Look at today. She’s home at a time when she should be at the office. I hate she is throwing everything away for him, and I hate him for doing this to her.
It’s not like I don’t have some sympathy for him, despite my earlier angry words. I do. I can’t imagine what it was like to wake from a coma and find out the girl you still loved was now in love with someone else. That is rough. But the way he’s treating her and trying to sabotage her relationship is not cool, and I’ve lost a lot of respect for Garrick Allen. Even if it is as Stevie claims and he can’t help his emotional outbursts and uncharacteristic actions. He still knows what he is doing. He knows he is not treating her right.
“I owe him,” she quietly says.
“You don’t fucking owe him anything. You have sacrificed enough for him, Stevie. No one could have done more for him, but it’s time to prioritize yourself and to prioritize us. It’s time to walk away from him.”
“I can’t,” she sobs.
“I’ll give you a week to think about it.” My voice sounds so cold, but I can’t help how I’m feeling. “It’s probably best if you went back to your place.”
“Beck, don’t do this.”
“I love you, Stevie, but I can’t continue like this any longer. I’m sorry.”
* * *
I’m tempted to sink into a bottle of Macallan and not resurface for a week, but I’ve got to get a grip. It’s been four days since I issued Stevie an ultimatum, and I am already missing her so much. She’s left me a ton of teary messages and sent heartfelt texts, and I’ve nearly buckled so many times, but then we’ll just end up back in the same awful place. I have spells where I regret what I said and I pick up the phone to tell her I didn’t mean it and to come home, but I never go through with it. Deep down, I know I’ve done the right thing even if it doesn’t feel like it. Even if she doesn’t understand, and some days, I don’t either.
Hadley shows up on day five.
“You’ve lost your mind,” she says, pacing the floor of my living room. “It’s the only conclusion that makes sense.”
“It feels like it some days,” I truthfully admit, leaning against the wall with my hands in the pockets of my shorts.
“Don’t do it. Don’t go through with it.” She stops in front of me. “This isn’t you. I know you didn’t mean it.”
“I did. I do,” I say even if I’ve had my doubts. “We can’t continue like this.” I rub at my sore temples. “My heart is broken, Hadley. She’s slipping through my fingers, and I’ll lose her anyway unless something changes.”
“I’m not disagreeing, but this isn’t the right way.”
“I can’t compete with him. He has this hold over her, and nothing I say will break it. I think I’ve always known it would come to this if he woke up. How do I compete with a guy in a wheelchair? A guy who is facing a long road to recovery? Stevie’s savior complex will never let her walk away from him.”
“It might seem like that now, but it won’t be forever.”
“He’s not going to stop until he wins her back.”
“She doesn’t love him anymore.”
“I wonder how long it’ll take her to fall back in love with him once I’m out of the picture.”
Hadley narrows her eyes and jabs her finger in my chest. “That is low, Beck, and way out of line. This is the wrong course of action, and you’re making a big mistake. She won’t betray you with him. I know my best friend, and she won’t. You’re her ride or die, Beck. You’re the one she loves.”
“Then she needs to pick me. If I mean that much to her, she needs to put me, putus, first.”
“She isn’t thinking clearly right now, Beck. She’s all messed up and drowning in guilt all over again. I know it’s unfair to you, but would you not reconsider and give it a little more time?”
“Prioritizing my mental health and that of the woman I love is what’s important right now. I am doing this for Stevie and for the sake of our relationship.”
She releases a shuddering breath. “She is trying to do the right thing. She wants to help Garrick get back on his feet, and then she’ll walk away. By then, he’ll realize he can’t win back someone who has already moved on.”
“I cannot share her any longer, Hadley. I cannot donothingwhile she systematically unravels herself and our relationship one brick at a time.”
“She’ll fall to pieces without you. Her heart is already so fragile, and this will send her over the edge. Please don’t do this.”
Her words dig the knife in deeper, but she just doesn’t get it. “I have to. It’s the only way we stand any chance of a future together.”
She plants her hands on her hips and glares at me. “So, you’re just going to walk away without a fight?”
