Page 77 of Seeing You

It was true, but it didn’t make her feel any better.

“Why can’t things be different? Why couldn’t he just…love me?”

And then she was crying again.

It wasn’t until Julie came in that she and Jade moved apart.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt. I was already wide awake when I got your text and figured I should come sooner rather than later. It looks like you really should be home, Billie.”

“Thanks.” Once again, she went to the restroom to calm down and wondered what she was going to say to Marcus when she got home. Telling him in a letter the last time was so much easier. Now she’d have to tell him to his face, and it was going to require strength she wasn’t sure she possessed.

When she stepped back into the kitchen, Jade and Julie were taking muffins from the oven and placing pans of pound cake and cookies into the ovens.

“I’m so sorry to leave you guys like this,” she said. “I should be fine in a few days.”

Jade came over and hugged her again. “Take as much time as you need. We’ve got everything under control. We just want you to feel better.”

Nodding, she smiled sadly. “So do I.”

Marcus hadn’t been able to fall back to sleep and after almost two hours of tossing and turning, he’d simply gotten up. It felt weird to be in the house without Billie, but he knew she’d be home soon, so he got up and made himself some coffee. Maybe she’d even bring some muffins home with her, so coffee was a must.

Last night, he had surprised her by showing up around nine. He hadn’t called and he hadn’t mentioned coming over. After his conversation with Levi, he’d gone back to his father’s house and thought about everything. Initially, he thought he’d pack up and head back to D.C. because Levi was right, but once he started to pack, he couldn’t do it. There was no way he was going to let anyone dictate to him how he was supposed to live.

No matter how right they were.

In the end, he knew he needed to see Billie and talk to her. But when he arrived at her house, she was sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop and a mountain of paperwork, and claimed he was saving her from herself. He wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but she had rocked his world by tackling him to the sofa and stripping them both down in record time. Their lovemaking had been fast and furious and there was a hint of desperation about it, but at the time, he had been too swept up in it to truly notice.

Was the desperation on her part or his?

Or both?

With nothing but his jeans on, he slowly sipped his coffee and stared at the mess on her kitchen table. It was funny because he knew she used to be meticulous about her workspace, so he had no idea what was going on with all of this. His curiosity got the better of him and he swore he was only going to glance at whatever paper was right on top. There was no need to rifle through anything. Considering she had invested money in all of her siblings’ businesses, some of this probably had to do with one of them.

The paper on top said “Statement” and it was from the local bank.

Don’t look. This is none of your business.

Even his own warnings didn’t stop him from picking the paper up.

“What the hell?” Putting his coffee down, he read the information several times over and felt completely shocked. Pulling out a chair, he sat and looked at the rest of the statement.

All ten pages of it.

He felt sick, stunned, and completely blindsided.

“Seriously, what the hell?”

He had no idea how long he’d sat there, but when he heard Billie’s keys in the door, he dropped the statement like he’d been burned.

Which…he kind of had.

She spotted him almost immediately and he could tell she’d been crying. The urge to wrap her in his arms and promise that everything was going to be okay was strong, but he refrained. He needed answers.

“Hey,” she said quietly. “I didn’t think you’d be awake.” Tossing her purse and keys on the couch, she slowly walked toward him, but went to the coffeemaker. “How come you’re up?”

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh.”

---