Love Song(107)
“Let them work it out,” Dean murmurs.
“Fight me, you goddamn prick,” AJ roars, lunging at Beau again.
He slams his fist into Beau’s stomach, and I wince at the solid thud it makes. Then he does it again, sending Beau staggering back against the railing.
Gray rises to his feet as his two best friends go at it, but he doesn’t interfere either. He simply watches with a stoic expression.
“I’m sorry,” Beau says quietly. “I was drunk.”
That gets him another uppercut to the face. Only when blood pours out of his nostrils do the parents get involved.
“All right, enough,” Garrett commands. “You got it out of your system.”
My dad pries AJ off Beau while Allie hurries over to her son with a napkin. She tries to press his nose, but he shrugs her hand off.
“Mom, stop,” he mutters. Blood trickles from his nose and lip, leaving red streaks all over his jaw. “I deserve it.”
Near the railing, AJ is fighting my dad’s hold. His breathing is ragged, dark eyes wild. He’s shaking with rage.
“Calm down, son,” Dad urges.
Finally, AJ pushes out of the hold. “I’m done here.” His hard eyes settle on Beau, his jaw grinding. “We’re fucking done here. Don’t talk to me ever again.”
It’s then that I notice Tara in the doorway, frozen, her eyes red and wet with tears. AJ notices her too and scoffs at her.
“You can find your own way to the airport,” he spits out.
When she reaches for him, he shoves her hand off him and stalks past her without a backward look.
I find Beau on the beach a while later, sitting with his hands on his knees, staring at the lake. At the sound of my footsteps, he glances up, and I almost gasp. He looks wrecked. Lip swollen. Blood caked at his nostrils.
“What the hell were you thinking?” I sigh, sinking down beside him on the sand.
He curls his hands tighter over his knees, his broad shoulders hunched over as if he’s trying to disappear into the sand. “Don’t start, B. Not now.”
“He’s your best friend. Since you were in diapers. You threw a twenty-year friendship away for a girl? What was going through your head?”
Beau barks out a bitter laugh. “Nothing. My head was a blank space because I was drunk off my ass. It was a mistake.”
“A mistake. That’s what you call screwing your best friend’s girlfriend.”
“I was completely hammered. I don’t even remember half of it.”
“That makes it better? You fucked her in the boathouse while he was sleeping upstairs, totally oblivious. You think that’s just a little mistake? That’s goddamn nuclear, Beau.”
He visibly swallows. “I’m not proud of what happened, okay? I feel like shit. Is that what you want to hear?”
I shake my head in disapproval. “Is this about me?” I have to ask.
“Oh, fuck off, Blake. Don’t flatter yourself. I was wasted and stupid and horny, and she came on to me, and I was too drunk to say no. That’s it.”
“Really. It had nothing to do with me turning you down the other night and you finding out about me and Wyatt.”
“It had nothing to do with you,” he replies through clenched teeth. “It was just me being a dumb, drunk asshole who didn’t think beyond the next five seconds.”
“So your brilliant drunk logic was to blow up AJ’s relationship and your lifelong friendship? Because that’s what you’ve done.”
He tries to shift his gaze back to the water, but I grab his sleeve and force eye contact. The shame lining his features softens some of my anger.
“You need to fix this,” I say firmly.
“I know.” His voice cracks with guilt. “Stop looking at me like that. I hate what I did, okay?” Bleakly, he staggers to his feet.
“B—”
“Just leave me alone. I can’t do this right now. I already feel like shit, and I don’t need you making me feel worse.”
“Maybe you should feel worse,” I call after him. “Maybe you deserve to.”
He stops for half a second, shoulders tensing. But he doesn’t turn around. A moment later, he marches off, leaving me alone on the beach.
DAD CHAT
DEAN DI LAURENTIS
All right. Let’s have it. Go ahead, Connelly. Remove me from the chat.
JAKE CONNELLY
For what?
DEAN DI LAURENTIS
My kid stole your kid’s girl.
JAKE CONNELLY
Bro, he deserves a medal. Brenna and I have been praying for the downfall of Tara for two years. Can’t stand her.
DEAN DI LAURENTIS
Wait, so you’re not pissed?
JAKE CONNELLY
Nah. Tell Beau thanks.
DEAN DI LAURENTIS
See? This is how adults handle conflicts between their children.
Chapter 40
WYATT
I ASSUMED THAT THE DRAMATIC end of a Golden Boy friendship—something I never dreamed possible—would also mean the end of the dramatics for the day. But I was wrong.