Forbidden (Addicted to You Book 2) (7 page)

“Sorry to disappoint you Spencer,” she smirked and I could tell she was anything but sorry. “But Avery isn’t here.”

Those words created a hole in my gut as I felt my breath exhale. I had held it in waiting on the answer. Longing to see her. Praying that she was inside the door that I was being kept away from.

Everything in me had hoped that she would be with her best friend. Knowing she wasn’t opened the situation up to several things, none of which I wanted to think about.

“Do you know where she is?” I tried to force logical thoughts and sentences, but they were getting more difficult as I realized that my last hope was gone. Colby had been the last resort.

“Obviously staying away from you,” she shot back. “It’s about fucking time.”

“Colby,” I heard my tone change to one of pleading. “When did you guys get back from South Carolina?”

I didn’t have time to waste on Colby and her hateful responses. I had to find out what was going on. Even if it was bad, I needed to know. She could attack me later.

“I came back a week and a half ago,” her eyes glazed over and her emotion was impossible to read, but something in her body language changed. “I don’t know when Avery came back. I guess the day we were supposed to.”

My head jolted up as I heard the words. She didn’t know? What the fuck did that mean? They were traveling together. It was their trip. The trip of a lifetime they’d said. Why would they leave at different times? It didn’t make sense. Sweat formed along my brows. My hands became clammy as I clenched them into fists to hide the anger. My heart was racing and breathing seemed a bit more difficult.

“What do you mean you don’t know, Colby? Didn’t the two of you travel back together?” At this point, the anger I’d been holding back began to bubble to the surface.

I heard a laugh, but it sounded phony. It was sarcastic. Low. Honestly, if it weren’t Colby, I’d have said it sound like pain more than anything. Maybe her anger wasn’t totally at me. The fact that her and Avery would part ways meant that something significant happened. I wanted to know what. But first, I needed to know where the hell she was.

“No,” she finally spoke. “We— I left a few days early.”

“Why?” I wanted to shake her. Knock some fucking sense into her stupid head. How could she be so calm and cool when Avery was gone? Did she know something I didn’t know? “Why would you leave your best friend halfway across the country alone?”

“She’s not my best friend,” her teeth clenched together. “She hasn’t been since she met you.”

The disdain in her voice was hard to miss. She was angry at me, but she was also angry at Avery. I could understand her viewpoint. Hell, who wouldn’t? She felt betrayed. She felt like she’d been replaced. But was now the time to argue about that?

And for the love of God, did she have to leave the love of my life alone almost one thousand miles from home?

“Colby,” I began, clenching my own teeth to avoid spewing a slew of venomous words in her direction. I kept reminding myself to think of my goal. “Did she even make it back?”

For the first time since she’d opened the door I saw Colby’s eyes flicker with something resembling concern. I don’t think until that point she’d considered that anything could happen to Avery. She’d been angry and she’d let that drive her decisions. As usual, Colby was a selfish person fueled by passion for whatever emotion she was feeling.

“I would assume so,” she tried to continue the bitchy attitude, but something had changed. There was a softer tone to her voice. One that realized she’d made a mistake. For a split second she cared. She was worried. And then, in the flash of an eye, it was gone. “Probably lying in bed at home calling out your name and crying like a god damned infant.” Her hateful tone had returned, along with her eye rolling.

“She’s not at home,” I interjected, ignoring her stabbing words about the person she’d once vowed to love and protect. “I’ve been by there constantly. Her car hasn’t been there. No one has been there.”

Colby’s eyes focused on the ground and mine followed. She was shuffling from one foot to the other. An obvious nervous habit, and she couldn’t help it. She was worried. She didn’t want to admit it. She was too angry. But standing there with me, she was worried.

“Maybe she’s avoiding you?” her suggestion seemed ridiculous at best. We both knew that she wouldn’t avoid me if she were home. Not just because of her feelings for me, but because she was unable to lie and sneak. At all. Ever.

“No,” I shook my head. “I don’t buy that.”

“What if you just keep missing her?” Colby suggested, looking hopeful again.

“I doubt it,” I didn’t want to tell her I’d stalked the apartment several times a day, just waiting to catch a glimpse of her. No way would I admit that.

“Did you call her?”

“No Colby,” my words dripped with sarcasm. “I thought I’d run over here and ask you before I tried something simple like that. After all, who could pass on a chance to enjoy your sparkling personality?”

“Not very many,” she giggled, and I shook my head. Did she really think that was something to be happy about and proud of? “What’d she say?”

“Straight to voice mail,” I answered. “For over a week now.”

That was when Colby took it seriously. That answer bothered her. She knew Avery as well as I did. Maybe better, but that was debatable. No way would she have left her phone off on purpose. Something was wrong.

“Did you check the diner?” Colby’s eyes lit up as she watched me nod. “Let me call them. Maybe she really is hiding,” she darted off to make the call.

“Okay,” I waited in the doorway, still not invited inside by Colby.

I looked into the kitchen as I waited. I could see Avery, standing over the counter with a beer in her hand. Her long hair would be messy and untouched by a brush. Her eyes would light up and she’d smile at me, telling me what we should do for dinner.

The visual made my heart ache. How on earth was I going to survive having let her go. She had to come back to me. She had to come home.

“She quit,” the words, spoken in an eerily worried tone, startled me.

