AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Eddie and I split before he died. He cheated on me and he was a completely different person when I asked him for some of the money back after he returned to work.”
She wasn’t going to say anymore. Or the horrible things he’d said to her when she broke up with him.
That she’d never get any better than him. She was boring and dull and he was trying to show her how to experience life more than what she’d had and she’d never be anything more than a wannabe person that couldn’t find fulfillment on their own.
She almost giggled over that thought. She found a lot of fulfillment with Duke. Never with Eddie. Looking back, she always thought it was her, but maybe it was more Eddie was a selfish lover like the other men she’d been with.
Duke, he took the time to make sure she got as much out of it if not more.
He cared enough to do that when so many others didn’t have the time or the patience with her.
“Oh, sweetie,” her mother said, moving over to hug her. She felt like she needed the hug. Not because of Eddie but because it was upsetting to have to tell them what a fool she’d been once again.
“It’s fine,” she said. “I ended things with him when I found out. It hurt, but I should have realized that he was too good to be true for me.”
“Don’t think that about yourself,” her father said, frowning. “You do that. You knock yourself down for shortcomings without thinking they were the ones that were shortsighted.”
“I know I do that.”
She went on to tell them some more of when Eddie was hurt and she was caring for him. He made her feel like he couldn’t live without her. She didn’t tell them that for most of the time, Eddie didn’t do much more than kiss her. She thought it had to do with his injury but later realized he was getting it from someone else. She was just his maid.
“And when you confronted him on the cheating he turned on you?” her father asked.
“No, he started to act differently when I asked for the money. He didn’t have the time for me. He said he didn’t have the money and it was selfish of me to even think of asking him that when he’d just returned to work. He wasn’t as nice or appreciative. It was like I couldn’t do anything right when before I could have served him dog poop and he’d say he loved it and thank me. Maybe he was just stressed or afraid he was going to be alone during that time since his family wasn’t doing much.”
“Don’t make excuses for his behavior,” her mother said. “That has always been your problem. You give people too many chances.”
“I can’t seem to help it,” she said. “It’s in the past though. I did find out he was cheating and I’m sure that is another part of why he wasn’t paying me back. But I was stuck with debt that I cleared up for him and he went on to live his life as if I were never in it.”
That might have been one of the things that hurt the most. He’d wiped her from his life. It did help her move on though because any love she’d felt for him, he’d killed sharp and quick.
“That is just horrible,” her mother said. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell us any of this.”
“It doesn’t matter. We were apart for over a solid month when he passed. Yes, it was upsetting, but it’s not like you think it was. I’m not sure I loved him like I thought. His treatment of me slowly drained me, then when I found out he cheated, I was numb.”
“You should have stood up for yourself,” her mother said.
“You know I don’t like conflict. He needed help. I believed him. I was the fool.”
“You weren’t a fool,” her father said. “Though I feel like one talking to Duke now.”
“As you should,” her mother said. “You needed to stay out of it.”
“That’s right, Dad. I appreciate everything you two have done. I really do. But you’ve got to let me live my life, please. If I need help, I’ll ask. I promise. But I can’t be someone I’m not.”
“No one is asking you to,” her father said.
“I think you are. I think you always have,” she said softly. “You want me to be stronger and stand up for myself. I should. I know it. But I’ve got to do it my way.”
“You were strong and stood up for yourself by coming here to talk to us. Right, Stan?” her mother asked.
“Yes,” her father said. “We know you don’t like conflict. I’m sure you were embarrassed by what I said to Duke. Did you tell him what you told us?”
“I did. He knew Eddie was an ex. People don’t always talk about their exes right away. It wasn’t a big deal. I would have told him more as it came about. He knew I had some debt when I moved here, but I didn’t tell him how or why. That part wasn’t his business.”
It did embarrass her to say those things to Duke, but she was going to fix her own problems like she’d done most of her life.
“I’m sorry I said what I had to him,” her father said. “But if you’d told us the truth I wouldn’t have.”
