Dragonfly

Chapter 14

By the time I reached home, I was numb, nauseated, and weak. I couldn’t stop seeing Jack’s hand on Casey’s breast or her red lips kissing his mouth. And every time I did, I felt the gut-kicking ache of betrayal all over again.

It made sense now. If I were there, he couldn’t be with her, and she’d supposedly run off and left him wanting more. Casey Simpson. She was beautiful and sophisticated and smart. She was in college, and her parents lived on Hammond Island. I was sure his dad had no objections to that match.

I doctored my leg in the bathroom, cleaning off the blood and examining what was already turning into a bruise. Very attractive. I went to my room and crawled under my covers. I didn’t think I’d ever get to sleep, but when I opened my eyes again, it was morning. I jumped up and started throwing clothes into my duffel bag. I was getting out of here, and Nana’s was the perfect escape.

I was on the beach by afternoon, under an umbrella and nursing my pulverized heart. Nana was working on a project for her Master Gardeners class, so she let me have the day to myself, which was fine with me. I wanted to be alone to suffer.

By sunset, I’d read every article on my tablet, and I’d worked hard to think only about the news and my new job at the paper and not how for a brief time I’d felt like the princess of East End Beach.

And it still hurt.

The sun was setting, and as much as I wanted, I couldn’t stay out here forever. I pulled my cover-up around me in the cooling October air, turning just in time to catch sight of him walking up the shoreline in my direction. My breath caught. Jack.

His eyebrows were pulled together, and he was moving quickly toward me. In the space of one second, I went from wanting to scream at him to wanting to cry, to wanting to run to him and kiss him, to wanting to run away or better yet, hit him. He stopped in front of me, looking down as the wind tossed his hair. My throat was so tight it ached.

“I’ve been calling you all day,” he said, seeming angry. “Your phone goes straight to voicemail. So I called your house, and your mom told me you were here.”

Adrenaline vibrated just under my skin, but I managed to say, “Why?”

He let out a deep exhale, dropping to the sand. “I didn’t know you’d be there last night.”

“I could tell. Your hands were very full.”

His blue eyes flashed. “You and I are not together, Anna. And Casey’s an old friend.”

“An old friend you felt up.”

The muscle in his jaw flinched, and he looked out at the water.

“Why are you here, Jack?” I snapped.

 He looked back. “I don’t know. I was worried about you.”

Anger clutched my chest, stronger than the pain in my stomach. It pushed me to my feet. “You don’t have to worry about me, Jack Kyser, I’m fine. We’re through, and you can do what you want.”

He reached for my hand, but I pulled it away, walking furiously down the beach. He ran to catch up and caught my arm, but I jerked it back and kept walking.

“Sure. That’s great. Just walk away.” His voice was sharp, which only angered me more. “I only came to say I wouldn’t have done that to you.”

I stopped walking and spun around to face him. “No? You wouldn’t? Then what would you do? Kiss me and touch me and leave me wanting more? Then throw me away without any explanation—just in time for your ex to roll into town for a hookup?”