Goodbye Is a Second Chance sneak peek

Prologue
Roses?
Check.
Breath?
Check.
Reservations at the nicest restaurant in the city?
Check.
I check my pocket for the ring and tug on the collar of the damn suit someone convinced me to wear. I knock on the door to the apartment, even though I live here. It seems like the thing to do in this situation.
I’ve planned this for a while. I’ve been with her steady for a couple years now. It’s just the natural progression of thing. Seems like this is the next logical step.
After a few minutes, I knock again as I wonder what’s taking her so long to answer the door. Probably taking a shower or something since she has no idea what I have planned. Now that I think about it, maybe surprising her wasn’t such a great idea. She’s not going to be happy knowing we have reservations in an hour. She has a tendency to throw tantrums when things don’t go her way.
They don’t bother me. Not really. I’ve got my own hang ups and issues too.
With a sigh, I take out the key and insert it into the lock. I open the door to find the living room and kitchen empty. My shower idea makes even more sense.
I stop at the mirror. My damn eyes are bloodshot as fuck. I search my pockets for my eyedrops. They’re not there. Guess I left them in the office.
I place the long-stemmed yellow roses – her favorite – into a vase then make my way to our bedroom.
Moaning and panting coming from the other side of the door make the blood in my veins run cold. I move to turn the knob when I hear voices. Very fucking familiar voices.
I push the door open. Ice floods my veins before turning to fire. The sight before me turns my stomach.
I see Jason Wexler thrusting into my girlfriend from behind. In our bed. In our bedroom. In our apartment.
As she screams out his name, I jerk him away from her.
Rage fuels my entirety. My temper flares from my wounded pride. You can feel the fury pouring off of me in waves filling the room like a living thing. I don’t give anyone a chance to say a word. I begin slamming my fist into his face over and over. I hear yelling all around me but none of it registers. All I can see is the person I am supposed to trust betraying me.
Finally, I stop. I look at the guy I have had a love/hate relationship with for years in disgust. His eyes are already black with one closed shut. His nose is bleeding profusely. His eyebrow is cut. Not the first time he’s felt my wrath.
I throw his clothes at him. He tries to speak but the look on my face shuts him up quickly. He turns and runs out of the room then out of the apartment.
I turn to look at her. Her eyes open wide in fear.
I walk to her, take her by her arm to lead her out of the apartment. If she wants him, then she should go be with him. I toss her naked ass out into the corridor. Then I throw the clothes that were on the floor with her.
I listen to her crying and begging on the other side of the door for an hour as I drown myself in cheap one hundred proof vodka and do another line because the effects of the one from earlier just aren’t doing the job right now. My ego and pride are thoroughly upset. I won’t say my heart is broken because it’s not. Maybe that’s fucked up of me but it’s the truth.
Then the cries and pleas become angry beating and banging, demanding that I let her back in. She is shit out of luck if she thinks I’m letting her back in. This is my apartment. My name is on the fucking lease.
I’m not sure when it all stops. Maybe it was before I passed out. Maybe it was after. But my phone ringing wakes me from my semi-coma.
“Hello,” I answer gruffly.
“Angel, bro, how you been?” a familiar voice calls out from the other end of the line.
“Been fucking better, man. How about you?”
“Yeah, I’ve been fucking better too,” Jake tells me. “I’m calling because I need a favor man.”
“What’s the favor?”
“I need your help. Can you come to New York?”
That was the last thing I expected him to say. But I swear it couldn’t be better timing. I remain cautious though. “What’s going on?” I asked worried.
He fills me in on his current situation.
And I thought my night was bad. A little hurt pride is nothing compared to what he’s going through. That shit is harsh.
“I know it’s asking a lot, Angel, but I can’t let anyone down.”
If he’d asked me all of this yesterday, I still would’ve said yes but with a hell of a fight from the bitch that I just threw out. But things change in an instant. I need a change of scenery. I need a fresh start. A second chance away from this bullshit that convolutes my mind. The answer is easier than it should be.
On an exhale of a breath I didn’t realize I was holding I answer, “when do you want me there?”