Chapter 442 - Accepting The Truth

~ Seattle, Derek's apartment ~

"You look like there was a hell-of-a party.", Hunter said to Derek when he finally opened the door.

Derek's hair was messy, his face was bruised (thanks to Ashton), he had big dark circles under his eyes… and he was wearing only his briefs.

"Do you always welcome guests in your underwear?", Hunter grumbled.

"I am not welcoming you.", Derek grumbled back and before he could say anything else, a cup of coffee hovered in front of his face.

"Maybe this will help to grant us an entrance to your humble abode…", Mia said cheerfully while tempting Derek with coffee.

Derek smiled a little and accepted the coffee. "Sensible. I like that."

Derek moved away from the door and left it open. Hunter and Mia interpreted that as an OK to come inside.

Hunter's nose scrunched at the foul smell and he frowned at the sight of the mess in Derek's apartment. Clothes were over the furniture, and there were an empty pizza box and a few opened cans of beer next to it. On the side, were more cans of beer, two pizza boxes, empty containers from carryout food, and Hunter had to ask: "Did something die in here?" He was not happy that Derek ignored him.

It seemed that no one tidied up this place in days, weeks maybe.

"Since when are you this messy?", Hunter asked Derek who disappeared into his bedroom without answering.

Hunter wondered if those clothes on the sofa are clean or used. He wanted to move them to sit, but if they are soiled, he didn't want to touch them.

Mia giggled at Hunter's sour expression and started collecting the clothes from the sofa before gesturing to Hunter that he can sit there.

Before sitting, Hunter walked to the side and opened a window. The first necessity was to get some breathable air inside.

"Let's clean up a bit…", Mia suggested to what Hunter went to the kitchen and returned with a big trash bag.

Mia and Hunter collected empty cans, pizza boxes, and other food containers, and took everything into the kitchen. Mia used a cloth to wipe the coffee table before they placed breakfast items that they brought with them.

A minute later, Derek emerged from the bedroom. He was wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants, and overall he looked more presentable.

Derek observed pastries and took a sip of the coffee that Mia gave him upon their arrival.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?", Derek asked.

"You said that you can't make it to the last party of my life as a single man. We want to know why.", Hunter responded.

Derek lowered his gaze. "I have stuff going on."

Mia saw that Derek is avoiding the topic, and she didn't want to drag this for longer than necessary. They have a busy day ahead of them, and no time to linger on stubborn guys. "Is that stuff called Angela?"

Derek frowned and his eyes moved from Hunter to Mia. "What do you know?"

"Not much.", Mia responded. "That is why we are here."

"Did you really hook up with Angela?", Hunter asked.

Derek exhaled in frustration. "Is that what she told you?"

"No.", Mia responded. "Angela told me that she thought how there is something magical going on between the two of you, but you proved her wrong."

Derek closed his eyes. He felt like crap. He didn't want to talk about Angela and what happened two weeks ago. Angela's ghost is haunting him, and he sees her everywhere he looks… but maybe talking about it will help. Maybe if others find out what an asshole he was, he will realize that he does not deserve to think about her.

"We didn't have sex.", Derek said after some time. He wanted to clear up this first because it was the only thing that was going in his favor. "But I acted like a jackass and I hurt her."

"Did you do it on purpose?", Mia asked, hoping to get a miraculous response how all this was a big misunderstanding.

"I didn't hurt her on purpose. Words just came out of me and… by the time I realized what I said, it was too late."

"What did you say?", Mia asked before biting into a croissant that was filled with cherries.

"I told her that she should save her first time for someone special."

The croissant fell out of Mia's hand on the table, and that told Hunter she was in shock because Mia never drops food.

It took some time for Mia to speak. "So… you reached the point where you realized that she is a virgin and instead of taking it slow, you insinuated that she is a girl who is taking sex lightly by willing to sleeping with anyone?"

"I don't know what I was thinking.", Derek said dejectedly. "Up to that point, I was confident that she was experienced. I mean… everything about her was right and inviting and I knew she is Ash's sister, yet I couldn't stop myself. I was surprised by the realization that she never had sex and words just came out."

"And you didn't think that maybe, for her, you were that someone special?", Mia asked.

