His to Own (Carmel Springs Book 1)

Chapter 9

Brett~

Addie was back to work today, and I had no plans on changing my routine. If I did, then she might think that I was giving up on her, and I wasn't. I was a long way from giving up on her, and even though she was already thinking of a better life away from here, I was going to do everything that I could do to prove to her that she could still have a good life here in Carmel Springs with me.

Sitting at the bar, she didn't look at me or say a word as she got my drink ready. However, as soon as she set it in front of me, the diner door practically flew off its hinges, and as we all turned to look at what the hell was happening, Paul Burrows was making his way inside the diner, his lip still split from yesterday.

Just fucking great.

"Addie, can I talk to you?" he asked, and the entire diner froze.

I watched as Addie's brows furrowed. "No."

"Please," he begged. "I just...I just need a min-"

Never the coward, Addie said, "The last time that I gave you a minute, you told the entire school that I let you have sex with me. So, no, Paul, I don't have a minute to talk to you."

"But that's what I want to talk to you about," he rushed on, and everyone in the entire diner was all fucking ears. It was so quiet that you could hear the grill sizzling from the back.

"I don't care what you want to talk about-"

"I'm sorry," Paul blurted. "I'm sorry I lied, and I'm sorry that I didn't stop it when all those other guys started spreading lies about you, too." I watched Paul let out a deep breath, and he genuinely seemed relieved to be purging his sins. "I'm sorry that I...I'm sorry that it took me so long to come clean. I'm sorry that I treated you...I asked you out, and when you said no, I got...mad. I...that's no excuse, but that's why I did it. I was a stupid, immature, cocky asshole, and I just...I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know that."

"Is that all?" Addie asked. "Are you done? Can I get back to work now?"

Paul's head jerked back. "I...well, I was hoping that you could find it in your heart to forgive a stupid boy and a shameful man, Addie."

Addie looked Paul Burrows right in the eye and said, "No, Paul. No, I don't forgive you. Would you like to know why?" He nodded like an idiot. "Because your apology doesn't change the fact that the people of this town have treated me like trash for ten years. Even knowing that my parents were awful people, instead of helping me or caring about my emotional and mental state of mind, they judged me. I was taunted, bullied, talked about, pushed around, and treated like a piece of crap in high school, despite graduating with good grades. Then, when I needed a job, Mac was the only person in this town that gave me one. No one cared that I needed to feed myself or that I was a good worker; all they cared about was not hiring the town whore." I glanced around the diner, and shame had a lot of customers bowing their heads, and good. "For ten years, I've done my best to be a good waitress, and you know what? Even though I can remember people's orders by heart, even though I don't make them wait for their food or ticket because I'm too busy chitchatting or whatever, they still think that I'm only worth a quarter tip." Addie's eyes and voice sounded hardened, and it was breaking my heart. "I've even gotten nickel and dime tips, and if that's not a constant reminder that I'm worth nothing, then I don't know what is." Addie straightened her back. "So, no, Paul, I don't forgive you. If you came here with the hope that I was going to, well, sorry to disappoint you, but you can rot in hell. You, Jack Renner, Ted Dorsey, Donald Willis, Billy Forrest, Carl Smith, Henry Grant, Steve Akin, Lance Maine, and any other guy that thought it was okay to spread lies about me can rot in hell."