Page 86 of Unexpected

“Wanna hear my thoughts?” Josh asked, carefully laying a hand on my shoulder as he guided me back to a barstool. I flexed my hand—I’d feel that for a while—and rested my head on my arms.

I grunted.

“Based on your reaction just now, which I’m assuming was because you thought about ending it with Hazel, you shouldn’t break it off.” Shocked, I lifted my head and narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t look at me like that until you hear me out. What’s going to happen? Val’s probably going to come after you, me, and Hazel for sure, right? Probably everyone else as well, if necessary.”

I nodded.

“Okay, so we can handle it. We’ve done this before, and when she fucks up this time, we’re calling the cops and having her arrested. I’m over this shit.” All I could do was grunt again. We tried that last time, and it didn’t work. Even the restraining order only lasted a year and that was a bitch to get. “But whether you end it with Hazel or not, Valerie will go after her because, based on what you told me about your conversation, she knows you care about her. It’s not important to Valerie that you’re with Hazel; what’s important to her is that you care about her. Maybe even love her.”

My eyes widen at his word choice, but I don’t argue. I can’t argue.

“So, what do you think Hazel’s best bet is, huh? You leaving her to face Valerie alone,oryou staying with Hazel and doing whatever the fuck you can to protect her from the psycho bitch?”

The possibility of not having to leave Hazel did more to tamp down my anger than punching the fridge did, but I was still hesitant. Josh had a point—it was likely Valerie would continue to pursue Hazel even if we weren’t together. But to bet on that being her plan meant that I could have possibly put Hazel in even more danger.

“But what if we’re wrong? What if breaking it off with Hazel,” I ground out the words like my entire body was telling me that it wasn’t even an option, “will completely stop it all? Or what if I stay with her and Valerie just escalates?”

Josh just shrugged. “We can’t be a hundred-percent sure, but look, I know Valerie, too. And I’m telling you, if you were thinking about this less emotionally, then you’d come to the same conclusion I am: she will continue going after Hazel whether or not you’re fucking her. She knows ending a relationship doesn’t always change the feelings. And she’s all about the fucking feelings.”

I glowered at him. His logic was sound, and if I pushed away my emotional attachment, I knew he was probably right.Valerie and I had ended our marriage years before, yet her feelings had never changed. During the few unfortunate times I’d seen her since the divorce was final, she’d said as much—that ending our marriage didn’t change what she felt or how she imaginedourfuture.

“I was trying to fucking help her. I didn’t mean to get her mixed up in this shit.” I shook my head and thought back to the small, broken woman that I carried out of her own home that night almost two weeks before. She’d already suffered more than enough and by trying to help, I unknowingly unleashed more hell into her life.

“No one is going to blame you, least of all Hazel. That woman is honestly too damn understanding. But if you want Valerie to stop controlling your life, I think this is a good step. We should contact the cop that helped with your restraining order, and then we stay extra vigilant.”

“Fucking fine,” I groaned, pulling out my phone and locating the number of the cop, Detective Bell, that I’d been put in contact with only a few years ago.

“And you should probably fill Hazel in.”

“Like hell. She already has enough shit going on, the last thing I want to do is scare her when we don’t know how Valerie is going to react.”

He shrugged again and the gesture was starting to piss me off. I wish I had Josh’s blasé attitude toward a lot of things, but the situation we were in was not one of them. “Knowing’s half the battle. She’d want to be prepared, so you should tell her.”

With that lovely statement, I dialed Detective Bell’s number and prepared to relay the entire story for the third fucking time.

THIRTY-THREE

Hazel

“Not everything’s going.Most of it is in the garage, and the rest of it, I clearly labeled with green duct tape.” The gruff older man nodded at me and jotted down a few notes on his clipboard.

“Okay, nothing we can’t handle. And is this the correct address, ma’am?” He pointed at the apartment address on his paperwork, and I confirmed that, indeed, that was my new home.

He continued writing as two guys, probably not too much younger than me, wheeled in two dollies and a few blankets to wrap the furniture in. They both gave me long, lingering looks, and I internally groaned. It was going to be one ofthosedays.

The only thing I missed about wearing my engagement ring was that it usually dissuaded men from trying anything. I made a mental note to pick up a cheap cubic zirconia ring from the store next time I was there.

“Not a problem. I brought the muscle with me since you’re on the second floor,” he joked, and I gave him a pity laugh. “We should have you all loaded up within the hour at most.”

He nodded and turned to his guys, directing them on what to begin with and leading them out into the garage.

I hopped onto the kitchen counter, trying to stay out of the way as much as I could and trying to keep away from the freezing late-fall air pushing through the open front door.

I pulled my phone from the convenient pocket in my leggings and only saw three texts from my dad, sister, and my mom, all wishing me a happy moving day. They had all come around to the fact that I was staying in Austin, whether they liked it or not. Delilah was eternally supportive, but it took a few conversations with Mom to persuade both her and my dad that I would be perfectly fine.

I tapped out a response, letting them know that the day was off to a great start and I’d keep them updated. Delilah requested pictures, and I told her I’d send some as soon as I could.

My car was already mostly packed with a few items I didn’t want them moving in the truck, along with a few odds and ends. So, my job was done, which meant that all I had to do for the next hour while the movers packed the truck was wait. Which also gave me a substantial amount of time to just sit with my thoughts.

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