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The more I think about it, the more I wish I’d let Chip stay and explain, because it just doesn’t make any sense.
None of it makes any fucking sense, I think to myself and sigh.
I find Brendon sitting on the beach, staring out over the ocean. At any other moment, I might be caught up in the breathtaking beauty of the starlight glimmering off the waves, but right now, it’s bittersweet. A picturesque setting for our melancholy.
I sit down on the sand beside him. For a long moment, the two of us are silent. But finally, he speaks. “I’m sorry I took off like that. Shouldn’t have left you there.”
I shake my head. “Better to leave me in an awkward situation than stay and have it escalate into something beyond just awkward.”
“I guess you’re right. Did you guys talk after I left?”
I shake my head again.
He sighs. “This wasn’t how this trip was supposed to go,” he murmurs.
I snort, “Yeah, we definitely weren’t planning for…all this.”
He draws shapes in the sand with his fingertips. “I don’t know why I’m so fucked up over it. I mean, we’re leaving in a few days, and all of this is going to be over anyway. It just…it sucks to think that he played us like that.”
I’m quiet for a moment. “Are you sure he did?”
He looks at me, brow furrowed. “How did he not? He lied this whole time about not wanting a relationship, but it was all just some big ploy to cover up the fact that he’s already married.”
“But think about it,” I say, “We were in his apartment, how would he have hidden a wife from us? We would have seensomethingto indicate another person living there.”
There’s a brief moment of hesitation before he says, “I heard her very clearly say she was his wife, Hazel, and you saw his face.”
“Yeah,” I tell him, “I did see his face, and that’s why I think there’s more to the story.”
Brendon looks confused. “Why? He was freaked out because he got caught in all his bullshit.”
“I don’t think that was it, I think he was just genuinely freaked out to be hearing from her. If he were so worried about being caught, why did he let you answer his phone?” I counter.
This seems to stop my boyfriend in his tracks. With that hole poked, I press on. “Do you remember what name the caller ID said?”
“No name ever showed on the caller ID, it was just the phone num….ber…” he says slowly, and I can see the gears turning in his head.
“Exactly. Don’t you think he’d have his wife’s number saved in his phone if they were in even semi-regular contact?”
He doesn’t say anything for a while. “But if they’re not together anymore, wouldn’t she have said ‘ex-wife’?”
“Maybe they’re just separated and not divorced,” I offer, before posing my own theory, “Or maybe she’s some kind of stalker ex who won’t let go.”
Brendon looks at me with a small smile. “That seems like kind of a jump,” he says.
I know it’s possible that I’ve jumped to conclusions, but the clues do seem to point to that as a possibility. “Does it? Think about it,” I say, listing off points on my fingers, “A: He didn’t just leave New York City, he left thecountry. Seems like a good way to evade a clinger.”
He mulls that over, but I’m not done. “B: He talked about his career being ruined? Seems like it could have potentially been some slander thing or just her showing up and causing problems at his jobs. And C: Look at the way he’s talked about commitment.”
“Okay, I guess when you put it that way, maybe it’s not so farfetched,” he admits.
“But even if that’s not the case, babe, I think we owe him the chance to explain, because one way or another, the pieces just don’t add up. There could be a dozen other explanations that I haven’t thought of, and who knows? Maybe you’re right and he’s just a slimeball,” there’s a twinge in my chest at the thought, “But I want to hear what he has to say. We can judge for ourselves if he’s telling us the truth or not, and…go from there.”
“Or maybe we should just leave it, Hazel. Maybe this is better, a clean break before we go, before any of us got in too deep.”
I smile wistfully and shake my head. “You’re fooling yourself if you think we’re not already in too deep, my love.”
He sighs. “You’re probably right. But what can we do?”
