Page 12 of Forbidden Hearts
“Nope. Just you.”
I’m not backing down on this. The last thing I need is to be living in his house. No matter how nice he is to look at, I can’t stand the guy.
“I’m not going to argue this now. You can take the bedroom down the hall, and it has its own bathroom. I’ll be home around eight, but I work tomorrow, so you’ll need to pack a bag according to your demands. Please try not to make me regret this.”
I sigh. “Go to work. We’ll be just fine.”
three
PHOEBE
Where the hell did Mrs. Arrowood say to pick up Olivia? I swear she said the side exit, but she should’ve been out of school ten minutes ago.
Shit.
I park my car and walk to the front, but there’s no one here. The buses are gone, there are just a few parents left in the pickup line, and no Olivia.
I cannot lose this kid on day one.
Dropoff went great. I followed the directions and got her to school on time. Then I went back home and packed two large duffle bags, one with my personal things I’ll need to bring home each time, and one with stuff I can leave at Asher’s.
Laid in my bed, listened to the last voice mail Jonathan sent three days ago, and then cried until I fell asleep. When I woke up, I realized I’d slept way longer than I meant to and had to run like the devil was on my ass to get to the school. Small towns are great, until you’re in a hurry. Then there’s some asshole going the speed limit on a two-lane road with no passing allowed.
This was worse because the asshole in question happened to be Mr. Montvale driving a tractor, which wasn’t even capable of going the speed limit. I couldn’t get around Mr. Montvale no matter what hand gestures I made.
So, I was late to pick Olivia up.
My phone rings, and I accept the call without looking, hoping it’s the school. “Hello?”
A man clears his throat. Shit, it’s Asher, and now I’m in trouble. “Phoebe, love . . .”
No, it’s not Asher. My chest goes tight and my breath catches in my throat. I can’t speak, I want to rail and scream and cry as it hurts just that badly. I can’t talk to him. “No,” I say the word, clinging to my anger. Jonathan lost the right to talk to me.
“Just listen, I won’t take long. I’m sorry this happened to you. I’m sorry you were the one who—”
I hang up. I don’t want to hear his voice or his apologies. I needed those a week ago. I needed those when my life was torn apart, and he hung me out to dry, painting me as the one who came onto him, ruined his marriage, and then tried to destroy his career.
None of those were true.
I thought I loved him. I thought he was smart, funny, sweet, and we could have something real. Instead, he caused me pain and embarrassment unlike I’ve ever known.
I still hear his words when I begged him to tell everyone the truth.
“I can lose my job, Phoebe. I can lose everything. You’re young and can survive this. I can’t. Do you want me to be fired?”
Angry tears fall, and I wipe them away. I didn’t want that any more than I wanted to be the laughingstock of the school, but I will not cry any more. Damn him for making me break another promise to myself.
I hope his dick falls off.
I really hate that when I cry, I look like Rudolph. Whatever, I can’t think about this, I need to find Olivia. I climb back into my car and drive to the back entrance, finding them waiting just outside the double doors.
Thank God.
“Hey! Sorry, I was at the wrong exit,” I call to her as I rush to them.
Mrs. Arrowood’s relief is palpable as she gets Olivia’s attention and points toward me. Then I sign the same thing I just said aloud.
“I get dismissed from the hallway,”Olivia informs me.
