Black Sheep by Tabatha Vargo Page A

reason.
    “Connie wanted me to come over and make sure you were up for New York.”
    “What about New York?”
    My apartment was clean and organized and even had some nice decorations in the living room area thanks to Mrs. Palmer. Not long after I’d moved in, they’d stopped by. When she saw I was sitting on a lawn chair and using a milk crate as a side table, she took matters into her own hands.
    I came home the next day to find her polishing furniture she’d picked up at the Goodwill and a new-to-me couch and chair. There were pictures on my new entertainment center of the family, but the best part was the silver frame on the table next to my couch with a picture of Nicole and Brian.
    She was smiling at the camera as if she was hiding a sweet secret from the world. Her blond hair blowing in the breeze and her blue eyes glowing—she was beautiful. Some nights, when I was feeling particularly lonely, I’d pretend I was the secret she was hiding from the world.
    “Nicole has a big performance. We thought it would be nice if the whole family went together and made an adventure out of it.”
    If I’d known then that the adventure meant seeing Nicole kiss another man, I would’ve said no to Mr. Palmer for the first time. But I hadn’t known, and I’d agreed to make my adopted family happy.
    Flying to New York with the Palmers wasn’t exactly what I wanted to spend my weekend doing, but I supposed flying and family time were better than drinking my cares away. I’d already decided after the Thanksgiving drama with Nicole that I’d stay away from her.
    I’d thought staying away would be easy, except for major holidays, but the family was making it damn near impossible. However, after the show, and once Nicole ripped my heart from my body, I knew I’d make it happen. I’d stay away if for no other reason than because every time I looked at her, all I saw was her sucking face with another guy.
    I didn’t say much during our trip home from New York. There wasn’t much to say. I felt heartbroken, and like the wild animal I was, I wanted to attack the cause of that hurt. But breaking Nicole’s new ‘friend’ in two wasn’t going to fly with the Palmers. They weren’t much for violence. Instead, I stewed all through the entire trip and the flight home.
    Once we were back in Charleston and I could get away, I made an excuse about working early the next morning and left as soon as possible. It worked since it was way late when we finally got home from the airport.
    I left without saying goodbye to Nicole. Hell, I’d barely said two words to her or even looked at her the entire time. I couldn’t. It hurt too much.
    She was mine—she’d always been mine—but she wasn’t. I’d made it so, and I couldn’t do anything about it.
    I stopped by a gas station on the way to my apartment and filled up my car. Then I drove home with the radio loud in hopes that the music would block out the sounds of my racing heart. It was like I could hear it breaking—feel it crumbling inside my chest. It wasn’t a great feeling.
    Once I was inside my apartment, I crashed on my couch with my face in my hands. She was driving me crazy. For years, she’d been driving me insane, but seeing her with him—seeing his hands on her—I wasn’t taking it well.
    I’d known this would happen at some point. I knew she’d date once she was in New York, and I wasn’t there to stop it from happening, but what I didn’t know was how badly I was going to react to it.
    I was home only minutes before I went to my refrigerator and grabbed a beer. It was well after midnight, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to get any sleep without it.
    I swallowed it down with the refrigerator door still open before grabbing another one and taking a seat back on my couch. I didn’t turn the TV on or listen to music. Instead, I sat there, drinking and replaying her lips on his over and over again until I felt like I was going to explode.
    Two hours later,