Page 52 of Written in the Charts

She rose to kiss me goodbye, but I was already two steps away. That was a huge mistake. I had barely held it together. I wanted to spout off what I thought I knew, see how she reacted. She acted like nothing was wrong, like all the world was right. But my world wasn’t right. It was on fire, and she was the arsonist. But if I was going to catch her red-handed, I needed more time. And more proof.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT

Gypsy

It was a tough week. Not only because it was the week before finals, but also because work was stressful, and Evan had been mostly MIA. He had sent some messages and we had a call daily, but not like we had been. I could tell something had been bothering him, and I wondered if he’d gotten news from the army about his promotion.

He was there when I got home, let himself in with a key I had made for him, but he was napping on the couch. So I snuck into the kitchen and made dinner quietly, trying not to wake him at all. He looked exhausted. I made his favorite, Swiss steaks, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn. The scent of it awakened him, and he drifted into the kitchen and sat down just as I was ready to serve it up.

“Tired today?” I sat down, spooning some potatoes and gravy onto my plate. My protruding stomach made it harder to reach the serving dishes, but thankfully, the morning sickness had mostly abated. I felt better than ever. My energy was even returning as I neared the third trimester. And the weather being warmer helped too. It always elevated my mood, which made a lot of the emotional stress of pregnancy more tolerable.

Most of all, I was just feeling more confident. With twenty weeks in my rearview and no sign of any issues, I had been happier and less worried overall. Now my only concern was really what was happening with Evan. We’d been through some rough times, but I fully believed all of that was behind us.

“Yeah.” Evan stuffed food in his mouth like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. His one-word reply frustrated me.

“Anything you want to talk about?” If it was the promotion, I didn’t know how I’d respond. I wanted to be fully supportive of his career, but I didn’t want him leaving me. Not when I was going to have his baby. I was torn.

His eyes looked forlorn, searching. He gazed through me for a second then shoveled more food into his mouth without answering. So I ate quietly too, not wanting to upset him. I couldn’t force him to talk to me if he didn’t want to. That would only lead to an argument or resentment.

“Tests are next week.” I took a small bite and chewed carefully, swallowing slowly. “I think I’m ready. I really think I’m going to pass them all.”

“Yeah. That’s good.” His lethargic reply was followed by him wiping his mouth and throwing his napkin on the table. He stood, picking his plate up, and scraped the remnants of his food into the trash can before rinsing his plate and setting it in the sink.

Evan was upset about something, but I had no clue what. He never just left the table when we were eating, but in the past week, he’d done it to me twice. This time, he shuffled off to the bedroom and shut the door. Maybe he was feeling ill.

I finished my dinner quickly, putting the leftovers away and loading the dishwasher. The apartment was very quiet and lonely. Cold too. And I was tired, worn out from a long day and an exhausting week. So I headed for the bedroom too, finding it dark. It appeared as if Evan were sleeping, so I stripped off, putting on a nightgown, and climbed into bed, careful not to disturb him. I felt sad, almost like crying, but I couldn’t. If he was hurting, it would be selfish of me to lie there crying.

I pulled the covers up and turned my back toward him. Things had been weird between us, and for whatever reason, being close to him frustrated me. Why wouldn’t he talk to me? Evan rolled over in bed next to me, and I scooted closer to the edge. I felt his hand rub my thigh, and I rolled my eyes. If I moved any closer to the edge of the bed, I’d be on the floor, so I lay frozen, wondering why he’d want sex if he was so upset with me. But maybe he just needed my comfort.

I felt him move closer to me.

“Gypsy,” he whispered in my ear. “Are you awake?”

He didn’t wait for me to answer before his hands found their way up my nightgown. I sighed heavily. I could lie here and pretend to be asleep or roll over, give in to him, and get it over with.

“Gypsy,” he repeated.

I exhaled. And continued ignoring him while I stared at the wall across from me, trying to decide how to respond to him. His touch felt foreign, unwelcomed, not exactly appreciated right now. He leaned over and saw that my eyes were open.

“Baby.” He formed a trail of soft pecks along the outside of my arm. His hands eased farther up my hip. Normally, his hand gliding on top of my lingerie turned me on, but I wasn’t feeling it right now. I rolled my shoulder back, slightly pushing him off me. He backed up for a minute then returned to where he was. “Gypsy... Please, I need you right now. I want you so bad.”

Evan brushed his bulge against me and I felt how hard he was. He was ready to go, and I was clenching my thighs together as if I were wearing a chastity belt. He raked his finger down my spine. I felt a light tingle but brushed it off. I remained still. Resolute. Determined to fall asleep without any traces of his being inside me.

He inched my nightgown up farther, exposing my nakedness beneath it. I felt him shift his weight on the mattress. I didn’t have to turn around to know he was probably removing his pants. Evan quickly answered my suspicions when his thick erection brushed against my cheeks.

“I want you, Gypsy. Can’t you tell?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I sighed audibly. He wanted sex after having ignored me multiple times. He refused to talk to me, was rude and withdrawn, but expected me to just give him what he wanted. My disappointment turned to frustration. I no longer felt sorry for him. I felt hurt by him.

“Did you hear me?” he questioned.

I rolled my eyes.

“I’m not deaf, Evan,” was all I said as I pulled the covers up over my shoulder. “Goodnight.”

He lay frozen like a statue. I didn’t need to see his face to know he was probably stunned. His delayed response confirmed that for me. I situated myself comfortably on my pillow and closed my eyes.

My sleep was quickly averted by the invasion of his bulge between my thighs. My eyes bolted open. I panted annoyingly at how selfish he was being. I wasn’t in the mood, yet that didn’t seem to matter. I inhaled deeply and decided to get it over with. I adjusted my hips so he could insert himself deeper, still facing the direction I was lying in.

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