Torn by Love (Scarred by Love #4) Read Free Page B

Five
     
     
    Lily
     
    I had managed to avoid all of Shawn’s calls. The pig even went as far as having flowers delivered to my house. My neighbor Mrs. Garrison loved them. At least that’s what her husband told me. He said she squealed when he gave them to her. I figured since they were well into their seventies, he probably hadn’t gotten her flowers in a while. I agreed to keep it our little secret.
    Unfortunately Shawn knew my class schedule. I hadn’t thought I would regret him knowing a detail like that until now. Walking toward the parking lot just after my last class of the day, I found him sitting on the hood of his patrol car, which was parked next to mine. So yeah, seeing him in his uniform was sexy and a little distracting. But remembering that he’d cheated on me helped devalue his sex appeal.
    I chose to give him the silent treatment and walked right past him to my car, where I threw my bag into the passenger seat before crawling in. When his hand stopped me from slamming the door shut, I shot an evil look in his direction. “Let go, jackass.”
    “Five minutes, please,” he pleaded, still holding my door.
    “You have sixty seconds before I run your cheating ass over.” I think my attitude surprised us both. But then, I guess being cheated on and made to feel like you weren’t worth shit made being a bitch a little easier.
    “I never meant to hurt you. I shouldn’t have been seeing Gabby at the same time. I know that.”
    How the hell did he think I’d feel when I found out? Did he feel like that pathetic explanation was even worth my time?
    “I know you care about him,” he confessed, hanging his head. “I knew from the beginning that I was just a stand-in. I’m not blind. I saw the way you looked at him whenever he was around.”
    I looked back at him, completely confused.
    “Carson’s brother, Tanner. It really didn’t matter how great I could have been, I would never have been enough.” He released my door and took a step back. “It still isn’t a good enough reason for cheating, but it’s true. You know it is. I was just something to pass the time until he woke up.”
    What the hell?
    Shawn stared at me, silently begging for me to understand his pathetic reasoning. But I refused to give him the satisfaction of agreeing. Instead I slammed my door and drove away.
     
    ***
     
    “Seriously?” Riley gasped from across the table. “He tried to blame it on you. What an ass.”
    I had met the girls at Macy’s Coffee Shop before my evening class. I needed some girl time after yesterday’s run-in with Shawn.
    “So, what? He actually thinks he had a good enough excuse for cheating? There is no such thing,” Kate said as she lowered her latte to the table. “So you and Tanner kissed, like, forever ago. You flirted on occasion. But that was it. Tanner is a man-whore.”
    The mention of Tanner’s bedroom gymnastics made my stomach hurt.
    “Yeah.” I sighed. “I thought Shawn was one of the good guys. I felt comfortable with him, like I was safe. So much for sticking with the nice guys. They all apparently think with their penises.”
    Riley snorted while taking a drink, which led to her coughing. Bree patted her on the back as we all laughed.
    Somehow a little time with the girls always seemed to help. We had all grown so close over the last year. I truly adored each of them and treasured our time together.
    I left the café later than I had hoped. Time always got away from me when I was spending it with my girlfriends. The parking lot next to Hannigan Hall was full, leaving me no other option than to park along the street. After getting out, I hurried toward the building, rushing past a group of students that were just exiting. I arrived just as the professor was pulling the door shut and apologized profusely as I snuck past him, ducking my head.
    My major was literature. There was just something about a great journey through the imaginations of others, about the world of words that