Page 93 of Stealing Home

You can’t see me, but I’m rolling my eyes at you so hard right now they might actually fall out of my head. You only had problems with your in-law because he wanted you for himself. My whatever-he-is hates me because apparently I’m an old gold-digger, and possibly some kind of predator who lures young men into my bed.

First, that man is your future father-in-law and we both know it. Second, Scott stays with you most of the time, and you pay your own way, so the gold-digger part is bullshit and fuck him for implying it. Also, we all watched that man chase your sexy ass down, so he can deep-throat a cactus.

Okay, preggo, I’m sorry to trigger your mama-bear mode. I’ll bring all the chocolate. I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to be back in town and wanted to see if there was any chance the security system was fixed?

Griffin says no. You’re both welcome to come stay here. The techs are supposed to be fixing everything that was broken tomorrow. He also filed a report with the police about the vandalism, but they pretty much told him they weren’t going to do anything to hurt the Tigers’ season.

I’ll let you know what we decide.

“The security system hasn’t been fixed yet,” I speak for the first time in a couple hours.

Scott’s thumbs tap restlessly on the steering wheel. As badly as I want to know what is going through his mind, I don’t push him. He’ll tell me when he’s ready.

After a painfully long pause he says, “I don’t want to go stay with Wren and Griffin, but maybe you should.”

Taking a slow, deep breath, I school my features so he doesn’t know how much his words sting. “If you think that’s necessary. Where are you going to stay?”

He clears his throat and starts tapping again. “Uhm, maybe I should go back to my house for a while.”

“If you think that’s what you need,” I reply, somehow able to keep my voice from wavering.

For the first time since we started dancing around each other, Scott is the one pulling away. Looks like his dad is going to get what he wants after all.

I spend the rest of the drive, almost an hour, looking out the passenger window. When we finally pass the “Welcome to Centralia” sign, I tell him, “Drop me off at my apartment.”

“Just let me take you to Wren’s,” he insists.

“I want my car, just take me to my apartment.”

His jaw clenches, but he doesn’t argue with me like he would have before this weekend. I’ve wondered nearly the entire time we’ve been together when being with me would be too much for him. Unfortunately, lately I started to believe him when he said he wanted to be with me forever.

Scott pulls up behind the garage and squeezes the wheel, but doesn’t move to get out. I might be a little caught off guard, but my pride refuses to let me show him. There will be tears, I’m not a robot, but he will not get to see me hurting.

I jump out of his truck and grab my bag from the back. He doesn’t even wait for me to get into my car before he’s peeling out of the parking lot. Without anyone looking over my shoulder, I decide to go ahead and enter my apartment. A security system might make Wren and Griffin feel more comfortable for me to stay here, but I know it doesn’t matter where I stay. If Nando is determined to get to me, not much is going to stop him. The only thing a security system will do is alert the authorities and maybe record video evidence. Not that it would do any good. The police in this town seem to be determined to look the other way no matter what he does.

Everything looks exactly the way I left it, and yet it’s nothing close to how it was. Downstairs there’re still two mugs sitting in the sink and the throw pillows on the sofa are all piled against one arm since I had leaned against Scott. Climbing the stairs, I see the blankets left in a tangled pile from the last time we made love. A sob escapes me, because I know this is the last time I’ll be able to lift the pillow he used to my face and breathe in the spicy scent of his cologne. So, it may look the same, but there’s an emptiness here now.

I know I should go to a hotel, but I can’t seem to care. Instead, I slide down the wall, not willing to take a single step closer to my bed, and give in to the tears. After a while I hear my phone ring, but I don’t move. It stops only to ring again, over and over.

I curl into a ball and cry until my eyes are puffy and I’ve exhausted my over active mind into silence.

* * *

“Wake up.”My body is rocked back and forth until I pry open one swollen eye. Wren looks down at me with pity.

“Please, don’t,” I beg. “Why are you here?”

“You never let me know if you were coming over or not. I tried to text, and when you didn’t answer, I called, but you didn’t answer that either. So, I called Scott,” she says softly.

“Oh,” is all I manage to say. I don’t even want to imagine how that conversation went.

“He said he dropped you off here, but you were only picking up your car.”

I sit up and instantly regret choosing to lay on the floor. “That was the plan, but then I came inside, and everything just—”

“Became too much?” Wren asks.

I nod. “I just wanted some time alone. I didn’t mean to worry anyone.”

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