Page 19 of Petals of Blue, Part One (Wilted Duet #1)

Fourteen

FELIX

The way our townhouse is set up is a bit odd. The street is basically our front yard, and the five backyards are gorgeous with gardens, patios, and sidewalks separating the spaces.

The parking situation makes my room incredibly annoying. Don't get me wrong, I think our place is beautiful and far enough away from the hustle and bustle of downtown that I'm not terrified of a break-in. But that doesn't mean everyone else isn't worried.

Beep beep.

Beep beep.

Just when I think they'll stop locking their fucking car...

Beep beep.

I swear to fuck—

Beep beep.

I'm up and out of my desk chair without further thought. It doesn't cross my mind that a child might be playing with some keys. All I'm aware of is my annoyance as I storm through the house and out the back sliding glass door.

I can't see much through the line of trees, but I hear raised voices. Stomping along the path between yards, I catch a glimpse of...Jared?

"I'm not stalking you, Blue! I live here."

Blue?

"Bullshit!" Aaaand there she is, my reason for being on such a short fucking fuse this week. Her bright blue hair is up in a messy bun, she has no makeup on, and her biker shorts are almost completely covered with a big band T-shirt.

Whose fucking shirt is that?

"Good afternoon, Blue," I greet, my voice thick with untamed desire and frustration.

I wish I could convince myself that the way she stiffens when she hears me is because of excitement.

It's not. Erica, as a teenager, would have squealed and run into my arms if I had surprised her.

Because I didn't go to school with the rest of them, my presence was always met with happiness back then.

She most definitely is not happy now.

"So it's true, then?" Blue's voice is cold and sounds closer to a mental breakdown with each word.

"That we live here? Yeah. Almost a month now."

A wave of panic flickers through her gaze, making me tense. Did I say something wrong? Blue's arms tighten around a large paper bag.

Jared curses under his breath and offers Blue the smaller, more obvious liquor store paper bag.

"Here, Bee. I bought you another one as some kind of peace offering for the next time I saw you.

" Her eyes narrow at my friend. Jared sighs and drags a hand through his short dark hair.

"I didn't know. Stop looking at me like that. "

Blue's gaze darts between us, and continuously skitters to the row of houses behind me. "Wait. Do you live here?" I ask, thinking I’ve figured out why she's acting like this is the end of the world.

"Thankfully, no," she sneers and lifts her chin in obvious defiance. "Seems like they just let anyone live here."

"Blue!" a feminine voice shouts. "Get your ass in here! The snacks aren't working. It's time for the booze!"

I make the mistake of looking behind me to see which neighbor knows Blue, but the damn trees and line of perfect bushes block my view.

A slight breeze, one that I'm becoming well acquainted with, breezes past my arm.

Blue rushes past me, but unlike like the time in the lounge, my pants aren't around my knees, and she doesn't have a door to slam in my face.

"Er—Blue wait!" Fuck, it's hard thinking of her as anything other than the girl we once knew. Rushing forward, I grab her elbow. Immediately, I regret it.

"Shit!" Blue hisses, fumbling with the bag I just jostled. But she's too late to right my wrong.

With her left elbow in my arm, the bottle of wine that was secured on that side in the bag goes crashing to the ground. I'm already apologizing and feeling like a fucking asshole, but Blue's not listening.

Yanking out of my hold, she whirls around on me and absolutely screams. "DON'T TOUCH ME! DON'T LOOK AT ME! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Chest heaving, with her fingers white-knuckling the remaining bottle of wine, Blue hits her breaking point.

My stomach drops at the clear distrust in her sparkling blue eyes, and my heart shatters when they fill with tears.

What I thought was enough guilt to last a lifetime doubles.

Triples. Multiplies until I can't think straight when she begs with moisture coating her cheeks.

"Please," Blue whispers, stepping back onto pieces of glass. "Please." Then she's rushing away with soft, hiccupping sobs as her soundtrack.

"Fucking hell," Jared mutters, sounding pained as he moves to stand next to me.

I nod. "Yeah."

I'd like to say my tone comes out strong and annoyed still, but that would be a horrible lie.

I sound like the love of my life just kicked me in the balls and told me to go to hell.

Actually, I'd rather that had happened. Maybe the pain in my heart would hurt less if my groin got the brunt of her anger.

But that's just it, isn't it? This isn't just about anger. There's so much more beneath that. Hurt, sadness, contempt—to name a few. And maybe I'm wrong about a few of those. One thing's for certain, we hurt our girl when we ghosted her. In more ways than we realize.

"You know what's funny?"

Jared's question startles me out of my anguished pondering. "What could possibly be funny right now?"

"First, I also made her drop a bottle of wine twenty minutes ago. And second, we don't have a broom to clean this up."

My head tips back on a resigned sigh. "We're such fucking idiots."

"Yeah," Jared agrees and slams a hand down on my shoulder. "But I have a spare bottle of that exact wine, and I'm sure her friends have something we can sweep this up with."

Seeing the brown bag for what it is—a ticket in to see Blue again—I lunge for it, but Jared laughs and rushes away to find our girl.

Our girl? Is that even possible anymore?

I really fucking hope so.