Page 37 of Another Chance
17
There was an old saying that Theo could vaguely remember a grandparent, long gone, saying to him as a child. Something about eavesdroppers, and how they heard no good of themselves. Yes, something very much like that. It hadn’t meant much to him at the time, but he was learning just how true it was.
It was the girl. The same girl that Theo had seen on his first night here. She was even prettier up close, he had to admit to himself, and he wasn’t all that interested in most women. She was beautiful, her face a perfect oval, her lips full and almost pouty, her eyes enormous and dark.
She was Eric’s exact type, too, or one of them. Not that Eric had ever been highly picky, but this girl, there was something about the look in her eyes, some spark, which showed spirit. Eric always liked the mouthy, strong ones.
So he’d made a crucial mistake. He’d stuck around, just outside the door to the bedroom, which was only mostly shut. He could very clearly hear each and every word spoken, and even then, he’d known that the best thing for him to do would be to leave before he heard this.
Is he your boyfriend?
Her question was clear enough, and it really did require a yes or no answer, which Theo wanted to know even more than this girl did. Would she go into a jealous rage, Theo had to wonder? How much of a hold did she have over Eric, and how serious was it?
It had been so easy to forget about her when he was in Eric’s arms, but had he been helping Eric to cheat? He’d never been the sort of man who was okay with that, and it sickened him to think that he might have gotten swept up enough in this that he had done so without even thinking about it.
It got worse, too. Eric’s answer, well, it wasn’t even an answer. Not really. It was like Eric was so dismissive of the whole idea that he wouldn’t even dignify it with a response, or that’s how it seemed to Theo.
This whole thing had been … what had it even been? Just a way for Eric to get him into bed? Or was it actually some sort of revenge thing, to make Theo fall for him when he had no intention of this ever going anywhere?
Tears blurred Theo’s eyes, washing out his vision into asmearedmess. He almost tripped over Jupiter as he walked away, those words echoing in his ears. He knew he would remember them forever.
Come on.
Being with Theo was something that Eric would never do. Maybe Theo could have had that, but what had happened in their past made that impossible. Why hadn’t he been able to see that? Why had he allowed hope to blind him to what was inevitably going to happen?
He left the house, but he had nowhere to go. His own house, across the street, was off limits to him until it had been cleaned up a little. This week, hopefully, but there was very little that he could do until then.
He stood on the faded wooden boards of the patio, his head down, his breathing faster than it should have been, as though he’d just been exerting himself. He had nothing, he realized. Everything was inside—his laptop, even his notebook. He couldn’t even lose himself in writing because he would be damned if he was going back inside just then. Not until he’d calmed down.
So he threw himself down into the patio swing, head lowered, resting in his hands. He was such an idiot. Such a complete and total moron, to think that anything could happen between him and Eric. So ridiculous to have assumed that Eric was over what had happened between them, that it was water under the bridge, that they could move on.
He lost track of how long he sat there. Should he go up there, demand to know what was between Eric and that girl? Knowing Eric, wasn’t it completely possible that he would walk in on something that he didn’t want to see if he did?
Part of him said that Eric wouldn’t do that to him. That friendship, at least, would mean more than that to Eric. They’d been so close they were practically family, at one point.
But Eric didn’t even see this thing with Theo as being worthy of talking about.
The door opened behind him, and Theo sat up, turning his gaze, his stomach twisting with a potent mixture of fear and hope.
Neither of which, he soon learned, was warranted. It wasn’t Eric, coming out to have it out with him. It was the girl, and her expression gave him no clue about whether his jealousy was even deserved. Her wavy hair was wild, yes, but it had been when she’d knocked on the door, and Theo had answered, having no idea what he was getting himself into.
“Hey,” she said easily, as though completely unconcerned about any threat he might pose to her. “I’m Faith, who the hell are you?”
Theo bit back any number of sharp retorts, because even as much hurt as he was feeling, even as angry and upset as he was, he had to admit that she didn’t deserve it. If anything, she should probably be much more pissed off at him than he was at her.
“Theo.” He couldn’t quite keep his voice from coming out terse and short.
“Theo,” Faith repeated, and then she turned to look at him, catching his eyes with her own and refusing to let him look away. “Okay, Theo. Who are you, and why are you living with Eric?”
It looked like they were going to have the jealous girlfriend conversation after all. Only Faith didn’t look jealous, not exactly. Thoughtful, and curious, but not angry. Maybe that was yet to come.
“Is that any of your business?” The question could have been bitter, but it really wasn’t. It was a real question because Theo honestly didn’t know anything. Not really. As they sat outside, the sky covered with thick, heavy clouds which threatened to let go into a deluge at any moment, a light wind came through the covered patio and ruffled Faith’s hair around her lovely face.
“I don’t know,” Faith replied, tilting her head at him and gazing at him thoughtfully. “But I’m pretty sure you’re gay, at least. So are you guys screwing or what?”
Theo sighed and looked away from her. Was he gay? Functionally, anyway, he supposed. He wasn’t really interested in women, anyway, so he supposed gay was as good a word as any.
“I don’t really know you well enough to be having this discussion with you,” Theo informed her, and not only was it true, but he also just felt like he didn’t need to be admitting anything to the woman who was probably dating, and was at least sleeping with, the man that Theo had fallen for so hard.
