Page 209 of The Catalyst

Walking right back into the shop, I march over to Derek, who seems to be skimming paperwork on his clipboard.

“Der, I’ve got a family emergency. I need to head home.”

He mumbles something about me needing to clock out before I run off, but he barely spares me a glance. At least he didn’t make this more difficult than necessary.

My crazy girl isn’t in physical danger, but I also know how detrimental stress is on her body. Even though she tries to hide it from everyone, her heart is her kryptonite. I know she still loves Nigel, but this–what he has done–has the potential to break her.

Jumping in the car, I call her, warning her not to talk to anyone, before hightailing it back to Vera’s. I hate that it's in the middle of nowhere when I’m so desperate to get back to her.

I speed down the long driveway, and my brakes squeak as I slam on them, trying my best not to hit the massive tree at the end of the driveway.

Gunderson sits on our steps, looking guilty as fuck, as she taps her fingers together. I jump out of the car and hurry over to her.

“Where is she?” I demand, leaving no room for argument.

Gunderson frowns. “On the other side of the cabin. She said she wanted to be alone.”

I don’t need to ask why. The answer is clear across her face.

“You fucking told her!”

“I didn’t have a choice, Oliver. She was having a damn panic attack over your phone call. She couldn’t handle the suspense of it. She freaked out when I told her about Finnick, but she…she didn’t cry. She–”

I don’t stick around to find out what the hell else she was going to add to her play-by-play. I should’ve known the call would freak her out, and that was my fuck up. This is my mess to deal with.

My woman who is broken.

My fault for making that phone call.

All she had to do was wait five minutes for me to get home, but she couldn’t.

I charge around the side of the cabin and come across my woman sitting at the edge of the grass, staring out at the pond with blank eyes. Her knees are drawn up, and her arms dangle over them. Her full stomach presses against her thighs, but I doubt she feels it from the emptiness reflecting in her eyes.

I hurry to her side, and she doesn’t even look up as I slide in beside her.

“Baby, look at me,” I demand, but she doesn’t move.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” The words are spoken so softly that I almost mistake them for the wind. “Nigel cheated on me and got the girl pregnant…Finnick O’Reilly has a nice ring to it.”

“Beth,” I hiss as I grip her thigh. “You have every right to be upset.”

“I’m not upset and…I don’t have a right to be. He broke up with me half a year ago, so I can’t be mad that he cheated on me. You knocked me upwhileI was with him, so I can’t be mad that he got her pregnant. We’re about to have our son. I can’t be mad that he gets his.”

I watch as her pulse point twitches in her neck and increases in frequency. Outwardly, she seems cool, calm, and collected, but on the inside, she’s having a fucking meltdown. Without any more time to think or process her behavior, I take her in my arms and cradle her to my chest. She breaks down the moment her cheek touches the cotton of my shirt, and she clings to me with her nails digging into my flesh. The sobs shake her body like Category 5 winds, and the turbulence shakes me to my core.

Not much bothers me, but experiencing my crazy girl having her heart truly broken is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever felt like this, like I wanted to burn the world down, and all of them had to do with her. I want to kill anyone and everyone who ever hurt her from now until the end of my days. I’d do anything to bring her comfort and make her happy.

“How could he do something like this,” she whispers, and my heart breaks a little.

My fingers comb through her hair as I brush her tears away and hold her tight.

I’ll always wage war on things and people that bring her pain.

CHAPTER 83

BETH

Itear the hem of Ollie's shirt in a rush to get it over his head because I am so desperate for his body. I’m not the only one feeling the heat. Oliver tears my panties in two before laying me down on the bed.

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