CHAPTER THREE TABATHA

CHAPTER THREE

TABATHA

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," I repeat for the fifth time as I sit at a stoplight on Rodeo Drive.

"That's what I was told," Jackie, my best friend, says softly next to me.

"Who was it?" I ask curiously.

She shrugs before she looks down at her cell in her hands. "I don't know. They didn't say a name. I guess it was someone he was talking to when you guys got together."

In all honesty, it doesn't surprise me that the bastard was cheating on me. I mean, he is the type to have more than one woman. He likes power and that made him feel like he had some. Fuck, he was probably with her at times while we spoke on the phone. She was probably right there smiling while she sucked his dick or something.

"You did the right thing," she says before she reaches over and pats my arm.

I look over at her with no expression, and she exhales. "I know you loved him, but…"

"Stop right there," I say slamming on the gas as the light turns green. "I didn't love him," I say in denial, and she sighs heavily, knowing I'm lying. "But," I add, "I don't regret leaving that sorry bastard."

"Good girl," she says happily, and I tighten my hands on the steering wheel. That's what Rodger always said to me. Always!

In and out of the bed. The worst part is that I did everything he said in order to hear him call me that. I wanted to be his ‘good girl.' I wanted his praise. I shudder at how pathetic he made me.

I sit behind the steering wheel as I drive us to my house, and my anger starts to rise. This is the first time I've actually got to spend time with my best friend in months. We used to be inseparable. But things started to change once Rodger and I hit the three-month mark in our relationship. He started having me cancel plans with my family and friends, saying he didn't have time for this dinner or that party. And he didn't want me to go without him. Blah, blah, blah. Same ol' bullshit, just a different day. At first, I didn't think anything of it and let it slide. Before I knew it, he had changed my cell phone number. Then he was driving me to and from school, telling me it was easier to ride together—which at the time made sense.

We first met a little over a year ago at college. He just happened to be in one of my classes. I fell hard and fast for him. I loved him so much that I actually hated the person I became. Rodger thought people were below him. His father is a congressman, and his mother is some Botox loving, face peel obsessive, highfalutin bitch.

I was raised with money, wore the expensive clothes, and had the prettiest jewelry. Hell, I still do, but that doesn't mean I walk around with my nose stuck up in the air. Some people are lucky in life and some aren't. I'm a lucky one. I will never take that for granted ever again. Can I be a bitch who throws tantrums? Yep! Can I be a suck-up and bait Daddy when I want something? Absolutely! Do I tell it how it is? Of course. I wasn't raised to hide what I feel. How is someone going to know what you feel or think unless you tell them?

Well, with Rodger, I kept everything inside. I kept my mouth shut and sat up straight. To him and the men in his family, women were seen not heard. A woman's place was in the kitchen cooking or on her knees in the bedroom.

I couldn't take it anymore; I can't hide who I really am. I am a smart-mouthed bitch who has anger issues and a right hook to prove it. If that meant I rolled around in the dirt with the ones he considered scum, then call me the fucking queen of the scum world.

But for some crazy damn reason, I fell in love with him. There was just something about him. I wish I knew what it was because I would have ignored it. He didn't like to fight or to have me disagree with anything he said. What he had to say was final. Well, last week I overheard a conversation, and I couldn't keep my mouth shut. It was our biggest fight yet.

"You shouldn't have said that," he says tightly as he shuts his bedroom door. His dark hair is trimmed short, and his dark green eyes are hard.

"Why not?" I ask trying to keep my voice low, but it's hard. I want to scream at him.

"Because my dad didn't appreciate that. That's why," he snaps before running his hands down his white polo shirt. I just ironed it two hours ago, and it already has wrinkles. He hates wrinkles!

I try to hold my tongue, but enough is enough. "What? I can't have an opinion about our future?"

He fists his hands by his side as he takes a deep breath. "Your opinion was not asked. Therefore, it was not needed."

Simple as that.

He and his dad were talking about where he would transfer to next fall. I was in his parents' kitchen making him fucking chocolate chip cookies when I had overheard them. Of course, I had stormed off into the living room to find out what the hell they were talking about. When I said that I think he should stay here, it had started a big debate between his dad and me. Was it wrong not to want your boyfriend to pack up and leave you behind?

Well, good riddance, you sorry bastard!

I pull up to my house and open the door for Jackie to enter before I slam the door shut and lock it.

"Whoa. You okay?" she asks setting her purse down softly on my kitchen table.

"Yes. I just need to blow off some steam," I say, rolling my shoulders.

She smiles as she pulls her phone out of her purse. "How about we go to a party tonight? I just got a message from Blake that his friend is having one."

"Sounds perfect." That's exactly what I need—a party and some alcohol.

"That's my girl. Go ahead and start getting ready, and I'll make you a pre-party drink."