Fated Shot

Chapter 17

Mia

I feel like I just had an out-of-body experience.

It’s not Seb’s words or actions that sent me there. Although rare, he’s always been that intense behind closed doors. I’ve just never had anyone witness it before, and the realization of that intensity made it that much worse. It sent me into protection mode.

We walk silently across the street as Jack guides me into Oakcrest and up the elevator. My mind is surprisingly blank—while my body struggles between staggered breaths, uneasy steps, and shaking hands. I don’t know if I’m riled, in shock, angry, or a combination of all three. The only emotion I can pinpoint for certain is straight humiliation.

The moment we reach my door, I pause. I can’t seem to gather the words that I want to communicate. This is my mess, the one I’ve been too weak to face. Jack doesn’t need to be pulled into this crap, and somehow, he’s been dragged into it now on more than one occasion. Even so, I still can’t help the ache of wanting to just be in his arms, let him comfort me, settle into the couch and just be.

I turn to his concerned face, anguished expression frantically assessing me. Through the ashamed tears threatening to break out, I let out, hardly more than a whisper, “I’m so sorry,” as I pull him into a hug .

His strong arms wrap around me immediately as I settle, my cheek pressed against his pounding heart. His palm splays out, cradling my head against him. In his protective grip, all the tension in my body eases as his warmth floods my system. Appreciation is an understatement.

“Hey…” his deep, comforting voice reaching me like waves of peace. “You have nothing—nothing to apologize for.” He pulls back, tilting my jaw so I face him.

A single droplet slides down my cheek. Traitor. I quickly swipe it away, clearing my throat. I’m not crying, I refuse. He continues to study me.

“Just let it out, Mia. It’s okay that you’re scared.”

My voice comes out much more clearly than I expect. “It’s not that at all. I—” I stop. It’s not the time to get into this. I’m not going to dump months of frustration on this beautiful semi-stranger. I clear my voice again, taking half a step back. With an intentioned breath, I face him, pulling every ounce of strength to appear composed.

“I promise I’m okay.” Good, this also comes out with no shakiness.

“It’s been—” I take another breath, patient, piercing eyes meeting mine. “I have tried to keep it—” I struggle to find the right words.

“I’m not scared. I just never wanted anyone to ever see that,” I admit with a saddened, frustrated breath.

It’s the truth. The shame is dominating, wrecking my insides as I settle into this feeling of embarrassment.

“Thank you so much for walking me back home. I’ll be totally fine.” I genuinely will, once the humiliation subsides allowing me to function again. “I had a lot of fun with you, but it’s just that this has been, well, frankly, mortifying.”

I don’t allow myself to assess his reaction. Instead, I reach into my purse, pull out my keycard, and tap it on the lock. When I see the green light flash, I tug on the handle and walk inside. The door doesn’t close behind me, though. Turning, I spot Jack’s tall frame as he carefully takes off his running shoes, lining them up by my door.

Bean’s excited meow, or rather scream, pulls my attention away as he excitedly trots over. Rubbing his face against my leg, his upright tail happily shakes. He continues past me, though, to trill up at Jack.

“Hey, little buddy,” he calls down as he hunches over to scoop him into a cradle.

“Oh, he doesn’t really like strangers—” I stop, watching Bean’s paw boop Jack’s nose as he lowers his head to Bean’s whiskered face.

“Fuck, you’re cute. Aren’t you, Bean?” he says, holding Bean’s arched body in one arm while tickling his tummy with his free hand. I can hear his purrs from here, growing louder by the second.

“I love cats,” he admits with a sheepish grin. Of course, he loves cats. This guy’s the human incarnation of a green flag.

Still holding Bean, he takes a few steps forward, seriousness reappearing.

“We don’t have to talk about it right now if you don’t want to, but I do want to talk about it. So, I’m here when you’re ready.”

I’ve been holding everything in for so long, slowly eating away at me. It may feel good to let it out. So, instead of shutting him down, I just nod. “Coffee?”

“I’d love some. I actually didn’t get a chance to grab any ‘cus I—”

“Came to my rescue?” I smile appreciatively at him. He literally stormed in like a knight in shining armor.

“Don’t think you needed rescuing. I just hate that he was trying to intimidate you.” He casually takes a seat at the island as Bean lets out a big yawn .

