We climbed into the Range Rover and headed towards the Hamptons. Worry consumed me because I didn’t know how Amelia was going to react when I told her that I was the one who bought the house. A part of me said that she’d be thrilled, while the other part said she was going to be pissed.

“Are we going to The Hamptons?” she asked.

I couldn’t lie to her. “Yes,” I replied.

“Why? It’s the middle of winter.”

“I know, but there’s something there I want you to see.”

We pulled onto the street of the beach house and I pulled into the driveway.

“Why are we here?”

“Follow me, baby,” I said as I took her hand and unlocked the front door.

“Why do you have a key to my old house?”

“This is my house now. Our house. I’m the one who bought it.”

“What? Why would you do that? Do you know how long ago that was and you’ve been keeping it from me?” she said in a raised voice.

“Yes, and I’m sorry. I wanted it to be the right time to tell you.”

“This is the right time?”

“I don’t know. But what I do know is that I couldn’t keep it from you anymore.”

She looked at me with daggers and shook her head. “I can’t believe you. Why would you buy this?”

“Because I know how much it means to you. You said yourself that you didn’t want to sell it.”

“But I didn’t want you to buy it. Fuck, Collin. That really pisses me off! And then the fact that you kept it from me all these months.”

She was mad. I didn’t think I’d ever seen her this angry before. “Amelia, I’m sorry.”

“How could you keep something like that from me? If you could so easily hide that, then it makes me wonder what else you haven’t told me.”

“That’s not fair. I’ve never kept anything from you except this,” I said as I raised my voice.

“I want to leave right now.”

“We just got here.”

She opened the door and got in the Range Rover. I sighed and shook my head as I locked the front door and climbed in next to her. I reached over and grabbed her hand. She pulled away.

“Baby, please. I’m so sorry.”

“This wasn’t just a small purchase. This was huge and it’s just not something a boyfriend does.”

“He does if he has money,” I said.

“So you think that because you have money, you can just do whatever the hell you want? I’m so mad at you, Collin. Please, just don’t say another word to me and take me home. I just want to go home.”

I started the car and tore out of the driveway. There was complete silence the entire ride home. When we entered the apartment, Amelia went to the bedroom and took her bag from the closet.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m going to stay with Cheri for a couple of days at her apartment. I just can’t stay here right now.”

“Amelia, please. Don’t do this. I didn’t do anything wrong. For fuck’s sake, I did this for you!” I screamed.

“I need to think. I need time alone. God, Collin. I can’t believe you did that,” she said as she walked out the door.

I paced back and forth throughout the apartment, trying to make rhyme or reason out of all of this. I went to my cabinet and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. I took a glass from the cupboard and sat down on the couch. I looked at the glass before I poured some whiskey and set it down on the table. Fuck the glass. I drank it straight from the bottle. I drank almost the whole bottle and I was trashed off my ass. I got up from the couch and fell onto the floor. The room was spinning and, when I closed my eyes, it was worse. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and I heard my dad call my name.

“Collin. What the hell is going on? Are you okay?”

The door was unlocked, and when I didn’t answer him, he walked in and saw me lying on the floor. “Son, what happened? Where’s Amelia?”

“She left.”

“Oh God, you reek of whiskey.”

He pulled out his phone and I heard him talking to Jake.

“Jake, I need you to come across the hall and help me get Collin up to the penthouse. He’s drunk.”

“Dad, I’m not going to the penthouse,” I slurred as I tried to get up, but managed to fall over.

“Yes, you are. I don’t want you alone when you’re like this. What happened?”

Jake walked in and came over to me. “Go around to the other side and I’ll grab this arm,” my dad said.

“Hey, buddy, you okay?” Jake asked.

“She packed a bag and left.”

“Amelia did?”

“Yeah, we got into a fight,” I slurred as they picked me up and helped me up to the penthouse.

When we walked through the door, my dad called for my mom.

“Shit, Dad.”

“Quiet, son.”

“Oh my God. What happened?” she asked as she hurried to me.

“Your son and his girlfriend must have gotten into an argument because she packed a bag and left and he drank a whole bottle of whiskey.”

“Not the whole thing,” I slurred.

“Oh, Collin. Get him upstairs to his room,” my mom said.

My dad and Jake set me down on my bed. My mom followed behind and lifted my shirt over my head.

“On your side, mister,” she said.

I closed my eyes and all I could see was Amelia’s face, along with the pain and hurt that splayed across it when she found out I was the one who bought the house. I needed to sleep to forget.

Chapter 34

I woke up, and when I looked at the clock, it was five thirty a.m. My head was pounding, so I decided to take a shower. After standing under the stream of hot water for almost twenty minutes, I stepped out and pulled on a pair of sweat pants I found in my drawer. I went downstairs, started the coffee, and gathered the ingredients for the cocktail. My parents were still asleep, so I tried to be as quiet as possible. I ran up the stairs to find my phone. It was lying on the floor in my pants pocket. I pulled it out, and before I looked at it, I prayed that there was a text message or call from Amelia. There wasn’t. I went back to the kitchen and finished making my cocktail. A few moments later, my parents walked in.

“Here, let me finish that for you. Go sit down, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

“How are you feeling?” my dad asked as he poured some coffee.