“How could you? How could you DO this to me?” He just grabbed onto me and held me while I pounded my fists on his chest.

Oh god………my legs were giving out…..I started to slide down onto the ground as he came down with me and held me while I cried. I hated him…..I hated him with everything that I had.

NO! He was not allowed to comfort me after he just ripped my heart out. I pushed him away from me and stood up. I heard someone driving up.

Jeff stood up and reached out for me. He had tears in his eyes but I didn’t give a fuck.

“I. Hate. You!” I said threw gritted teeth.

“Ari….”

“No….no you don’t get to stand there anymore and tell me how you fucked up you mother fucker! I will never ever forgive you for this. Do you understand me Jeff….NEVER! I hate you! I fucking HATE you!”

I screamed it so loud at him he jumped back in shock. I buttoned up my shorts and walked around to the other side of the jeep. I was shaking from head to toe and I felt sick to my stomach.

It looked like it was Drake driving up. Thank god…I couldn’t stand to be anywhere near Jeff right now. I felt like a cheap whore all of a sudden. How could I be so fucking stupid! To think that I stood there and asked him to have sex with me!

Drake pulled up in the ranch truck and jumped out and started to walk towards the back of the truck.

“Hey! Mr. Mathew’s told me y’all took the jeep out! He must have forgotten that Gunner told him it needed a new battery! I picked one up in town this morning.”

I turned to look at the asshole who was staring over at me still. He looked like he was going to throw up. I hope he did. Maybe I would put something in his dinner tonight so he got deathly sick and threw up all goddamn night. I turned away from him and walked over to Drake who was pulling the battery for the jeep out of the back of the truck.

“Drake, I um, I really need to get back to the house. Can you ride back up with Jeff please while I take the truck?”

“Ari…wait…we need to talk about..….”

I spun around and glared at him stopping him mid sentence. I never knew I could hate someone as much as I hated him right now.

“No…I believe you said all you needed to say, so now it’s my turn.”

I walked past a very confused Drake and got right up to Jeff.

“When I get back home to Jason, my BOYFRIEND, you can better believe he won’t be telling me what a mistake it was after we get done fucking for the first time!”

Jeff briefly closed his eyes and then opened them again. His eyes looked like they were filled with pain but I fucking knew better.

I turned around and stopped in front of Drake.

“Are the keys in the truck?”

“Ahhhh….ummmm….yes.” I kind of felt bad for the guy to have to stand there and hear all of that but oh fucking well. I was done with all of this bullshit.

I barely made it back to the ranch house in one piece. I could hardly see through the tears running down my face. I saw Gunner and Ellie sitting on the porch with Emma. I tried to wipe the tears away but they just would not stop. I pulled the truck down by the barn and started to make my way up to the house. I could see Ellie smiling at me but as soon as she got a better look her smile faded and she started to run up to me.

“Arianna….Oh my god what is wrong?!”

“Your brother…..your brother is what’s wrong Ellie. He is a dirty rotten good for nothing son of a bitch. I hate him. I fucking HATE him.”

“What.…what did he do?” Just then she threw her hand up to her mouth and started to shake her head…..

“He didn’t….”

I started to laugh, that was a joke. ”No Ellie….I guess I’m a major turn off where that is concerned. If you will excuse me…I think I need to take a nice long bath and then lay down for awhile.”

“Ari…tell me what he did.” Ellie said as she grabbed my arm.

I turned and looked at her and the tears where back.

“He gave me hope for a few brief minutes Ellie before he ripped my heart out and threw it on the ground and buried it deep into the dirt with his boots.”

I turned and Gunner was standing there his hands balled up in fists. I tried to smile as I walked by and made my way up onto the porch. Emma stopped me and gave me a hug that caused me to go into another crying fit. She helped me into the house and up stairs. She led me into the bathroom and drew me a hot bath while I sat there staring off into space.

How could I have been so stupid?

“Arianna, men are stupid creatures. Sometimes they love something so much it scares them, and they try to push it as far away as they can.” Emma said as she was pushing my hair back from my red tear swollen eyes.

I started to shake my head no. “Emma….no man who loved a woman would ever say the things that he said.”

Emma let out a chuckle as she helped me get undressed. “You would be surprised my darling girl. You would be surprised.”

I sat in the bath for I don’t know how long. I got out only when I couldn’t take the cold water any longer. I wrapped the towel around me that Emma had left and reached down to let the drain out. I slowly walked into the bedroom Ellie and I was sharing. Ellie must have come in and laid out some clothes for me to change into. They were my comfy blue PJ bottoms and sleeveless white shirt. I climbed into them somehow. My whole body felt numb. I never knew one person had the power to hurt another person so badly.

I sat down on the bed and that is when I heard Ellie yelling at Jeff.

“How could you? How could you destroy her like that?”

Then I heard Jeff and Gunner arguing. I got up and walked to the window. I could see them standing down by the barn closest to the house. I couldn’t hear what Jeff said but the next thing I knew Gunner punched him. Ellie jumped in front of Gunner and told him to stop. My heart was beating a mile a minute.

SHIT! This was all happening because of me!

Garrett walked up and took Jeff by the arm and they walked off towards the stables. Ellie leaned back into Gunner as they watched them walk away. Jeff turned around and looked right up at the window I was standing in. It looked like he was crying…..

No….that cold hearted bastard didn’t have an ounce of love running through his veins.

I hated him……..

All of a sudden I got so tired.

Sleep….I just needed to sleep.

CHAPTER FORTY SIX

G unner……

I sat on the porch swing waiting for Ellie to come back from talking to Ari. I still can’t believe I hit my best friend. I ran my hands down my face….FUCK! Why the fuck did Jeff have to go and mess up so bad with Ari? Gramps would not let me talk to him yet. They headed to the barn and that was the last I saw of either of them.

This had started out to be a great day and now it was just fucked.

I had brought Ellie into town to have breakfast at one of the local restaurants. I remembered her saying she wanted to go and eat in an old fashioned type restaurant. You just can’t get any better than Miss Mayes restaurant in town.  Best damn French toast I ever had.

The plan was to eat breakfast, walk through a few of the little stores on Main Street then come back to the ranch and ride. Ellie had really taken to horseback riding and practically begged me go again today.

When Gramps told us about his “plan” to get Ari and Jeff some alone time, I knew it was going to go down all wrong. Just how it went down wrong I didn’t know yet. I heard the screen door open and saw the love of my life walking out with such a sad look on her face. I held out my hand and she came over and sat on my lap.

She laid her head on my chest and let out a sigh. God, what I wouldn’t do to just stay like this forever and never let her go. I buried my face in her hair and took a deep breath. Fuck she smelled so good….daisies…..she always smelled like them.