Before quickly putting some distance between us.
“So,” he said as he sat down at the table, choosing the furthest chair away from me, “what’s on your mind?”
I paused before I eased myself back into my chair, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “I, uh, I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “Why?”
Why did you think he’d be happy to see you? You ditched the man without an explanation, idiot.
I folded my hands into my lap, watching them tremble. “Uh, you know. I just…”
Suddenly, I couldn’t find the words to say what I wanted. If anything, I felt like trouble. Like a bother.
And no one else needed to suffer with that kind of nonsense.
“Do you want me to start, then?” Caleb asked.
I barely looked at him before nodding. “Yeah, sure.”
He shrugged. “Why did you call me?”
I whipped my gaze up to his. “What?”
“Out of everyone you could have called, why call me?”
Caleb had never been good at concealing his emotions. He had a wall up between us that was at least ten miles high, and probably that thick with rebar and concrete as well.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
“What?” Caleb asked.
I cleared my throat. “I’ll just cut to the chase and save us some time, then.”
He furrowed his brow deeply. “If that’s what you want.”
My face melded into one of stone. “Not like you really want to be here anyway, right?”
He tilted his head but didn’t say anything, so I decided to simply hop into the issue.
“Blake and I are getting a divorce. Well, when he signs the divorce papers, we are getting a divorce. I caught him cheating, and ever since I moved out six months ago for mandatory separation purposes, he’s been trying to get me back. Telling me that people make mistakes. Telling me that I’m stupid for throwing away eight years of our lives on something he regrets. Demanding I come back home. Barging up to my condo and knocking on the door at three in the morning until I roll out of bed and answer.”
His jaw clenched. “Good for you.”
I shrugged. “Maybe, I don’t really know about that yet. What I do know is that he’s a narcissist. Nothing is ever his fault, everything is always my fault, and whenever I don’t do something exactly the way he wants, he ices me out until I talk to him and apologize just to get him talking to me again. He’s manipulative and controlling, and I’m finally taking control of my life back.”
He nodded. “Seriously, good for you.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but would either of you care for something to drink?”
I quickly looked up at the waitress who stood there, poised, waiting for our orders.
“I’ll just have some water,” I said.
Caleb nodded. “Me, too.”
The waitress scribbled it down. “I’ll be back with your waters and some bread.”
“Thank you,” he said.
