Page 2 of Hold 'Em Tight

I want to agree with him, that everything is going to be okay, that we’re going to find a way to work through this, but I can’t. Because I’m not sure if we can.

How can it be okay? How do we fix this? How do we come back from this? Does he want her? Are they going to be some big fucked up happy family now?

The thought turns my stomach, threatening to make me puke.

Is this the end of us and Lennox? Are we really over? Am I losing one of the loves of my life to the damn devil?

This isn't right. Nothing about this is fucking right.

But when has anything about my life gone the way it should?

Feeling like I'm seconds away from breaking down, to a point I’m not sure I’ll be able to come back from, I pull myself out of Mateo’s arms and push past him, needing some space.

I can’t fucking breathe right now. Everything inside me is breaking, crumbling to the ground.

As I step into the bedroom, everyone rushes over to me.

“Rylee, baby, are you okay?” Trevor asks, his eyes filled with concern. “What's going on? They won’t tell me anything?”

“Rylee.” Donny pushes Trevor out of the way, cupping my face like Mateo did. “Cherry, baby, tell me you're okay.”

“I’m fine,” I lie, laughing a little manically as I do. “So fucking fine.”

Everyone’s faces are filled with pain and worry.

“Bullshit,” Mateo growls from behind me, spinning me around to face him. “Don’t think you have to hold yourself together for him, Rylee.”

“What else am I going to do, Teo?” I ask, my voice cracking as the back of my eyes sting. “He got her pregnant. He said so himself. He’s with her now.” The words feel like daggers to myheart as soon as I say them, wanting them to be anything but true.

“Fuck him,” Mateo rumbles, grabbing handfuls of his dark, inky hair. “Fuck him and his bullshit. Fuck him and his betrayal.”

I hate seeing him in pain. All I want to do is take it from him, but I’m drowning in my own emotions right now.

“What is going on?” Serenity asks as I numbly make my way over to my bed. “Who got who pregnant?”

Letting my body move without thinking, I crawl onto the mattress, settling at the head of the bed, before grabbing one of my pillows and hugging it to my chest. I stare blankly at the wall, letting everyone around me talk. I don’t want to speak. Or think. I don’t know what to say.

“What's going on? Lennox just told us he knocked the evil bitch up,” Mateo snarls.

“What?!” Serenity gasps. “No. That can’t be. He wouldn’t do that, would he?”

“You're talking about Missi, right?” Alex asks.

“What other evil bitch do you know?” Donny snorts.

“She’s lying, right? She has to be,” Serenity insists.

“We thought so too, but Lennox confirmed it himself,” Colton says, his voice sounding almost as hollow as I feel.

“I’m going to kill him,” Trevor growls. “What the fuck is wrong with him?! I know he’s been through some shit. And trust me, I feel for the guy. What happened was horrible, and no one should have to experience it. But for him to go so far off the rails that he'd get involved with her? That’s fucked up.”

“I think you need to get the man a psych evaluation,” Alex says, sitting next to me on the bed. I say nothing as he pulls me into his arms. I go willingly, having no fight left in my body to protest. “He has to be batshit fucking crazy to go anywhere near her.”

“None of this makes sense,” Colton insists as I close my eyes and allow my best friend’s comfort to settle over me.

I can feel the tension in the air. My guys want to be in Alex’s spot, but they’re too worked up, and honestly, I don’t know if I could handle their touch without breaking down.

Closing my eyes, I let their voices drift into the distance as the overwhelming wave of exhaustion settles over me.