Page 110 of Come Back for Me
Nothing about this is easy.
“I need some time. I can’t pretend that none of this happened. I want to believe that you didn’t know and that your brother just filled you in, but it’s all very . . .”
“You don’t have to say more. If you need time, I’ll give it to you.”
I want to throw myself at him, beg him to hold me, and refuse to allow any space or time to separate us. But wants are dreams, and I have both feet in reality now.
“Hadley will want to see you.”
A deep sigh comes from his throat as his face pales. “I’ll be here. Anytime . . . for either of you.”
I head to the front door, not caring about clothes or anything because nothing matters. I grab my purse off the front table and pause with my hand on the door.
Just open it, Ellie. Walk away because you know you have to.
But my hand is frozen because I can feel him at my back. “Ellie . . .”
As I close my eyes, another tear falls and a sob lodges in my throat. Nothing has ever hurt so much.
Nothing.
I’d take a thousand more beatings if it meant that I never had to endure this moment.
I push a breath out, straighten my shoulders, and dig for whatever strength I might have to push forward. “Goodbye, Connor.”
And then I walk out the door and make it to my car.
Once I’m halfway down the drive and the house is no longer in view, I put the car in park and cry harder than I’ve ever cried before.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Ellie
It’s been two days.
Two days of complete and utter misery. I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. I manage to be strong when Hadley is around, but even that is half-hearted.
“Mommy, where is Connor?”
The eyes I’m trying to avoid stare back at me. Her lip quivers, and I reach my hand out to stop the trembling. “He’s at his house.”
“Why are we still at Sydney’s?”
Because we don’t have anywhere else to go.
Lying to her goes against everything, but I can’t tell her the truth. “He’s not feeling well, so we’re going to stay here until he is.”
She tilts her head to the side. “Shouldn’t we be there for him?”
My heart feels as though it’s about to rip out of my chest. I want to be there with him, but how can I?
How can I forgive him after all that happened? He lied to me. All this time, I’ve been giving my soul to him, only to have it crushed.
“Not now.”
“When can we go home?” she asks.
I sit up, taking her hands in mine and attempt to smile. She’s been through so much and I feel as though I’ve failed her again. I put my faith, once again, in a man who didn’t deserve it. All these years my life has gone down a path because of the choices his family made.
