"You think that just because you can admit your mistakes now, that makes you brave? That makes you better? Newsflash, it doesn't. You're still the same weak boy crying about hissick little fiancée.Don't forget that—"
"Don't talk about Sophie," Paul snaps, his voice low and seething. "Don't youeverfucking talk about her. Say all you want about me, Elise, but she did nothing wrong."
"Ohfuck you,Paul. You weren't thinking of your precious little Sophie when you kissed me at Haunts. When you were fucking me in your car, in my bed, inyour office. Don't forget that you started this!" I laugh, not liking how crazed I sound, but unable to stop. I hate this tight feeling in my chest. I hate how shaky and uncoordinated I feel. I hate that stupid look on his stupid face.
I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.
"You want to talk easy? You wanted me so bad that you fell right into my bed so easily, I barely had to try. You were like a feral dog begging for scraps. If anyone is easy here, Paul, it's you."
Paul doesn't blink, doesn't flinch. He just keeps those sad, broken eyes on mine and nods.
"You're right about that. I was easy. I wanted you. I wanted an escape. That's on me. But cheating on Sophie is my biggest regret."
Your mother is my greatest mistake, my greatest regret...
I flinch.
"I chose you when I shouldn't have, when I should have been choosing her, and that's something I'm..." his voice cracks, andhis eyes grow glassy, and at this moment, he looks so much like my father did while talking to Claire. Broken.
"I'm going to regret it for the rest of my life," he admits, a tear falling down his cheek, getting caught in the stubble at his chin. "I failed Sophie."
You're my greatest failure.
"You're fucking pathetic, Paul."
"Yeah," he nods his head in agreement. "I know I'm pathetic, but I'm trying not to be anymore. Take care, Elise. Don't ever contact me again."
With that, I lose all composure.
"You're an asshole!" I scream, and he doesn't even flinch as he walks right out of the grocery store.
My outburst catches the attention of the store's patrons as they turn to me, before snickering and whispering about me. There's an older woman in a Red Sox hoodie by the produce section who's snickering behind her bag of bananas. The humiliation rises up inside of me, and I narrow my eyes in a glare, but she meets my glare head-on and mouths, "Try me, princess."
Growling, I stomp out of the store. My breathing is coming too quickly, and I take greedy gulps of the air as I walk. I walk, and I walk, and I walk. And I think, and I try to plan, and I come up with nothing. I've never felt so aimless, so completely out of my depth before. For the first time, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do.
I just keep walking. No destination in mind, I just don't want to go back to my hotel room, alone. I don't want to calculate how much money I have left until I need to leave. There's nothing left for me here in this town.
There's one store down the street with the lights still on.Rivers & Rhodes Bookstorereads the wooden sign. I can hearmusic playing softly as I pass, and when I glance through the large window, I freeze at what I see.
It's a couple slow dancing.
The man is...
Tall, dark-haired, bearded, and handsome. Incredibly handsome. Not my usual type—he's a little more rugged, and it feels like he would look out of place in a suit, but with a little clean-up, he could fit right in with my sphere.
From what I can see, the woman in his arms is petite, dressed in a dark green sweater and jeans. She has a light brown hat on her head, seeming to completely cover her hair. His broad arm is wrapped securely around her waist, and his hand practically swallows hers as they dance like a couple in an old movie. She stands on his large booted feet, allowing him to gently guide them in their dance.
But it's his face, that soft, loving expression, that paralyzes me. It looks oddly familiar as he gazes down at the woman.
He raises their joined hands to gently twirl her and—
What. The. Fuck.
Sophie.
He's dancing with Sophie.
I barely recognize her. Before, her face had a softness to it—chubby,I remember thinking when I first met her—but now her cheeks look sunken in, dark circles under her eyes. Her moves are sluggish, like she's tired, but the man just holds her tighter, twirls her slowly before pulling her back to him.
