Stitches and Scars (28 page)

“I mean it, Ethan. Finish up with the head laceration in room four and leave. I can’t have you here, not like this. And frankly, I don’t want you here.”

“I can’t go.” He hung his head. “If I leave here, then my mind will be free to wander. I know what I’ll think about, and I can’t. When I think about her being with him,” he swallowed slowly, “it makes me sick.”

“So, go to her and tell her that. Tell her that you were wrong. Tell her that she has options; tell her
you
are an option.”

“Not any more I’m not. I took myself out of the equation,” Ethan said.

“Did you tell her?”

“What?”

Henry raised his eyebrows knowingly. “Did you tell her that you love her?”

“No.”

“She deserves to know that, Ethan. And you know that. If you say nothing else, then fine, that’s your choice. But at least tell her that.”

Ethan remained silent, but knew Henry was right. The advice he gave was the same as the thoughts Ethan had earlier that morning. He’d told himself that Kate deserved to know how he felt, but somewhere along the way, he’d forgotten to tell her. He hadn’t followed through when he had the chance.

“Go. Tell her.” Henry smiled. “And if she still tells you that she doesn’t want you, then you can come back here and continue being miserable.”

Ethan laughed. “Thanks for the confidence.” Rubbing his hands over his tired face, he thought about what he should do.

“Stop thinking and just go.”

Giving one last smile, Ethan ran for the door. He had no clue what would happen, but he had to find out.

***

“Please be here, please be here,” he whispered under his breath as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Taking a deep breath, he started knocking.

“I hear you, I hear you. Now stop with the pounding!” Elle yelled from behind the door. “Now what in the world do you—” She stopped mid-sentence as soon as she saw Ethan. Crossing her arms in front of herself, she glared at him with accusing eyes.

The two stood in a silent stand-off, waiting to see who would be the first to speak.

“I need to talk to Kate. Is she home?”

“Yeah, I bet you need to talk to her,” she said with a sarcastic smirk. “Look, Ethan, I know you’re an old friend and everything, but that doesn’t mean I still won’t kick your butt. And if I were you, I would run and hide because Sophie is here and if you think
I
can be mean, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

His brows knit together in confusion. He’d assumed they would be slightly angry for telling Kate they needed space, but he figured that since it left her free to be with Scott, like she wanted, they would take it a little easier. “Look, Elle, I know that Kate has made her choice, but—”

“No,” she said, cutting him off. “You made your choice. You told her
you
were done.” She pushed her finger into his chest hard, making her point known.

“I only told her that because I knew she wanted to be with Scott. I mean, come on, you know Kate. She’d beat herself up for months over this if she thought she hurt me. And I can’t stomach her being upset.”

“What are you talking about?” Elle’s face looked even more confused than the man standing in front of her.

“I’m talking about Kate and her choice to be with Scott.”

Elle’s jaw dropped as she studied his face. “Get in here.” Grabbing his hand, she pulled him into the townhouse.

“Sophie!” she yelled. “Get in here now!”

“Uhh, Elle, didn’t you just say I should run and hide from Sophie?”

She waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, that was before.”

“Before? I’m confused. Will you please explain what’s going on? Is Kate here? Can I see her? I really need to talk to her.”

“You don’t get to talk to her,
or
see her for that matter!” Sophie’s venom-filled voice stung, and Ethan slowly turned around to find her standing in the hallway with her hands placed firmly on her hips. “I told you that if you hurt her, I would beat you down. It’s so nice of you to turn yourself in for me. That way I don’t have to drive around and hunt for you.” She started to walk toward him, and for a split second, Ethan actually thought she was going to attack him.

“Hang on, Soph. I think there’s been a miscommunication.” Elle stepped forward and placed her arms on her friend’s shoulder.

“I don’t care about miscommunications. All I care about is my best friend who spent the entire afternoon crying her eyes out because this guy broke her heart.”

Ethan buried his face in his hands.
Crap, I made her cry. I made her cry after I promised her I would never hurt her.
Guilt and pain washed over him. But even in his remorse, none of it made sense to him. If Kate had cried because of what he’d said, then there was a possibility that everything he thought could be wrong. “Sophie, Elle,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Please tell me what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about Kate coming home after you broke her heart and told her you needed a break from her.”

Ethan was already shaking his head. “I only did that because I knew she wanted to be with Scott,” he repeated for the second time since arriving.

“What?” she yelled, her voice so high that it hurt his ears.

“That’s what I meant by miscommunication.” Elle took a step aside and plopped down on the couch. “So, are you saying that you want to be with Kate?”

He exhaled, for what felt like the first time since he’d arrived. “Yes. More than you can possibly imagine.”

“Then what was all that talk about needing a break from her?” Sophie hadn’t relaxed from her defensive stance, but her shoulders dropped slightly, signaling the fight was over.

“He was trying to spare her feelings. He thought that she wanted to be with Scott, and since we all know how Kate is—more concerned about other people’s feelings than her own—smart aleck here figured he would make it seem like it was his decision to end things. That way, Kate wouldn’t feel like she was hurting him.” She took a breath before looking over at Ethan. “Right?”

He nodded and Sophie’s eyes lit up. “Then you need to tell her how you feel,” she said with a smile.

“That’s why I’m here.” He motioned to the room around him.

“Yes, and she’s not here. She’s with Scott. But not in the way you think.”

“What do you mean ‘not in the way I think’?” he asked.

