Page 60 of My Fault

“Dammit, Noah, just wait,” he said as he reached me on the landing.

“What do you want, Dan?” I asked, exasperated.

“If you’re not even going to talk to me, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here.”

“Maybe you should have thought of that before you showed up here and put me in this awkward position,” I said, turning around and walking the rest of the way downstairs. He followed me, obviously.

“So what should I do then?”

“Honestly? You should leave.”

“I guess I thought after nine months together, we could at least try to fix things,” he said.

Was he really trying to pretend I’d hurt him?Him?

“I’m not that kind of girl, Dan. And I don’t want to be.”

“What kind of girl?”

“The kind of girl who lets her boyfriend cheat on her and then just because he says ‘I’m sorry’ a couple of times decides to act like nothing ever happened. I thought you knew me well enough to realize that, but I guess I was wrong.”

“What the hell did you think would happen?” he screamed. “That things would just go on like before? You fucking left!”

My lip started trembling. I knew I’d left. I didn’t need him to shout and remind me of it.

“Right, I left. So the question is, what the hell are you doing here?”

“I didn’t want things to turn out this way. You hooking up with the first dude who came along just to hurt me. But I see you’ve done that. I can take the hint.”

I laughed scornfully.

“Is it really so hard for you to believe that I’m actually with Nick because I want to be with him?”

Dan’s expression was condescending.

“Come on, Noah. I’m not an idiot. That whole act you’re putting on, the kiss in the kitchen—you don’t think I know what you’re up to?”

I felt myself blushing, and that only made me angrier.

“You want to know what I’m up to?” I said, stepping toward him. “All the stuff you and I never did—that’s what I’m up to with him.”

I knew I was on shaky ground. Dan was very jealous, and I was sure the only reason he’d come here was to make sure I was still eating out of his hand. He couldn’t stand the thought that I’d turned the page that quickly; it was a blow to his fragile masculine ego.

By his expression, I could tell I’d hit him where it hurt.

He must have wanted to strike back, but before he could, Nick appeared in the entryway, walked over, and stood between us.

“How about you fuck off?” he asked Dan icily.

“You sleeping with my girlfriend?” Dan asked, squaring off. His muscles were tense, and the vein in his neck twitched.

“Whatever I do with Noah is none of your business.”

Dan seemed to be thinking over what to do next. I understood his hesitation. Nick was scary, especially when he talked calmlyand coolly, as he was doing just then. Plus he was older, bigger, stronger. I even felt a little bad for Dan…but not much.

“Dan, you should go,” I said, walking around to Nick’s side.

There was nothing else to talk about. The situation was ridiculous and uncomfortable for both of us. Not just because I was pretending Nicholas and I had something that we didn’t but also because Dan and I had passed the point of no return. He’d told me that himself when he’d admitted he’d cheated on me after I left. So what more was there to say?