Breaking Old Habits

CHAPTER FIVE

We pulled into the driveway, and who else would be waiting for us at our steps? Well, for him actually. Yes, it was the one and only Karen. I was starting to lose my patience after having to endure him talking on the phone for almost an hour.

We lost forty minutes—valuable time that he and I could have shared!

What did they have to chat about? Random, stupid stuff that did not need to be spoken about. She asked him how to set up her DVD player like she did not already know that, and then she had the nerve to ask him about his night away. He even started to tell her until he noticed my death glare aimed directly through his skull. That was when he told her he had to go and tried sucking up by rubbing my thigh.

When she began to walk over, I really lost it. "If you talk to her, I'm going to stay with Harvey."

"Excuse me?" He looked taken aback.

With a low, harsh whisper, I seethed back. "I'm angry, so fucking angry that I'm about to burst into tears."

I was not one to boss him around or ever lose my temper like this, but I was beyond fuming.

"What?"

"You speak to her, and I will leave," I said clearly. My fingers dug into the palms of my skin as I squeezed my hands hard. Taking a deep, steady breath, I continued. "I mean it."

"Ayla..." He was clearly shocked, reaching out to cup my cheek.

I pulled back, my eyes burning from the sting of tears. "No." I did not want to hear it. "Just don't talk to me. Don't even touch me." I opened the car door, pushing it shut behind me.

Griffin stepped out and began walking towards me. His expression was solemn as I refused to make eye contact. "I'll get those," he murmured, taking the bags before I could reach them.

Rolling my eyes, I let the bag go and heard her coming closer.

"Griffy, can you come check out the player? I want to see if it's set up right."

Griffy? I just scoffed.

He noticed and ran a hand through his hair as he hauled the case from the boot. "Uh... I don't think that's a good idea." Yes, because he knew exactly what would happen if he did go over there.

"Wow, she's really got you by the balls—"

"Just go away," I muttered, loud enough for him and her to hear me. I was not in the mood for this right now.

Karen was raising her brows and twitched her lips up in a disgusting snarl. "Got something to say?" I kept quiet, not wanting to lower to her standards and petty behavior, although I think I just might have snapped and did it. She smiled back towards Griffin. "Your parents look well. We all went out for dinner last night. The boys enjoyed it."

I stopped in my tracks. "What?" I could not stop the question from coming.

Seeming to relish in my cluelessness, she smirked. "I thought it was odd that you went away. She said she called you last week about coming down."

My heart hammered against my chest, pounding harder as I snapped my head back towards Griffin, scoffing under my breath. "Unbelievable."

He would not look at me, focusing instead on Karen. Rolling my eyes, I kept walking to our front door. This was beyond a joke. He was not far behind me as I walked inside and glanced around. Everything seemed normal. Nothing seemed missing. I would have a thorough check later just to be sure.

"Ayla, what the hell was that?" His voice raised once he closed the front door, following me as I walked towards the bathroom and picked up my iPod.