Page 49 of Keeping Our Secrets

“I came to see you.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Darren told me Mairi left you. Now that she’s gone we can finally put this whole thing behind us and be together like we were before she showed up.”

“I haven’t even talked to Darren today, so I have no idea where you got your information from, but Mairi hasn’t left me. Even if she had, I wouldn’t be getting back together with you.”

“What is so wrong with me that you don’t want to be with me?” Miranda whined.

“There’s nothing wrong with you Miranda. I just don’t feel the same about you as you do me. I’ve told you time and time again that I only wanted to be friends,” I huffed.

“You really love her, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“It’s my fault,” she looked down at the grass.

“What's your fault?”

“I told her you didn't love her.”

“Why the fuck would you do that?”

“Because you were moving on without me and I was jealous.”

“Miranda, I never lied to you. We've been completely over for almost a year now and you know why.”

“I just didn't want to accept it.”

When I tried to walk around her, she grabbed my wrist. “Don't go.”

I pulled my arm away. “Move on. If I can ever convince Mairi to take me back, we're going to be a family.”

“You’re seriously just going to leave me here?”

“You just have to keep pushing.” I turned and faced her. “So I want you to listen carefully this time. We are done. We were friends at one time, but you’ve made it completely impossible to be in the same room as you.”

“Please don’t do this,” she cried. “I love you.”

It was the last thing I wanted to do to an old friend, but if I truly wanted Mairi back, I'd have to cut all ties with Miranda to make our relationship work.

“It’s done. I don’t want to see you or hear from you until you get this unhealthy obsession you have with me dealt with. ”

I left her standing in my front yard.

* * *

Twenty minutes later I was pulling up in front of her dad’s house. I only knew where it was because Mairi had told me about him buying a new house after his marriage.

“Is Mairi available?” I asked him.

“Let me guess,” he greeted me. “You’re Liam aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I don’t know what happened between you and my daughter to make her finally show up on my doorstep, but I won’t stand by and let you hurt her more,” he warned me. “She’s already been through enough in the past year with the loss of her brother.”

“I’m not here to cause any more problems.”

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