Page 33 of Embracing Trust

How could she be abandoned nearly fifteen miles from home while she’d been on a date?

“It’s pretty bad.” Her voice is shaky and barely above a whisper.

“Like how bad?” My hands clench the steering wheel, and my skin heats up.

Julia lets out a loud sigh. “Like blow job bad.”

I swallow hard. “What? He made you give—"

“No. No, not that.” Julia sniffles and pauses for a moment before she answers. “I found him outside with some girl on his crotch.”

My grip on the steering wheel intensifies as my muscles tighten like elastic bands. I try to keep my breathing even. “Your date.” My voice is low.

Julia still faces the window. She’s quiet and only nods.

I pound my fist on the steering wheel. No one should ever treat this woman like that. “You found your date outside with another woman sucking him off?”

Julia shrugs. “That’s pretty much how the date ended.” She looks at me and gives a slight grin.

“Who the fuck does that? What an asshole.” I mumble other curses under my breath and when I turn to Julia, she’s wiping tears from her eyes. “I’m sorry.” I’m sure what I’m saying doesn’t help.

“I appreciate you driving to Carter Cove to pick me up.” She dabs her eyes with a tissue. “I’m sure you had better things to do.”

Actually, not really.

And there’s the woman I know. Always concerned for other people. She’s obviously more concerned she put me out instead of how her date treated her. I consider asking her if this dude was my competition but decide against it. No sense in rubbing her nose in it.

We ride in silence. When I turn to Julia, she sits low in her seat. Her shoulders slump in defeat and she wipes a few tears off her cheeks. My heart breaks for her. It’s almost like she’s used to be treated this way. I’m amazed at how strong she is and how it appears she’s able to brush this off. I’m sure when I left her six years ago, she felt betrayed. Although I didn’t mean to hurt her, it’s obvious that I did. I should’ve been more sensitive to her feelings.

“Hey.” I interrupt her thoughts. “When I left for Fort Benning, I—”

“It’s okay. We don’t need to—”

“No, I want you to know I’m sorry how things turned out between us. I never meant to hurt you.”

She shakes her head. “I know.”

“I didn’t mean for that to break us up.”

“My own issues were the problem. I don’t blame you for—”

“I should’ve been more sensitive to your feelings.” I reach over and squeeze her hand.

Her voice is constricted. “I let my insecurities get in the way of what you were trying to do for yourself. We’ve both had issues with our parents.”

I chuckle. “I don’t know if things have improved much for me. My mom is still confused why I won’t live with them, but as far as my relationship with them, going away was the best thing for me.”

She swallows hard. Geez, I’m an ass. That didn’t come out right at all.

“But as far as you’re concerned,” I add, “not staying together is one of my biggest regrets.”

There. It’s been said. I’m relieved to finally tell her how I regret what happened between us.

“Thank you. I appreciate that. It’s one of my…”

She seems to be struggling.

She continues, “It’s one of my biggest regrets too. Not staying with you.”

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