Page 44 of Only Forever

Chloe shook her head. “No, I’m fine. It was a short flight. A glass of wine sounds perfect right now.”

She collapsed onto the couch and picked up her glass of red wine, and I settled in next to her, picking up my own glass of wine I had been nursing while waiting for her.

“It’s so good to see you,” I said. Despite her protestations, Chloe looked more than tired. She looked exhausted. Her green eyes that were usually sparkling seemed dull. Even her red hair seemed muted and there were dark circles under her eyes.

Chloe smiled at me, her sincerity shining through her tired eyes. “Same. It’s been forever.” Her smiled faded as shecontinued. “Sorry for the short notice on visiting. I just had to get away.”

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Is everything okay between you and Gareth?”

Chloe sighed heavily and took a sip of her wine before answering. “Not really. I found out that he and a female co-worker have gotten really close. Like, going to lunch all the time and texting each other outside of work.”

“Oh no,” I gasped. “Has anything happened between them?”

“Gareth denies anything between them. He says they’re just friends. But if that was true, why did he hide her from me? He never told me about her. The only reason I found out is that I saw a text from her come through on his phone while we were out at dinner and he was in the bathroom.”

“What did the text say?” I was shocked to my core. I had never actually met Gareth, since I hadn’t gone to their wedding. But from what Chloe had told me over the years, he had sounded like a devoted boyfriend, and then a devoted husband.

“It said some crap about how she had made his favorite banana nut muffins for him and she was going to bring them to work tomorrow.” Chloe rolled her eyes. “What the fuck does she know about what kind of muffins he likes? There was just a familiarity in the text that didn’t seem right. An intimacy. So I looked back at their text conversations, and they’ve been talking constantly. At face value, it doesn’t look terrible, I guess. It could just be friendly conversation. But why? He’s a married man. She even tells him she misses him when he’s offsite for meetings.”

“What?” I screeched, appalled by the revelation. “Why the hell is she telling a married man that she misses him?? That’s fucked up!”

Chloe’s eyes started filling with tears. “The more fucked up part is how much he shares with her. She knows more about his day and what’s happening than I do. When I text Garethat work, I only get quick replies. He claims it’s because he’s so busy at work. But he has plenty of time to textVeronicaabout the fucking new bakery that opened up near their workplace that they need to try.”

I was seething inside. “What’s with them and their baked goods?? Dumb assholes. AndVeronica?!Of course her name would be something like Veronica. What a ho.”

The tears that were welling in Chloe’s eyes escaped and streamed down her cheeks. “Gareth had the audacity to tell me I was overreacting. That he and Veronica were just friendly co-workers. I don’t see him fucking texting Bob and Gary down the hall from him about the fucking bakery.”

I shook my head. “I can’t believe he thinks what he did is okay.” I hesitated before continuing. I didn’t want to make things worse, but I’m sure Chloe had thought about all the worst-case scenarios. “Do you think anything physical happened between them?”

“He claims that they’re never done anything. That they’re just friends.” Chloe angrily swiped her tears away. “But if that was true, why didn’t he tell me about her? He’s never mentioned her once. He said it was because he was afraid I would misunderstand but that’s bullshit.” She paused to blow her nose with the Kleenex I offered her. “It’s not like I’m some crazy jealous wife. Gareth has a couple of female friends, and I’ve never had a problem with them. Because that’s exactly what they are.Friends.And we do things with them as a couple with their spouses too. Because there’s nothing to hide.” She shook her head. “This is different.”

I felt furious for Chloe. She seemed so lost and betrayed. We talked well into the night, as she told me all the problems she and Gareth had been having. It all seemed to stem from them not spending much time together since Gareth had been so busy after being promoted. And now Chloe was convinced thatVeronica was one of the reasons he had been spending so much time at work, and I didn’t disagree. I felt terrible for her and listened, while supplying her with as much wine and Kleenex as she needed.

When she was exhausted and said she was ready for bed, I led her up to the guest bedroom, carrying her suitcase despite her protestations that she could carry it herself.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in my room? Maybe it’ll help to not sleep alone.” I said, hesitating at the door. “I promised I won’t spoon you,” I said laughingly. “Unless you want me to.”

Chloe smiled, her eyes red and puffy. “No, I’ll be fine. I’m just going to wash up and pass out.” She grabbed my hand, squeezing it quickly. “Thanks so much for letting me come visit and listening to me pour my heart out.”

I hugged her fiercely, feeling sad. My vivacious Chloe seemed like a shell of herself at the moment. But knowing her, I knew whatever happened, she would persevere and get through this. And I would be here for her as much as she needed, just like she had been there for me in the past.

After I left the guest room, I tried to go to sleep as well, but I tossed and turned, and when I finally fell asleep, it was to have restless dreams about being watched.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chloe was still sound asleep when I woke up the next morning. She must have been exhausted, both physically and emotionally, so I let her sleep while I quietly made breakfast. Jason had texted me and asked how everything was going. I told him that Chloe was still decompressing, and it was best if she and I spent the day together alone. He immediately understood and said to just let him know if we needed anything and he would be more than happy to drop it off.

It was comforting having someone so dependable close by, and even though it hadn’t been long since Jason had re-entered my life, I wondered what I had done before him.

“I hope that’s coffee I smell,” Chloe said as she came into the kitchen. Her red curls were sticking out in all different directions but she looked rested and her face looked brighter than yesterday.

“Coming right up,” I said, pouring her a cup and handing it to her, knowing she took it black. “Breakfast is ready. Sit down at the table and I’ll bring it out.”

“I could get used to this kind of service,” Chloe said as she settled down at the table. “Maybe I should stay longer than the weekend.”

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you want,” I replied, setting down two plates of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. I brought my own cup of coffee over as well as a platter of cut-up fruit. “We can pretend we’re still in high school and stay up late watching reality TV and eating junk food.”

“I wish.” Chloe made a sound of approval as she took a bite of her breakfast. “Thanks so much for making breakfast.”

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