AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was what I prepared myself for all night. The questioning I knew was impending.
Do I walk away and tell her it’s done?
No. She needs to know why I was hesitant to let her in.
“You went through my shit?” I ask through clenched teeth, regretting how harsh my voice sounds as soon as the words leave my mouth.
You can’t blame her too much. You would’ve done the same.
She stirs, her eyes slowly opening, and she looks up at me. A brief smile passes her lips but drops when she takes me in. Recognition dawns on her when she looks around.
She probably intended to hide what she’d done.
She probably planned to put everything back in that drawer before I got here this morning.
“You went through my shit?” I repeat.
She scrambles to her feet with pity on her face. “No! I grabbed a shirt,like you told me to, and couldn’t shut the drawer. When I tried to fix the problem”—she pauses, swinging her arm to gesture to the pile on the floor—“I found all of this.”
“You went through my shit.” Right now, those are the only words I’m capable of forming.
She blows out a long breath. “Was it wrong for me to snoop? Yes. But, after Missy’s dad showed up at the hospital last night, I was so confused. I didn’t go looking for this, Gage, I promise.”
“What did you say?” My mind has jumped from the pictures to what she told me.
“You want me to repeat all of that?” She stressfully runs her hand through her hair and blows away the few strands in her way.
“Missy’s father paid you a visit at the hospital?”
“Yes. He asked me to talk to you about not disputing her appeal … something along those lines.” She holds up a finger and runs into the bathroom before reappearing with a paper and handing it to me, as if it’s counterfeit money. “He gave me this.”
I take a look at it, recognizing Missy’s parents’ attorney’s signature. I’ve gone round and round with this guy, torn up checks, and told him to fuck off more times than I can recall. He’s a fucking sleazebag attorney … and Missy’s sleazebag-ass family loves to have him do their dirty work. He writes their checks. They keep their hands clean.
“The hell, Lauren? Why didn’t you tell me about this last night?”
“I don’t know! It was late, and I didn’t want to fight with you.” She grabs my hands, the check falling to the floor, and leads us to the edge of the bed. “Gage, please tell me what’s going on. Let me help you.”
Tears prick at my eyes when I sit, and memories flood me. I’ve never said the words out loud. Luke is the one who gave my father details. The only time I’ve said what little I know about what Missy did was when I gave my police report and then interrogated her for hours straight until her parents came in with the check-writing, sleazebag attorney.
“I don’t want to bring you into my mess,” I tell her.
“Your mess is my mess,” she says softly. “They involved me, not you. They hired a PI to track me, showed up at my job, knew my schedule. I’d like to know why they’re doing all of this. Let me help you. Let me know whatwe’redealing with.”
“It’s too much, baby,” I say, unable to stop the tears now. “I won’t bring you into the darkness with me.”
“Who’s Missy?” she asks, refusing to let me off the hook.
I shake my head.
“You don’t have to answer that. I already know. She’s your wife.” The words sound spiteful, but her tone doesn’t. She’s upset, somewhat angry, but holding it together for me. She can sense my pain.
“She’s myex-wife,” I clarify for what feels like the hundredth time.
Missy made it hell to divorce her and convinced her parents to hire the best divorce attorney by threatening to hang herself in her cell. I fought them, declined ungodly amounts of money, and eventually won in the end. I’d still be struggling had I not had a buddy who was one of the top litigators in the state.
I lose contact with Lauren when she gets up from the bed and snatches a letter I will always recognize from the floor.
“Wifey doesn’t seem to realize you’re divorced.” Her arm falls to her side, the letter still clutched in her hand, and hurt is on her face. “You have a child with her?”
