“I was telling her she had to leave me alone. She tried her best to convince me to, uh, you know, but I refused.” He closes his eyes again, pain etched all over his handsome face. “I just didn’t want you thinking less of me. That I was offfooling around with my stepmom while Vanessa drowned. It wasn’t like that. Not at all.”
My heart hurts so much. His pain is like a living, breathing thing and I wish I could take it all away. Curling my arms around him, I crush my body to his, scooting up on the mattress so his head can rest on my chest. I press my lips to his forehead and kiss him, the tears flowing freely down my cheeks. “I’m sorry she did this to you. I hate her.”
He clings to me much like I cling to him, his face pressed against my bare breasts, and I swear I feel dampness on my skin. Like he’s crying. Which only makes me cry more. “I love you,” he murmurs against me. “I love you so much, Fable.”
My heart cracks in two, both at his pain and at his beautiful, much-needed declaration. “I love you, too.”
I’ve never felt more complete.
Drew
“I told her I loved her,” I blurt out of nowhere.
Dr. Harris nods, no emotion on her face whatsoever. As usual. “What did Fable say?”
“She said she loved me, too.” I look at my hands, remembering earlier this morning. When I woke Fable up by kissing her softly all over her naked body, the rising sunlight casting her skin a golden hue. Our bodies came together lazily, our whispered I-love-yous fueling me completely.
Our two days pretending the outside world didn’t exist ended on a perfect note. Now we’re both back to reality.
“Do you believe her?”
Doc’s question surprises me. “I think I do.”
“Mmm-hmm.”
Shit. “It’s hard to believe someone loves you for who you are when they’ve seen all your faults and know all your secrets.”
“But doesn’t that make it even more believable? Fable’s seen everything. She knows everything. Yet she still wants to be with you?”
“I guess so.” I shrug and change the subject. “Adele called me a few days ago.”
“And what did she have to say?”
“She accused me of poisoning my dad’s mind with reasons why he should divorce her.”
“Is she right?”
“No. I told him he had to make that choice for himself. I’m not about to give him advice on how to handle her,” I say vehemently. My emotions turn into chaos every time I think of the woman. It’s exhausting.
“And are they still reconciling?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t talked to my dad since he told me he might change his mind about the divorce.” I don’t bother telling Dr. Harris how Fable and I ignored everyone else and pretended we were normal. She’d probably say we were just avoiding the inevitable and accuse me of trying to have an unhealthy relationship with unrealistic expectations.
Yep, I’ve been to more than my fair share of shrinks when I was younger, before the really bad shit started. I know the drill. Luckily enough, I really connect with this one. She gets me. She doesn’t push and she doesn’t judge.
“It’s hard, isn’t it, being in a relationship? With all of your extra baggage, do you think you can be there for Fable when she needs you?”
Ouch. One of those tough questions the doc is famous for.“I want to believe I can be there for her. She’s strong. Sometimes I think she’s stronger than me, emotionally.”
“But doesn’t she have her own set of problems? We all do, you know. And I remember you mentioning she doesn’t have the best home life.”
I lean back against my chair, sprawl my legs out in front of me. “Her mom is selfish and never around. She has a little brother who’s fourteen and she worries about him a lot.” I go on to tell Dr. Harris how Owen punched me when he realized I was the one who supposedly broke his sister’s heart. I’d forgotten to mention it the last time we saw each other, I’d been so wrapped up in my father’s non-divorce announcement.
“I’m starting to see why the two of you are drawn to each other,” Dr. Harris says.
Glancing up, I catch her smiling at me and I frown. “What do you mean by that?”
“Your experiences are somewhat similar. You both come from a broken home, you both carry heavy responsibilities and unnecessary guilt. You have money and she doesn’t, so there’s one difference. You run from your problems and it seems that she confronts them, from what you’ve told me.”
