much for feeling like a part of the Gartner family, the way I felt yesterday at the restaurant. My silly feelings were obviously way off base.

“Will”—Jared glances over at me, his expression apologetic—“that wasn’t cool, dude.”

Will scrapes his chair back and stands up. “Come on,” he says to his friend. “This is bullshit. Let’s get out of here.”

Jared reluctantly stands.

Finding my voice, I say, “Wait, where are you going?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. Obviously not Vegas, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

With Jared on his heels, Will starts toward the door. I follow.

“You can’t leave yet,” I say pleadingly. “You should at least wait until your brother comes home.”

Will opens the back door, and Jared steps out.

“Please don’t do this,” I beg Will in a last-ditch effort to stop him.

For a few brief seconds, I think I’ve reached him. He looks as if he might reconsider.

His whole demeanor softens, and he says, “Look, I’m sorry I said that shit to you. It was rude, and I didn’t mean it, okay? You are kind of like a big sister, and, well, big sisters sometimes get shit too, you know?”

I place my hand on his arm. “Will, listen. It’s okay, I understand, I’m fine. But please don’t go. Please just stay until Chase comes home. You can talk to him about everything.”

Will shakes his head and gently pries my hand from his arm. He holds my hand in his grasp, so carefully, so gently, so at odds with his earlier outburst of anger.

My gaze meets his. So many emotions pass in his green eyes—eyes that have seen far too much sadness, betrayal, and loss for such a young age.

Will squeezes my hand lightly before releasing it. “Hey, don’t worry too much. I’ll be back. I’m not running away or anything.”

“What are you going to do?” I whisper. “What should I say to Chase when he returns?”