Page 105 of A Me and You Thing
“I don’t know. I might faint or forget they’re here. I might even forget I have children.” I can’t hide the hurt in my voice. It feels like everything tender and sweet between us is seeping away. I feel it leaving as if it’s tangible.
Sawyer goes completely still as though someone just pushed his pause button. He studies me intensely. “Don’t say that. That will never happen.”
“It happened once.”
His eyes flash. “It won’t happen again.”
“So you trust me with them?”
“Of course. Always. I don’t want you to overdo it though. Do you need to lie down? Are you doing too much today?”
He’s oblivious because all he can think about is Bree. Her pain. Her tears. My eyes burn at the thought. His actions say so much more than his words. “No, I’m fine.”
How can he not notice that I’m anything but fine?
“We won’t be gone long.”
“Okay.” I think after five years of marriage he should know by my tone that he’s killing me. My voice is thick, like I’m about to cry. Again.
“Quinn, please...”
Please what? Please be patient while I agonize over my break-up? Please sleep alone while I figure this out? Sure, why not? It’s already been two years. What’s a few more days?
“Please be okay.”
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“Not really.”
Oh. He’s finally admitting things are not okay. I’m dying on the inside, a slow and cruel death.
The backyard door opens again to reveal an impatient Bree. “Let’s go, Sawyer.”
I blink heavily, wondering if I’ve lost Sawyer and I’m just too blind to realize it.
He spent forty-five minutes with her this morning, not to mention several hours last night. He announced that he won’t be sleeping with me. They took the girls to the doctor and excluded me. And then he followed her up to her room just now. Going on a walk doesn’t seem excessive? I’m his wife that he thought was dead. I’m home and he’s not spending time with me.
No, he’s spending all his time with Bree.
“You’d better go.” My voice is so soft, I wonder if he heard me.
His jaw clenches and unclenches with tension. “I won’t be gone long. I have to deal with this. You understand?”
I nod. “Sure.” I understand perfectly. No one needs to explain. I see what’s going on with surprising clarity.
I watch him leave. He doesn’t glance back at me as he goes.
Somehow that seems telling.
Chapter Thirty
Quinn
I RETURN TO my baby girls, who are waiting patiently for me.Me.They’re waiting for me with bright eyes and expectant faces.
“Mommy!” they squeal.
I feel like the most important person on the planet as I resume pushing their swings. I couldn’t survive this ordeal without them.
