AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I put my arms around her from behind and rested my chin on her shoulder. Her strokes became more aggressive.
“You’re gums are going to bleed.”
She glared at me. Gently, I removed the toothbrush from her grip. She spit as I rinsed it off. It hit the holder with a thud when I dropped it in.
Immediately, I returned my arms around her middle. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”
“It’s all mixed up,” she said honestly. “They want me to be someone I’m not.”
“Don’t change for anybody.”
“But you said I shouldn’t be so truthful.”
“I said you should work on your delivery. Or keep your mouth shut sometimes.” I ran my nose along her jaw. She smelled like my body wash, something I could get used to.
“They want me to pretend like nothing happened.”
I paused. Her dead husband was always between us. I wanted him out of the way, but had no idea how to go about it.
“They want you to be happy. There’s a difference.”
“I don’t see how,” she mumbled.
“It hurts them to see you in pain. Maybe it doesn’t seem that way, but none of us really know how to handle it. We’ve all failed.”
“How have you failed?”
“I shouldn’t have let you be alone for so long.”
“We were practically strangers,” she protested.
“Yeah, but flowers and a card weren’t good enough.”
I understood what it was like to be abandoned. Maybe I hadn’t wanted to see her pain because it reminded me of my own. Now I wanted to carry it for her. So she could enjoy life with Blake. And with me.
“I don’t want to get over it,” she whispered, even as she melted against me. “I want to be a good mother to Blake. He’s all I have to live for.”
The words sliced my chest open. “He’s a good reason,” I said hoarsely.
“I’m afraid I’m going to let him down.”
“At some point you probably will.” She blinked at me. “Isn’t better to know that now so you can stop worrying about it.”
“Shecalled him.”
“Come again?”
“My dad. She called him the other night when I was over there.”
“Ah. That’s why you asked me to keep Blake.” I hated she got hurt, but I was secretly pleased that when shit hit the fan I was the one she wanted. Why was I happy about that?
“Yeah. He’s a hypocrite. Wouldn’t talk to me because I was talking to her. He was doing the same thing.”
“That’s rough.” I furrowed my brow. “Wait. Are you sure they’re talking? Maybe she’s just calling.”
She seemed to consider that a moment. “Maybe, but he could’ve said something. I don’t understand how they can all expect me to act one way when they don’t do the same.”
“I think when you’ve had some time to process, you should talk to him. Get his side of the story. Didn’t you want them to give you the same courtesy?”
