“I would have been fine.”
“Really? You didn’t look fine.”
“What the hell are you doing here, Aaron?” Juliet and Mallory appeared on either side. I let out a sigh of relief. At least I had backup.
“I was merely talking with Cara and demonstrating why she needed me.”
“Let’s get out of here.” I didn’t bother with a sip of my drink before setting it aside. Considering my close call, I preferred not to have any alcohol in my system.
“Good idea.” Mallory linked her arm with mine.
“I should have just let you get busted.” His eyes narrowed. “Maybe then you’d have realized how dumb you can be. I told you I’m not waiting around forever. The clock is ticking.”
“I’ve moved on already.” I knew as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I’d made a mistake.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. We’re leaving.”
“No.” Aaron set aside the other drinks on the table with mine. “Tell me, Cara. Who’d you move on with?”
“It’s none of your business.”
He crossed his arms, accentuating how huge his biceps were. What had once seemed attractive now seemed frightening. “I already know it’s some idiot musician.”
But I refused to let him scare me. “You don’t know anything.”
“He’s going to get bored with you. He’s going to get bored, and toss you to the side.”
“That’s not true,” Juliet jumped in. “And you know it.”
“He’s playing with you. He’s getting his kicks out of dating a girl like you, but he’s going to move on.” Aaron’s words were cruel and selected specifically to hurt me. How had I never seen this side of him while we were together? Maybe I hadn’t wanted to see it. What I thought of as protective was actually controlling.
“You don’t even know him.” Mallory seethed.
“You got pissed at me for messing around a few times. You don’t think he’s doing the same thing? If you don’t, you’re even dumber than I thought.” Aaron practically snarled.
Without thinking, I swung my hand at him, smacking him across the face.
He touched his cheek, and I started walking away, pulling my friends with me.
“You bitch.”
I didn’t turn around. I’d either done something really smart or really stupid, but either way, it felt good. I’d stood up for myself this time. I didn’t let someone else do it for me.
“I’m done waiting, okay? I’m done. This is it, I’m not asking again. I’m not rescuing you again,” he called from behind me.
I turned around. “Good. I don’t need you to rescue me.”
I turned back around, and we walked out.
Mallory looked partially in shock. “Wow. You just slapped Aaron.”
“And it felt good. I don’t feel scared. I don’t even feel angry. I just feel good.”
“I’m really sorry about this. I wish I’d know he was coming.” Juliet put an arm around me.
“It’s not your fault. I actually think it’s good. Maybe that was the closure I needed.”
“Are you going to tell Chase?” Mallory asked as we slipped into the back of a cab.
“Yes.” Keeping this kind of thing from Chase would just blowup in my face. As much as I didn’t want to make him worry, I needed to be open. “I’m sorry the girl’s night didn’t work out.”
“It’s not your fault.”
When the cab pulled up along the curb at the house, Juliet paid, and we all hopped out. “So, what happened? What did he mean by rescue you?”
“I was being questioned by an undercover cop. Aaron vouched for me.”
“Wow. Are they cracking down even harder?”
“I don’t know, but I’m retiring the fake for a while.”
“We all should.” Mallory punched in the code to the house. “It’s too early to turn in though. What should we do?”
“Is Reed working tonight?” I asked Juliet.
“Yeah, why? It’s a girl’s night.”
“Yeah, it’s also one of those nights I wouldn’t mind a guy around for. Let’s go to Al’s. Think Colton would walk us?”
“Sure. He was just hanging out at the house tonight.”
“I never would have pictured that Colt would have gotten so into Kappa. I guess moving in as a freshman helps.”
She shrugged. “I know, it surprised me too, but he still spends time with his other friends a lot.”
Colton showed up a few minutes later. “How you doing, Cara?”
“I’m doing really well.” I was. Despite the rough night, I was feeling better than I had in ages.
“Aaron showed up tonight though,” Mallory said softly, but the anger in her words came right through.
“Oh. That sucks. He’s been keeping his distance usually though, right?” Colton watched me worriedly. I had to give it to my friends, they both picked caring boyfriends.
“This was the first time I’d run into him since the incident.” Incident. It sounded so clinical, but it was the only way I could describe what happened without using some less than appropriate words.
“Did he bother you?”
“In a way, but I took care of it. I think he’s going to leave me alone now.” He didn’t want the Cara who would slap him in the face and take care of herself. He wanted someone dependent, and that wasn’t me anymore.
“All right. Just let me know if I can do anything else.”
“Thanks.” I smiled. It felt so good to be independent. It felt equally good to know I’d be with Chase in less than twenty-four hours.
Chapter Nineteen
Showing up at a festival by myself in a place I’d never been wasn’t something I was particularly excited to do, so I was more than happy when Jade and Kyle agreed to go with me.
My friends were more excited about the music than I was, but my single-minded determination to see Chase more than made up for it. I was relieved that Kyle agreed to drive to Savannah, because I was pretty positive I would have struggled to stay within my usual rule of five miles over the speed limit.
Kyle parked in a large field, and we got out. We left our bags in the car before heading over to where the crowds were congregating.
I’d never been to a festival before, so I didn’t know what to think. I was just relieved the weather had warmed up. I’m not a fan of the cold.