“Quit?” I asked, shocked. Avery had loved that job. She needed that job. She couldn’t, wouldn’t, have quit.

“He said she called in last week. Told him she wouldn’t be back,” Colby couldn’t look at me, but I could see tears forming in her eyes. “I knew she was upset, but….”

“You knew she was upset and you left her across the country?” the rage was going to explode. “You were all she had Colby!” I screamed, no longer caring who heard me or what it did.

Her blue eyes shots up at me, ice cold with hatred. “You have the nerve to blame me?” she yelled. “You did this Spencer! You did all of this.”

She was right. I knew it. Everything she said was the truth. This was all my fault.

“You ruined us. Our friendship. You took that away.” She was still going on as I felt the panic spreading through me. “You killed what we had. Then you killed her.”

“Don’t say that,” I begged, fear taking over my thoughts.

“I’m going to try and call her,” she spat, turning again and shutting the door as she did.

I waited. I knew she’d get no answer. My gut told me something was wrong. And I knew when she heard what I’d heard, she would open the door again only hoping I’d be there. Because as much as we disliked each other, and as much as we wanted to blame the other, we both knew the truth. If something was wrong with Avery, it was because of us both.

Within moments the door flung open. I looked up, expecting to see Colby in tears. But she wasn’t. She was smiling. Her bag was flung across her shoulder and she had her keys in her hand.

“Let’s go,” she announced, closing the door and walking down the hallway.

“Where are we going?”

“To her apartment,” I noticed her purposely leave out my name in claim to the place I’d once called home.

“Is she there?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “But I have a key. So we are going to go find out.”

“And the call?” I knew the answer, but I needed to hear it.

“Voicemail,” she mumbled. “But she’s fine Spencer. Just hiding. And we are about to go find her.”

“I sure hope so,” I sighed, knowing better.

“I know so,” she pushed the button for the elevator and I watched her hands shaking. Colby may be pretending, but she was terrified. This was just her one last attempt to make it all okay in her head. And both of us stood there in the hallway knowing that it wasn’t going to work. For the second time, we’d worked together to destroy what was most important to both of us.

Chapter 6

I hated myself.

I sat there on the couch, my arm numb as Avery slept on it, and I hated myself.

It was already starting. The pain that I would cause her. The damage that I would do to her. It had already started. And this time, it wasn’t even a choice I’d made.

Her friend…God she made me crazy. The way she spoke to me. The way she’d looked at me. She brought out the very worst of my temper.

I’d come over that morning to see Avery. I needed to see her. After what I’d done, and the thoughts I’d had, I needed to see her and know that everything was okay. I had to know that she still loved me.

I’d taken her to meet my buddy Stu over the weekend. We’d been dating a while and the guys wanted to find out what girl had stolen their buddy. Especially since I’d refused women for so damned long. So Stu had suggested we come over for the evening.

She never ceased to amaze me and make me sad all at the same time. The simple idea of a night at my buddy’s place excited her. It was new to her.

“Another first for me,” she’d smiled on the way over.

“Trust me,” I’d teased. “Stu isn’t all that.”

“But he’s important to you,” she’d looked at me and I had a hard time knowing if it’d been a comment or a question. So I’d nodded. “And you are introducing me.”

I watched her bite her lip. She was nervous. Meeting my dumbass friend made her nervous.

“Of course,” I laughed. “Why wouldn’t I introduce you?”

Her expression changed and her eyes clouded over. She looked down at her hands as she began to twist them. She didn’t like the questions. They made her uncomfortable. But this one I had to pursue. So I watched her and waited.

“Just doesn’t really happen,” she shrugged. “That’s all.”

Her answer made me hurt for her. How could someone so amazing not be cherished? Why would anyone not take her to meet everyone in their life? I didn’t understand it.

“Well you should probably get used to it,” I’d smiled at her, hoping to ease her discomfort. “Everyone that matters to me needs to meet the one that matters most.”

I watched her face flush a pink shade and her eyes light up as she smiled. She was happy. I’d done something that was just standard and simple, and it’d made her entire world a better place. That was part of what I liked so much about her. She was simple.

Not in a bad way.

Avery never looked for extravagant things from me or anyone else. She liked those small gestures that meant something special. Remembering to ask how her day was. Listening about her job. Knowing her favorite dinner and why a specific song had made her cry. She didn’t need much. She never asked for anything. And that made me want to give her everything.

Unfortunately, the plans had gotten fucked up. Stu’s latest whatever she was had bailed. That left it at the three of us. Stu was pissed off and used his energy to pick at me. It was normal. Just the way he was. But I’d reverted to guy mode.

Somehow we’d ended up playing poker. Just the two of us. And I’d gotten carried away with the game and the bets and mostly just proving my manhood. It was what we did. But I forgot that Avery didn’t know that side of me. She was used to Spencer that focused only on her. Apparently, it’d hurt her feelings.

What had started out as her being excited and amazed that I’d brought her, had ended up being her resentful that I’d brought her to ignore her. That car ride home had been a doozy. I’d never seen her angry and worked up. Hell, I’d never seen her confident enough to tell me off. But she sure as hell had. And even as her words hurt, I couldn’t help but love her more.

Until she’d told me she didn’t care if she saw me again or not. God that had been an awful feeling. I didn’t even respond, just drove away and tried to fight the tears that wanted to come. A world without Avery wasn’t one I wanted to face. So I could only hope that some rest would change her mind.