Derek shook his head. "No one ever saw me as special, and I suck at relationships."

"I can see that." Mia said curtly. "What happened after that?"

"She told me to get out, and I did."

Hunter was not sure what to think of this situation. But he had to admit that hearing Derek's side of the story made Hunter blame Derek a bit less.

"That was two weeks ago.", Mia said. "You didn't interact with Angela since then?"

"No."

"Do you want to?"

Derek looked at Mia and his brows furrowed deeper by the second. It's not that he didn't want to, but he does not have Angela's phone number and he didn't dare ask anyone for it. Going to see her at work or at home was definitely out of the question because he didn't want to cause a scene or look like a stalker.

Mia saw that Derek had some internal struggle going on, so she added: "You said that everything about Angela was right and that you couldn't stop coming on to her even though you knew she is Ashton's sister. That tells me it was more than just a superficial attraction. So, let me ask you again, do you want to talk to her?"

"I don't know what to say.", Derek admitted.

Mia was frustrated. Do all handsome guys have negative EQ? Other than Hunter, of course. For Mia, Hunter is perfect. Mia's conclusion was that handsome guys didn't have a need to develop EQ, and that is why they are… challenged in that area and they don't know how to act when they meet a girl who matters.

"You can start by telling her that you have such a low self-esteem that you never thought how an amazing girl like Angela could fall for you."

Derek responded to Mia with a small smile. Did Angela fall for him? He never thought about that possibility, but now that Mia said it... it's possible.

Hunter felt that they reached the conclusion, so he asked: "I can assume that with this revelation, you are coming to my party. Right?"

Derek shook his head vigorously. "Ash hates me. If I show up, it will ruin the party."

"So, is that it?", Hunter asked. "You are giving up on us?"

Derek was confused. "What do you mean, giving up on you? Do you see this?" Derek pointed at his bruised face. "If I go there, at best, I will be ignored, but the probability is high that I will end up in a fight."

"Ash is my bother-in-law, but that is between him and Rina. For me, Ash is my friend, just as you are. You realize that by avoiding him, you are avoiding all of us?"

"I don't know how to make it right.", Derek admitted. "I tried talking to him, but he wouldn't listen."

"Because he is not the person you should talk to.", Mia said. "Ash is just protecting his sister. You need to fix things with Angela."

"She will never accept me, not after how I treated her."

Mia smiled, realizing that Derek just admitted that he has feelings for Angela, and Mia was quite confident that Derek himself was not aware of it. "I didn't say that she needs to accept you romantically. I was thinking that you should mend your relationship with Angela as friends."

Derek was not sure what to think about this. "Friends?"

Mia confirmed. "Show her that you are not a complete asshole and that you didn't mean harm. If you can have a decent conversation with Angela without breaking her heart and rewind your interaction close to the one you had at the hospital, I'm confident that Ash will forgive you as well."

"That sounds easy when you say it, but how do I put it into action without making things worse? I already proved that my mouth runs faster than my brain."

Mia pressed her lips into a line while thinking about how to answer this. Derek is a tease, and he sleeps around, but that does not mean that Derek is a bad guy. Hell, if a guy like Max managed to settle down next to the right girl, anyone can. Angela definitely likes Derek, so the only question pending is if Derek is willing to work to win Angela over.

"Do you like her?", Mia asked Derek to what he stared at Mia like she is growing a second head.

Mia stifled a laugh. "Why are you looking at me like I killed someone? The question is simple, do you like Angela? Or if you don't know the answer, let me make it simple for you… How would you feel if tomorrow at the wedding, you see Angela and Roberto making out? Don't answer me. Answer yourself and accept the answer. You don't need to worry about what will come out of your mouth, as long as it's the truth. I want you to imagine Angela and Roberto on the dancefloor... swaying slowly and talking with smiles on their faces... and then they inch closer... and..."

"That's enough!", Derek shouted. He didn't want to hear any more of that nonsense. 

Mia smiled smugly. "I think you have your answers, Derek."

"Alright!", Hunter exclaimed. "We are running out of time and we need to get ready. So, you are coming to the party?"

Derek frowned and pointed at the bruises on his face, silently telling Hunter that he is not coming. Not until he fixes things with Angela and Ashton... if that is even possible.

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