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Giving him a hug, one he returned with interest, I said, “Go ahead, honey, take care of your friend.”
“I’m so sorry,” he said with obvious regret. “I had this whole evening planned, yet once again, life seems determined to keep us apart.”
I gave a shaky laugh then gently pried his arms off me. “I’ll be fine. Seriously.”
“I have a car waiting for you. Get dressed, and they’ll take you back to our place,” he said as his gaze went distracted again and he touched his ear. “Shit, that’s not good. No, don’t let her drive herself with the kids in the car. Tell her I’m on my way, and I’ll pick her up. Fuck, this is such a fucking mess. Yeah, I’m praying for him, too.”
Giving me a brief, hard kiss, he left, still talking into his ear as he practically ran out the door.
That left me sitting alone in the bathroom with a frozen butt and freaked out mind.
Our house.
He said our house.
Sliding off the counter, my legs shook for a second, and I braced my hand against the edge of the marble sink. The key felt like it was cutting into my palm, slicing my hand open like a knife as it pressed between my skin and the stone. With a shaky exhale I carefully set it on the edge of the sink, right away feeling better. The simple bronze key with the red grip tab at the top seemed to represent every bad decision I’d made with my ex, every indication that we were moving so fast not because he loved me, but because he wanted to trap me as quickly as possible. To take away all my freedoms, so I was forced to endure his abuse.
This is all going too fast.
I told Tyler I couldn’t go fast. He promised me he wouldn’t, and then he springs this on me?
An ugly ball of fear and guilt throbbed inside my gut, so I pushed my hand against my stomach, willing it away.
I can’t do this.
I had to leave.
I hurried back out to the small bedroom area and found my overnight bag where I’d left it. Quickly stripping off the dress I wore, I hesitated then kept the mask on. I could take it off once I was in the car, and I didn’t want to get stopped in the hallway for breaking the rules. Shoving my now sock clad feet into a pair of sneakers, I haphazardly wadded the exquisite dress I’d worn tonight into the bag. I did a quick glance around the bedroom to make sure I hadn’t inadvertently left anything behind.
Guilt hit me as I glanced into the bathroom and saw the key on the counter where I’d left it. Tyler had been nothing but nice to me, and he didn’t deserve me bailing on him, but that was exactly what I was going to do. Maybe it was better if I just ended it now, so he didn’t have to deal with having a crazy woman as his girlfriend. He was such a good guy—he deserved better than me. I was damaged goods.
By the time I met the guard in the hallway outside of Tyler’s office quarters, I had convinced myself I was actually protecting Tyler by running away. When I gave the driver the address of Shyla’s house instead of Tyler’s, I was sure I was making the right decision. Yes, I cried the whole way home. The driver kept asking me if I was okay, but I’d be willing to suffer any kind of emotional pain if it meant Tyler got to live the life he deserved with someone else.
When I finally reached my bed, I threw myself on it and sobbed, hard, as I mourned a future with Tyler that would never be.
Chapter 10
Tyler
Eight Days Later
Normally, I’m not the stalking kind of guy. Back in the day, when I was a police officer, I’d arrest someone for what I was about to do. Normally, I wouldn’t be hiding in the bushes of Shyla’s backyard like some kind of pervert, but my sweet princess needed an intervention.
The morning sky hung heavy and overcast, with the promise of a storm brewing off the coast in the distance. A brisk wind blew through the trees and bushes, and I hoped Nora wouldn’t spot me. I needed the element of surprise on my side and that would be lost if she called the police because she thought she saw someone lurking in her yard. If she’d just let me talk to her, this wouldn’t be necessary, but Nora refused to communicate with me in any way.
Somehow, according to Shyla, Nora had gotten it into her head that I when I was giving her the key to my house, I wanted her to move in with me. I mean, I did—eventually—but that wasn’t why I’d given her the key. I’d been so distracted by my worries about my buddy Greg, who’d had a pretty close call with death, that I hadn’t noticed her reaction. By the time I tried to contact her the next day, she’d ghosted me. All communication between us ceased. When I hadn’t been able to get Nora to talk to me, I finally cornered Shyla, who explained to me what happened.
