“And what is it going to do tomorrow morning?” He arched a brow.
“Rise?”
He nodded and kissed my forehead.
“That means life goes on, Theodora. No matter what happens. And so will you. You’ll love again and be happy. Maybe not for a little while, but it’ll happen. Until then, you have three people staying at your apartment this week who love the hell out of you and will see you through this.”
“All of you?” I let out my first real chuckle in what felt like forever.
His head fell back with a laugh.
“We’ll take turns, although I think your mother is going to be a fixture there until you start feeling better. That may give you some incentive to push forward.”
He grinned as he draped my jacket over my shoulders and wheeled me out of the hospital room.
There was an odd relief in hitting rock bottom with nowhere to go but up.
37
Thea
Present
The drivefrom the pub to my rental was only a half hour. My angry foot stomped on the gas, and I arrived in what seemed like seconds since I slapped Dominic in The Beach Pub parking lot.
I didn’t rush out of the car and into the house. While lingering in the driveway, I dropped my head back and shut my eyes as I remembered how happy I’d been this morning, and how it was all a huge lie. I’d overlooked so many things when I’d decided to give what Dominic and I had another try, reasoning that he’d been suffering too much to know what he was doing when we’d broken up.
He hadn’t been suffering too much to fall into another woman’s bed for a night. Knowing what I’d gone through when he’d done it, even though he’d had no idea, made the knife not only twist but slice me in half. I ran tonight not because I was a coward, but because looking at him after finding out had caused me visceral pain. He’d owned every single part of me from the very beginning, and I felt duped and devastated all over again.
I finally stepped out of my car and trudged up my outside steps.
But they weren’t my steps, were they? This wasn’t my house, and I didn’t live here, even though I’d been figuring out a way to stay. That was over, too.
I didn’t make it too far inside, sliding down the back of the door and slumping into a ball. Everything I was most afraid of had come to fruition tonight. Moira was right, I wasn’t honest with Dominic. And it all spilled out at the worst possible time.
As I mourned the love we’d had and the baby that had been just as doomed as we were, he’d had sex with someone else. As much as I tried, I couldn’t make an excuse for that. The love I had for Dominic would never die as long as I was alive, but for the very first time, we felt finished. This was the end of the line because there was no way we could come back from this.
I pulled my knees into my chest and dropped my head, crying so hard my ribs hurt. When I lifted my head toward the short flight of steps to the bedroom, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stand much less climb. Pulling my denim jacket from the hook on the wall, I gathered it into a ball and turned on my side, laying my head down and hoping the tears wore me out enough to eventually pass out.
My eyes closed only to pop open at a loud bang on the other side of the door.
“Thea! Let me in, please. We need to talk.”
“There’s nothing to say,” I called back, my voice too hoarse to scream.
“Yes, there is. And I’m not leaving until you let me in. Call the cops if you have to, but I’m not going anywhere.”
I used the little energy I had left to push off the floor and unlock the door. Still unable to look Dominic in the eye, I held it open then turned to go into the living room.
The lock clicked behind me as I fell onto the couch, hugging one of the pillows to my chest.
“I need you to look at me.” I wouldn’t turn toward the crack in his voice. My heart ached, but I couldn’t let it cloud my judgment anymore. So, Dominic was suffering.Good. My quest to comfort him was over.
“I can’t look at you.”
“Fine.” He sat on the floor in front of me. “I won’t give you a choice. I want to know everything. Why didn’t you tell me? I thought we talked everything out, especially lately. I figured out when your parents came in something happened when we were apart. I asked you, and you blew me off. I get that you’re angry.”
My head jerked up. “Angry?” A humorless chuckle fell from my lips. “I don’t even know what to call what I am right now, but angry is a huge understatement.”
