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“You play guitar, and you sing. How are you still single?”
Some emotion, which suspiciously looks like hurt, flashes through his eyes before he can mask it. It’s there and gone again in an instant.
He nods. “I can play a bit. Self-taught. But I can’t carry a tune to save my life. That’s where the idiot part comes in.”
I smirk at him. “As much as I appreciate the offer,” and I do, I really do, even if it’s completely unnecessary. Kallan owes me nothing. In fact, at this stage, I feel as if the scales are solidly tipped in his favor, “I would prefer you not scare off any of my customers.”
Not that I think that’s possible. Kallan’s the type of guy women run to, not away from.
“If you change your mind, just say the word.”
*****
After Kallan leaves, I get ready to open the store. I don’t want to. I want to curl up in a ball and nurse my wounds, but just because it feels like my world is ending, it doesn’t mean that the world stops turning. That’s my new motto. After fruitlessly rummaging around for about ten minutes, I realize I must have forgotten my phone in my hurry to get out of the apartment last night. Dread fills me with the thought of having to go back there to get it. Revisit the scene of the crime. The one where my heart was butchered. It takes about two and a half seconds to decide I can live without it.
The day drags on, and I immerse myself in the monotony of familiar tasks—which I’m grateful for. It allows me to keep busy, and I even have moments where I manage to not think about Quinn. It might just be a minute or two at a time, but I’ll take it.
A few times, I find myself staring across the road at Kallan’s shop, conflicted. I should feel embarrassed about him witnessing my breakdown last night. Instead, I feel…grateful. It felt good to be held and comforted through my tears. At no point did he seem uncomfortable or eager to get away from me. And he stayed the whole night just so I don’t wake up alone instead of bolting at the first opportunity. Who does that?
It confuses me.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, like somehow that’s going to make the headache pounding behind my eyes go away. I don’t know anything anymore.
“Did I ever tell you how I came to be here?” Olivia asks, startling me from my thoughts. She closes my office door and sits down.
“At the shop?”
“Not just the shop, but this town.”
I shake my head. She never volunteered any information, and I didn’t want to pry, figuring she had the right to her privacy. She’d tell me if there was something she wanted me to know.
“I have four older brothers. My mom always wanted a girl, but by the fourth boy, she gave up. Then, surprise, ten years later, I came along. Because of the age gap, most of my cousins were a lot older than me. I have one cousin, Lilly, who is a year younger than me. We didn’t have all that much in common with the rest because of our age, so we got close. More like sisters than cousins. I started dating Sam in Junior year, and a year later, Lilly started dating his best friend, Wesley. The four of us spent so much time together that I guess it was inevitable. After graduation, I went to college out of state. Sam attended college locally. I was worried about the long-distance thing, but we made it work.
“It was during my third year, while on summer break, that I found out that Lilly and Wes had broken up. Wes told me he had caught Sam and Lilly together. I was devastated. They tried to explain that they didn’t mean for it to happen. At first, they bonded over missing me, but they got closer as time went on and realized they had feelings for each other. Strong feelings. Like the ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with you’ kind of feelings. And instead of coming clean, they kept it hidden because they ‘loved me so much’ and didn’t want to hurt me.” Even though she chuckles, I can see lingering pain in her eyes. “Can you believe they wanted my forgiveness and my blessing?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
She nods. “At first, most of the family was on my side, but as time went on and Lilly and Sam didn’t waver from their devotion to each other, opinions started to change. I was told to get over it. People can’t help who they love. It’s true love, and I shouldn’t get in the way of that. Those kind of things. They were everywhere. But family get-togethers were the worst. I was just supposed to smile, be happy, and ignore the fact that two people I was close with betrayed me in the worst way. I was supposed to watch them be happy together.
“Eventually, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I just packed up and left. Didn’t tell anyone I was leaving.”
I reach out and take her hand. “I’m so sorry, Olivia.”
“Thank you. Time and distance have made me realize that Sam and I were never meant to be. We were already growing apart and would eventually have gone our separate ways. But it doesn’t make the betrayal sting any less. ”
“And your family?”
“That’s the betrayal I can’t get over. I sent them a message when I got here to say I’m safe and I’ll be in contact when I’m ready. A year later, and I’m still not ready. Don’t know if I’ll ever be.” She shrugs as if it’s nothing, but she’s not fooling me. Some hurts take a lifetime to heal.
“That’s so messed up,” I mutter, my heart sinking at the thought that I still have to let my family know. I’m not sure what Dad’s reaction will be, but I know Mom will be upset. With me. She’ll somehow make it my fault.
“Anyway, I'm telling you this because I know something about betrayal and hurt. If you ever need someone to just listen, I'm here.”
*****
A few hours later, I’m grateful that the day is finally over, and I make a quick grocery run. Just the essentials—fixings for coffee and a couple of bottles of wine. I don’t have an appetite for food, but a few glasses of wine sounds damn good right about now. After all, I need to toast my first day of singleton. On paper, I’m still married, but what the sledgehammer called life has taught me the last few days? A piece of paper means shit.
My step falters as I round the corner. Quinn’s sitting on the bottom step, his eyes already on me. I study him in the time it takes to get to him. He looks like hell. His hair which he’s usually so meticulous about, is a mess. It looks like he hasn’t been sleeping. His face is drawn, His eyes look tired, and dark bruises have taken up residence under them. He’s still beautiful, though. A beautiful stranger.
