Page 83 of Lie for a Lie

He is taking a sobering moment to collect himself.

“A story for a story?”

I asked because I am genuinely curious to know about him as a man, a friend, a lover, and a possible partner. I can’t deny the ache I have for him. Maybe it has to do with our damaged souls being so much alike.

“I overdosed at seventeen. About six months later, my parents died in a DUI accident they caused. We were alone a lot, and when Bre moved out, I practically lived anywhere but in the trailer park. So, when they died and Bre forced me to move to Austin, I partied too hard with my boyfriend at the time. Bre ended up coming home to me unconscious on the bathroom floor, boyfriend gone, and I was almost dead.”

He looks shocked, and I’m unsure how I feel about it, so I take another sip of my drink.

“Any permanent complications?” he asks, seeming genuinely interested.

“No, thank god. Though, I will never forget the look on Bre’s face when I woke up in that hospital bed three days later. She was so hurt that I allowed myself to fall so low that I became our parents, who we both hated. I remember deciding that was not how I wanted to live my life. I wanted to travel, build a life for myself, and finally have a somewhat functional relationship.”

Graham studies me a moment.

“Do you want a relationship?”

I smile wide.

“I want one with you.”

He leans forward, kissing me softly, letting both his hands cradle my face before letting our foreheads rest.

“I have to tell you something.”

He sounds nervous, and it makes my anxiety run rampant.

“Okay,” I manage as he doesn’t move, seeming to linger in the feel of us like it might be the last time. He pulls away placing a trace of a kiss on my nose, then lips before returning to his seat.

I reach for one of his hands. Taking it into mine as I kiss his palm.

“I only proposed to Katherine when she told me she was pregnant, and it was a big deal because we had barely started sleeping together again after several months of couple’s therapy. We had a few problems due to her infidelity issues and my over-commitment to my job.”

I give him a soft smile before sipping my water, and he continues.

“I have always assumed I would be a dad, and naturally, I was nervous about it. I knew for sure I wanted to be involved, and I always wanted to be married to the mother of my child. It just seemed like a logical choice at the time. Shortly after our engagement was announced, I was sent out on a short-term assignment for six weeks, and by the time I returned, she had lost the baby. It wasn’t a viable pregnancy, and she lost an ovary and fallopian tube. She said she tried to get word to my command, but I never received anything.”

My hand drifts towards my heart.

“Oh my god, Graham. I am so sorry.”

That is a type of loss no one should have to suffer. Not just physically but emotionally.

“I was granted emergency leave and stayed home with her for two months, helping with everything. Feeding her, bathing her, and taking her to appointments after appointments. She hasn’t worked in almost three years.”

He lets out an annoyed grunt, and we sit silently for a moment.

Graham continues with a tremble in his voice.

“This afternoon, Katherine confessed Seth had been the father of that baby. He had been with her when she lost the baby, and she left him when I came home. I had caught them sleeping together about a year and a half before that, and it has been a problem in the past.”

I can’t hide the shocked expression on my face. I know, without a doubt, what was happening in that bathroom at Clint’s. I focus back on Graham, and he is taking a long sip of his drink, finishing it before the next round appears.

“So, this still brings me back to my original question. Why are you marrying her?” I ask with a little bit of hurt in my tone.

“I’m not, baby,” he says, rubbing a hand to my cheek.

I lean into his touch. He is laying his cards on the table. So, I decide to show mine.

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