My Ex’s Roommates: Chapter 52

Casey hung up on Carter and turned back to face me with a frown on her face. She sighed. “I don’t think that’s going to stop them from coming here, Harper. Carter sounded panicked. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sound like that before…”

Guilt mixed into the rest of the emotions tearing through my brain. “This is putting you in a weird position, Case. I shouldn’t have come here. He’s your brother.”

She joined me on her bed and grabbed both of my hands. “Yeah, and he was an idiot. We’re best friends, right?”

So far I’d managed to hold my tears in but there was something about that question that cracked the dam. “Of course, we’re best friends.”

“Then you should be here.” She searched my face. “It’s going to be okay, Harper. I’m going to metaphorically murder Jake and people will forget about this. We’ll change your number. You can-”

“My phone number! I have to turn my phone back on. What if my brothers need me? What if something happens and they can’t reach me and my voicemail is full and- I think I’m going to throw up.” I ran to her bathroom and collapsed in front of her toilet, violently vomiting.

“You can’t turn your phone back on, babe. Those calls were…vile. You can’t listen to those.” Casey pressed a cool wash rag to the back of my neck and stroked my back. “Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll turn your phone on long enough to get the phone number of that guard and I’ll send him a text from my phone, telling him to have your brothers use my number until we get you a new phone. Okay? That takes care of one problem.”

I flushed the toilet and sank back against the side of her tub. “Why would they do this?”

She sat down in front of me. “I don’t know. I can’t pretend to be as stupid as any man I’ve ever met.”

“I heard Dylan’s halftime speech and he said something that made me feel weird, but I just… I figured it was nothing more than some Sparta like talk. He said that they took Jake’s woman.” I saw her scowl and nodded. “To be reduced down to Jake’s woman… Is that what I am to them? Why would they risk all of this happening by sending that picture? They knew! They knew the risk. How could they not? I told them. I told them that Jake would try to ruin me if he saw it and I told them that people would call me the names they’re calling me right now. They agreed! They knew it would hurt me and they sent it anyway!”

Casey brushed my hair out of my face and wiped my eyes. “I don’t know what they were thinking.”

“Is that all I am to them, Casey? Have I been falling for men who look at me and see me as a game to win? It must be that because I can’t imagine letting this happen to a woman you care about.” I wrapped my arms around myself and shook my head. “I’ve worked so hard here to get away from the stereotype people associate with how I grew up. I’ve fought hard to prove myself as competent and worthwhile with the football team and my professors. I’ve done everything I can to better myself and it’s all worthless because of that one picture. It doesn’t matter what I’ve done. I’m just a whore now.”

She shook her head. “No. No, that’s not true. Not everyone is going to see that picture and think that. You’re an amazing person, Harper. People will see through this bullshit.”

“Will they?” I let out a sad laugh. “I thought the same after Jake announced he was leaving. Not a single friend answered my calls or texts. You’re giving people too much credit.”

“I’m so sorry. I wish there was something I could do to fix this right now. I’m not going anywhere, though. You know that, right? I’m not those other assholes. I’m here for you.” She squeezed herself in next to me and wrapped her arms around me. “We’ll get through this.”

Resting my head on her shoulder, I finally lost the war against my tears. “I thought they cared about me the way I care about them. I l0-… I love them.”

“Give it a day or two and then talk to them, Harper. I know Carter and I don’t think he would’ve done this on purpose. I know Dylan and Silas well enough to say the same about them, too. They care about you. I’ve seen it.”

Squeezing my eyes shut did nothing to stop the tears because I didn’t believe her. I didn’t think it was possible that they cared about me. Once again I’d been proven a fool and publicly shamed. My fear was that something about my dad had broken me. Was I cursed to only fall for men who would hurt me? Was I drawn to them or was I just too stupid to see the writing on the wall?

“It’s so fucked up, Case, but there’s a part of me that just wishes they were here, holding me.” I sucked in a sharp breath. “They can’t be the problem and the solution, though.”

“We’re going to-” A hard knock at her front door silenced her and we looked at each other with wide-eyes. “That’s probably just-”

I heard Dylan’s voice shouting my name at the same time she did. I shook my head hard as tears slipped free even faster. “I can’t. I can’t face them right now. I can’t hear whatever excuse they have and just fall back into being their win over Jake. I won’t do it.”

“Shit. I told them… I’ll go get rid of them. Just stay here.”

I pulled myself up and hovered next to the door, straining to hear what she was saying to them. Having them so close and not being able to have them hurt. Everything hurt. I wanted to be held and rocked to sleep. They’d ruined it, though.

“We’re not leaving until we see her!”

I flinched at the anger in Carter’s voice. He was shouting at his sister because of me. I couldn’t do that to Casey. Even though it was the last thing I wanted to do, I hurried out of the bathroom to face them.

“You can’t-” Whatever he’d been about to say fell away when he spotted me. “Harper…”

I forced myself to stand up straight and pretend like I wasn’t crying. “You’ve seen me. Now you can stop yelling at your sister and go home.”

Dylan tried to step forward but Casey didn’t budge. He scowled at her but when his eyes moved to me I watched his face fall. “Harper, baby, please talk to us. I didn’t mean for this to happen. Let me explain, please.”

I wrapped my arms around myself and shook my head. “I can’t do this right now.”

“Then just come home with us.” Silas growled at Casey when she still didn’t budge for him to get by. “Casey, goddammit, let us in. Look at her. She needs us.”

“No.” I swiped at my eyes and cleared my throat. “I’m not coming back. You need to go. Leave Casey alone or I’ll find somewhere else to go so you stop treating her like she’s the problem. Going by the messages on my phone, I could probably have a bed to climb into every night for at least a couple of months.”

“Harper.” Silas’ voice shook. “No.”

I balled my hands into fists at my side, a rush of anger dimming the roar of pain for a few moments. “You’re right. I’m not the kind of woman they’d let stay the night. And I assume I wouldn’t be doing much sleeping while they did let me into their bed. Maybe if I charge a little each time I’ll be able to put myself up in a motel for a while.”

“Stop it, Harper. No one is going to fucking touch you. Ever. You’re ours.” Carter stepped forward again but Casey pushed him back again. Carter didn’t take his eyes off of me. “We didn’t mean to send the picture. It was an accident. None of this shit is okay. Come home and let us make it right. I just need to hold you and make sure you’re okay, baby.”

“I’m not okay!” I screamed and raked my hands through my hair. “I thought this was something real. I thought you guys cared about me! I was just Jake’s woman all along, though, just another way to tell Jake to fuck off. Congrats! You told him! Now you can leave me alone and stop pretending like I matter to you because I know that I don’t. I don’t want to talk to any of you. I don’t want to see any of you. Whatever this was…”

“Don’t fucking say it, princess.” Silas grabbed the door frame and glared at me. “Don’t.”

“It’s over.” I couldn’t look at them anymore. “Congratulations on your wins tonight. You won the game and you ran a train on Jake’s woman. You’re the real heroes.”

I slipped back into the bathroom and held my breath until I heard Casey shut the door. Then I crumbled.