“Sleepy, little guy?” he coos to Bean, who gives him a slow blink before closing his eyes. My heart. Puddle. Melting.

He catches me staring as I hurriedly try to look busy, grabbing two mugs and getting to work at my Nespresso.

“What can I get you? I only have espresso pods, but I can make a latte or an americano?”

“Barista’s choice,” he says, smiling kindly up at me before returning his focus to a sleeping Bean.

I whip up two vanilla lattes and pop open the fridge, grabbing a white chocolate macadamia cookie, albeit a little deformed from my experimenting with a different recipe, before setting it on a plate in front of him.

“Thanks!” His lighthearted tone instantly changes my vibe as he takes a huge bite. “You’re a cookie wizard,” he lets out with an appreciative hum.

“Ha, thanks.” I struggle to match his tone, still overpowered by my want to run and hide.

Perceptive as always, Jack looks over to me, seriousness returning in his eyes. “Mia, has he always been like that?”

“No, not at all,” I say instinctively, stopping myself. Why the hell am I lying right now? I force myself to be honest; it’s the least I owe him. Taking a shaky breath, I finally admit, “Well, sometimes, but usually, I can avoid riling him up too much. It’s just… this morning, I don’t know, I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

“I’m assuming your parents don’t know how he really is?”

“Uh, not really.” I can feel myself shutting down, curling inward. This isn’t a conversation I’ve even dared to have with myself, let alone someone else. I shift my weight from one foot to the other, struggling to find a comfortable stance. “It’s okay though, it’s no biggie, I’m all good.” I try to give my best reassuring smile.

“You don’t have to do that, Mia. ”

“Do what?” I ask, avoiding his gaze and taking a sip from my cup.

“Cover up what you’re really feeling. What’s really going on. I want to know.”

“I’m not.” Lie . Why is this so hard? I let out a bit of a frustrated sigh.

“It’s just… it’s not exactly light and fun. Honestly, it’s not even worth getting into. I’m good, really. ” Another lie . I just can’t face the truth of what I’ve been feeling. Somehow saying it out loud to someone else feels even scarier.

“Yeah, well, honestly, Mia, there’s zero chance I can walk away from this—so we might as well talk through it.”

My heart skips a beat as his words sink in. Zero chance I can walk away from this.

“What do you mean—”

“Look, I tried. I told you I can’t get you out of my head, and I don’t want to,” he says, his gaze softening with a tenderness that makes my chest tighten. “So I want to hear anything you’re willing to share.”

It’s tough to look at him. He’s got a presence that should be insanely intimidating, but instead, it’s encouraging, comforting, and calm.

It’s so embarrassing. At every turn, I come off as weak and needing saving, but he’s seen enough. The least I can do is continue barreling down the path and connect some dots for him. So before I can help myself, the words just pour out of me.

“We were together for three years, I met him at the beginning of my sophomore year. He was my Econ TA.”

“Oh, wow.”

“Yeah, he had just graduated and had a job lined up at an investment firm in the new year, so he was just teaching for the semester. He really pursued me hard and then wanted me to move in like right away. Said the thirty-minute commute to my dorm would be too much of a strain on our relationship. Slowly, I guess, I just… lost myself. I didn’t know any better.” I wait for any response, but Jack just sits quietly, listening.

“My parents have always liked him, he’s always really charming with them. He has a great job and his own apartment in Manhattan. I think they felt like he could take care of me. He promised them he would, too. When they moved away, I was really lonely, and I think I just clung to him even harder.” Still no reply, he lets me continue, listening intently. Too far gone now…

“Sometimes he would just… snap. But it was usually because of something I did wrong. Little things, like if I got home late from class and forgot to update him, or if I couldn’t go out with him because I was busy with orders. It just got worse over time, and I think slowly, I just started following what he said, like… like orders.

“I was just so caught up in him, I didn’t even care. I would just try harder to make sure I didn’t get him angry.” I shake my head as I think back. God, I can’t even remember who I was back then; she feels like a stranger. I wish I could just go back and shake some sense into myself. How did I put up with that for so long?

“He really hated my baking, too, always called it my pointless hobby.” I nearly laugh at the absurdity of the statement, but choke it down. “I almost stopped. He didn’t want me working anyway…” I trail off, feeling the anger simmering beneath the surface, waiting to boil over. “I just wanted to keep going, to try to make a business out of it, but he kept telling me to grow up and be realistic about my future.”

