Page 73 of Unexpected

I shrugged because I knew she was telling the truth. I was beginning to believe that the only reason anyone was surprised by our breakup was because they didn’t really know our relationship. I wasn’t that good of a liar.

“Are you…” she began and then darted her eyes around the porch like she was confirming we were alone. “Are you happy? Are you glad you broke off the engagement?”

It was the last question I was expecting, although the answer was simple. “Yes,” I said, wanting to leave it at that.

For the second time, she nodded and looked past me like her mind was wandering somewhere else.

“I’ll give you my new apartment address—it’s about ten minutes from here—so you can still bring Emmy by whenever.”

“I really appreciate that, Hazel. You don’t know what it means to me.”

I smiled and tried to make my expression warm and welcoming. She said she had to leave and quickly declined my offer of a new, not broken, umbrella to use on her way home.

She jogged back to her own house which required trudging through the water accumulating on the sidewalk and charging against the stifling chilly wind. I watched her from the somewhat safety of my own porch as she climbed her porch stairs and slid into her home.

As I closed and locked the door, I said a silent prayer that she was okay. My mind immediately summoned the worst possibility I could think of: that Chris was as abusive as Michael, and Emmy would find herself without a mom.

I couldn’t shake the terrifying thought even when I sat down to color with Emmy, or when I made her hot chocolate with extra chocolate. Or when Luke sent me a picture of the cutest dog.

When the thought wouldn’t disappear, even with no evidence of abuse besides Chris’s behavior toward me, I shot a quick text to Becky, letting her know that Emmy was great and that I’d drop her off around seven p.m.

I would check everything out for myself when I dropped her off, evaluate the situation, and plan accordingly.

I hoped my own situation had just made me paranoid, and I wasn’t just seeing abuse when it was only normal relationship disagreements and issues. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something more was going on.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Hazel

I gainedno clarity when I dropped Emmy at her house later that night. There was no sign of Chris anywhere, and Becky had returned to her normal self—she was perfectly primped with her hair and each swipe of makeup in the exact place it was meant to be.

She thanked me profusely for watching Emmy and apologized just the same for her untidy appearance earlier. To anyone else, she would have seemed fine, but I knew that fake smile all too well. It was the same one I wore for more than a year.

In our short conversation, and as she all but pushed me out of the front door, I repeated that I was always around the corner and texted her my new address.

Without her cooperation, I had to hope that I’d done everything I could, and she would heed my advice to let me know if she needed anything at all, ever.

As my luck would have it, the rain had slowed as Becky and I stood awkwardly in her entryway but began to pick up again as I stepped off the porch steps and headed back to my place.

By the time I peeled my rain jacket off, slung it over the arm of a patio chair and hurried into the warmth of the house, I was thoroughly freezing. My leggings were soaked, as my jacket didn’t provide much protection for my legs, especially when the wind was whipping violently. My rain boots were also filled with water which I made a point to slip off carefully, dump on the porch and leave outside with my jacket.

I changed into a white T-shirt, joggers, and fuzzy socks before I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders for an extra layer of warmth. I slid into the kitchen and hopped up onto the island as I finished off the remainder of the dinosaur chicken nuggets I made for Emmy and me earlier. I scooped each one directly from the pan and half-heartedly watched the news that only consisted of continued reports of widespread flooding and caution not to drive unless absolutely necessary.

As I poised to change the channel, my phone on the counter next to me vibrated against the gray granite. I bit back the smile that began when I saw Luke’s name appear on the screen.

“Hi,” I said, biting the head off a T.rex.

“Hi, Angel.” Luke’s voice was deep, and I swore I could feel it vibrate through me even over the phone. Not to mention every time he called me that damn name, I stopped breathing.

The little game we played between our windows was fun. The instant connection I felt between us was one I didn’t think either of us was going to be able to shake. He knew exactly what to say to heighten every feeling and even my own touch seemed like too much for me when his low husky voice said such illicit things. He seemed to know my body so well already, watching the way I reacted to everything.

I wanted to do it all again, and I wanted more, but at the same time, I didn’t know if I could handle more. When Luke was around, he consumed me, and that was terrifying. I needed to be sure that I was healed from my… abuse and that whatever was happening between us was going somewhere before I gave myself over completely.

I had to protect my heart and falling into bed with Luke too soon could prove disastrous.

“What’s up?” I asked, my voice sounding unintentionally breathy around the chicken nugget still in my mouth.

“Just wanted to call and check on you. Looks like it’s starting to get bad out again.”

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