“I think you and Kate need to have a long conversation. Go find her. Drag her out of that restaurant by her hair if you have to. Just go get her and talk; make her listen to you.” Sophie walked to the counter and wrote something down on a piece of paper. “Here’s the address. They always sit in the back corner booth.” She smiled. “Go get her.”

***

Kate walked into McLaren’s and took in the familiar atmosphere. It had been a while since she’d been there, but it was still the same. It had the same laid-back, casual feel—the kind of place where you could sit with friends, eat good food, and laugh over drinks.

Before she even made it to the bar, she heard Scott calling her name. She didn’t have to look to know where he was. He would be at the same table they’d always sat at. Making her way back to the corner booth, she saw all of her old friends smiling back at her. It was like walking back in time.

“Katie, you came!” Brian jumped up from the table and ran over to her, scooping her up in a hug.

“All right, all right, enough tossing me around!” she groaned, feeling out of breath.

Brian laughed as he set her to her feet. “I’m just glad you’re here.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her to the table.

Surprisingly, Kate felt more comfortable than she thought she would. It was like she’d never left. They spent most of the dinner sharing stories. She heard the exact details of Mike’s proposal to Christine, and Brian gave the run down on his girlfriend. It wasn’t until they asked about the guy she was dating that she clammed up. Hoping that no one would notice her aversion to the question, Kate quickly offered to buy the next round of drinks from the bar.

Thankfully, the bartender was busy with a few other orders and it gave Kate the chance to gather her thoughts before going back to the table. Just a few hours ago if someone had asked about her dating life, she would have said she was with someone. Now everything was different. It was still so new that she’d barely had time to process it. Without warning, she felt the familiar tears prick her eyes. Not wanting to lose control in the middle of the restaurant, Kate closed her eyes tight and took a deep breath. Just as she started to collect herself, she felt an arm wrap around her waist.

“What a surprise seeing you here.”

The unfamiliar voice made her skin crawl, and she whipped around to see who was touching her. As soon as she saw him, her stomach heaved and a feeling of panic swept over her. She recognized his yellowed eyes and sharply angled face immediately and memories of her night at Rain came with clarity. It was the man who’d grabbed her by the wrist on the night she’d seen Ethan.

“Where’s your boyfriend, sweetheart? I’d hate to think that he left you here all alone.” He leaned in as he spoke. The smell of the liquor on his breath blew past her nose.

“Her boyfriend is right here, so I advise you get your hands off of her. That is, if you want to keep them.”

Looking over her shoulder, she was happy to see Scott behind her, towering over both her and the drunken man beside her. Instead of flinching away or backing down, the man simply smiled, looking from Scott to Kate.

“Looks like you get around. Last time I saw you, I could have sworn you had a different boyfriend.” He smiled at Scott, provoking a response.

Fire burned behind Scott’s eyes and he took a step closer. Kate knew him well enough to know what would happen next. “Scott,” she warned. “Let’s just go. I’m fine.” She wrapped her hands around his arms and attempted to pull him away from the bar. Thankfully, he followed.

“Who was that creep?” He scowled watching the man leave.

“He’s just some jerk that can’t take a hint.”

“What did he mean about ‘last time’? What different boyfriend?”

“I saw him at Rain a month ago and I was with—” She paused. “Ethan. I was with Ethan then.” She bit on her lip and swallowed back the emotions that were threatening to take over.

“What do you mean
was
?”

“Well, we’re not … together any more.” It came out in a whisper. She could barely think the words, let alone say them without cringing.

“You aren’t? Katie, does this mean that you’re giving me another chance?” She didn’t have a chance to respond before he’d pulled her into a hug “I knew you would. I knew you just needed time to—”

“Wait, Scott.” She placed her hands flat on his chest and pushed him back, feeling a slight sting in her wrist. “That’s not what I’m saying.”

“I don’t understand. What
are
you saying?”

She let out an exhausted sigh. Although she’d been planning to tell him tonight, now that the time was actually here, she was dreading it. “Can we go somewhere and talk?

“Sure.” He nodded. “Let me go tell the guys. I’ll meet you out front.”

Pushing open the doors, the cold wind whipped across her face, clearing Kate’s mind and giving her a sense of courage. Walking to the end of the street, she stood under the light and waited.

A moment later, Scott strolled to her side. “All right, I’m all ears,” he said with a smile.

Kate took a deep breath and thought the words slowly before she said them. “I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier this morning; I’ve been thinking a lot about it.”

“So have I. And Katie, I hope that you realize I never meant to hurt you. Or make this more difficult for you. I just want you to know you have options.”

She laughed at his comment. “Options? I’m pretty sure that
only applies if there is more than
one
thing to choose from.”

“That’s right. Ethan.” He nodded. “You two broke up, huh?” There was no hiding the excitement in his voice even if he tried.

Shaking her head at him, she held back tears. “You know you could try to be a little bit more understanding. I haven’t been handling all of this very well.”

“I’m sorry.” He paused, looking down at her with kind eyes. “Did you break up with him today?”

It was clear that he was under the impression that she’d broken up with Ethan to be with him. “No,” she clarified. “
He
broke up with
me
.”

“He did? So, I guess now we can—”

“Here’s the thing, Scott.” She cut him off. “I realized something during all of this. I realized that even if Ethan didn’t want to be with me, it didn’t change the way I felt about him or you. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t lo—”

Before she spoke another word, Scott pressed his lips to hers. He pulled her close, wrapping his hand around the back of her head, holding her there. Kate kept her lips closed tight and placed her hands on his chest in an attempt to push him away.