My throat tightens as I swallow down the lump forming there. Everything I’ve worked so hard for, everything I’ve built, would have been for nothing if I had stayed.

“I had a final that I ended up finishing super early, came home, and I found him—” I pause as my stomach twists into knots. I feel like I’m going to throw up, my face blazing with a mix of shame and rage. I clamp my mouth shut, forcing the sensation back down.

“Well, he was cheating on me.”

This time, I glance at him, and I can see the anger flooding over his face. He’s clenching his mug so hard I’m afraid it might crack, but he doesn’t say anything. He just lets me continue, his eyes full of understanding,

“I felt like I could handle the anger, but the cheating…” My voice falters. It made me feel like I wasn’t enough for him. Like I was so severely lacking as a woman that he had to step out on me. Like I was absolutely worthless. “Well, I just couldn’t get over it.”

He leans in closer, his brows furrowed in concern. “You didn’t deserve that, Mia.”

“I know that now,” I admit. “I left, and as soon as I did, it was like snapping out of a fog. I realized I was so much happier without him.” I shrug, trying to downplay the significance, but my voice betrays me. “I wanted space, and it was the perfect time for a fresh start. He’s been trying to get back together ever since,” I continue, unable to stop rolling my eyes at the insanity of it all. “I’ve forgiven him, I guess, but I felt like, I don’t know, I owed him a friendship after all the time we were together.”

“You don’t owe that asshole anything,” he states clearly, his tone firm, leaving no room for doubt. “I can’t believe he was always that abusive.”

“No, he’s—he’s actually never touched me,” I quickly clarify, surprised at my defensive tone. He’d get in my face, sure, but it’s not like he ever actually hit me or anything.

“What he did was enough, Mia.” His voice softens, but the seriousness in his eyes cuts through me.

The words hit me in my gut, like a truth I’ve been avoiding. I look away, swallowing hard, trying to process it all. “It-it always just felt like something I could deal with on my own. It wasn’t always bad and—” I shut my mouth, taking an intentioned breath. Stop. Defending. Him.

“After the game, he said he wanted to apologize for everything—for what he said and did—but he obviously didn’t take any accountability, so I stormed out and, yeah, that just about catches you up."

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that.” He pauses. “Why don’t you just tell your parents the truth? I seriously doubt they’d be extending free tickets if they knew.”

“He cheated on me because he was bored of me. Said it was because I’m boring,” I state flatly. Part of me knows it’s not true—it wasn’t my fault—but that doesn’t stop the constant nagging from the part of me that still believes his words.

“It’s so embarrassing. I’m just ashamed of the whole situation, and I wasn’t ready to share that with anyone right now, let alone my parents.”

“I’m not talking about the cheating, Mia. How he treats you is not okay.” I let the words settle for a moment.

“Hold up, he said you were boring in bed?”

I slap my hand over my eyes. Oh my god, kill me now.

“That’s all you got? That’s what you gathered from this whole conversation? Nothing else from my messy life?”

Clearly ignoring my rebuttal, he continues. “That’s why you were nervous, eh? Why you sent me out that night?” he says, standing up to set Bean down on the couch.

When he returns, he gently grabs hold of my wrists, guiding my hands down to reveal my obviously blazing cheeks.

“He’s a fucking liar. I haven’t been able to get the image of you riding me out of my head all day, I don’t think I ever will.”

I can’t even try to meet his eyes.

“What he said earlier, Mia. Is it true?” I was hoping he was out of earshot and didn’t catch that part. Being accused of having a crush feels so juvenile, but realizing that Jack might have overheard it makes my cheeks burn even more.

When I don’t respond, he arches his head down, a gentle kiss touching my lips. “It’s a fucking shame, you know, him getting in your head like that,” he says in a whisper, warm breath engulfing me as I feel my pulse starting to race.

One hand grazing my jaw with his rough palm, he dips to whisper in my ear.

“We’re just going to have to work on building your confidence back up.”

A shiver of excitement shoots down my spine, every ounce of fear, embarrassment, and shame dissipating as my body tingles with anticipation of his next move.

“I volunteer my body for practice ‘cus I have a fucking crush on you too, Mia.”