Chapter Ten
Addilyn
“You know what’s fuckingamazing?” Andrew says, coming to stand next to me. We all turn to him and he holds up his beer. “You are all so busy fighting over what a shitty thing that Addie did, that none of you even noticed that Nate left here like a half hour ago.” He raises an eyebrow at me and takes a sip of his beer.
Spinning around, I look behind me. What?
“Where did he go?” I ask Andrew.
“Home I’m assuming. He didn’t want to feel like he doesn’t matter. Like he has no voice. Left out of one decision after another.”
Everyone looks around at each other confused. Andrew hasn’t been himself since he walked through the door the first night I got here. And the little speech he just gave has nothing to do with Nate. No it’s all about him.
Before I can even ask, Abigail speaks up. “Andrew, what is going on with you?”
Looking around, I notice Tracey isn’t here. “Hey, where’s Tracey?”
“She’s eight months pregnant and exhausted. Where the hell do you think she is?” he replies.
“So you’re pissed your very pregnant wife needs a nap? That’s selfish as fuck even for you,” Abigail says, raising her voice with each word.
“The last few weeks are rough man, it’s definitely not the time to be thinking about yourself,” Jake say, wrapping his arm around Abigail.
“They’re right Andrew. It’s all about her and the baby right now. You need to be okay with that,” my mom says.
Slamming his beer down on the table, he looks around. “You’re all standing here judging everyone like you’re fucking perfect. Like you have any idea what is actually going on. You only know what you see and what you see isn’t always what it is. I get why Addie did it, she would have rather risked getting caught in a lie than deal with your judging, condescending ways. And let’s clear up something else while we’re at it. It’s not me who’s pulling away. I’m being pushed.”
My heart drops to the pit of my stomach listening to him. He’s incredibly sad and everyone, myself included, has done nothing but put the blame on him. Judging and condescending, just like he said.
“Andrew?” Tracey says, and we all turn around. “You think I’m pushing you away?”
Closing his eyes briefly, he turns toward her. “I’m sorry baby, you shouldn’t have had to hear that.”
“Why do you feel like I’m pushing you away?” she asks again, standing in front of him.
He runs his fingers through his hair and blows out a breath. “I feel left out, alright. You haven’t let me help you make one decision when it comes to the baby. You picked out the nursery color, the lamaze class, the furniture and carseat. You don’t ask me to come to your appointments, you just show me the pictures afterwards. I’m so excited to be having this baby, but I feel like I’ve lost you.”
There are a few sniffles in the room, as I catch a tear with my finger. Tracey on the other hand is letting them run down her face as she grabs onto Andrew. It’s heartbreaking and sweet at the same time.
“I wasn’t trying to leave you out Andrew. I’ve heard so many stories of husbands resenting their wives because she wanted more than he wanted to give. That’s what I was trying to avoid, so I did all those things thinking I was keeping you happy,” she cries.
Andrew wipes away her tears and kisses her. “We’re in this together. You and me. I want to be involved, no matter what it is. I love you.” He places his hands on her bump and smiles. “And I love this little one. You two are my world. Let me be a part of it.”
They hold onto one another and the emotion is too much for me. Nate’s gone and he didn’t even bother to say why or goodbye. He just left. And I don’t blame him. I didn’t defend him like Andrew said. I never once told my family that even though I hired Nate, I had fallen for him. And now this huge miscommunication has cost me something real.
I walk into the living room and a small red gift catches my eye. Grabbing it to place it under the tree, I glance at the tag and see it’s for me, from Nate. Pulling off the paper, I crack open the lid. The tears fall faster as I let out a soft gasp.
It’s a stunning white gold necklace with a diamond heart pendant. The Christmas lights reflect on it and I’m blown away with how thoughtful he was to do this. Unable to stop my tears, I decide I need a minute to myself. Pushing open my old bedroom door, I close it quietly behind me. Noticing a note on the bed, I rush over.
Keep the money, it’s not what I want - Nate
Opening the envelope, I see my check staring back at me. Fuck. What the hell did I do?
A half hour later, I’m laying on my bed unable to take my eyes off the necklace. I feel even more lost than I did when I called Nate asking for his help. Now I feel like I’ve not only lost myself, but I’ve lost him and it hurts.
A knock on the door has me quickly wiping my eyes and hiding the necklace. “Come in.”
My dad opens the door and walks in. “What are you doing Addie?”
