Breathing heavily, his shoulders shaking, my dad goes into the living room, leaving me and Chris alone together. He still has his face hidden behind his hand, and a part of me desperately wants to pull it down and comfort him.
But that’s not happening. Not now. Not this time.
I stand there waiting for what feels like an eternity until he finally looks up at me, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes red. Even now, I hate to see him like this.
“You’re married?” My lips sting as the question burns out of them. Chris raises a hand like he expects me to attack him. “How could you not tell me!?”
“Gracie, it’s not like that—”
“Oh, it’s not?” I rage, flashing my phone screen in his face again. “So what is this, then? Are you going to tell me it’s fake? Because if you lie to me anymore—”
“It’s not fake.” I can hear the tension in his voice, like he wants to scream but is holding back. “Technically, I am married.”
I thought I was prepared to hear this, but I’m not. Every muscle in my body threatens to give out. I brace myself against the kitchen table as my phone falls from my hand.
“Technically?” I manage to ask. “What does that mean?”
Chris shakes his head and sighs. “It was a long time ago. Jackie and I got married too quickly, and she cheated on me almost immediately.”
“How did I not know this?” I ask.
“You were young, Gracie. I never brought her around here, and I didn’t talk about her in front of you.”
A tingling hope swells in my chest. Could this be true?
“I was a rising football star,” he sighs. “She was a cheerleader. I think we dated each other because it was expected of us more than anything. There was never any real love there.”
My heart pangs for him. It’s hard to picture Chris in this way. He’s always been so smart, always making the right decisions. “And…she cheated on you?”
He nods, almost smiling, like he’s remembering something absurd. “Yup. I heard the rumors, but I guess I just didn’t want to believe them… And then…”
His voice trails off.
“And then?”
“I walked in on her with my physical therapist,” he replies, his voice sharp, to the point. “And that was it. I filed for divorce the same day.”
“But…you’restillmarried.”
Again, he sighs. “Technically.Jackie has been refusing to sign divorce documents, doing everything she can to hold things up, simply out of spite.”
I search his eyes for signs of deception but see nothing. As far as I can tell, he’s telling me the truth. A truth that still pains him.
“Why wouldn’t you tell me about this?”
“Because it’s embarrassing,” he sighs. “I want to be the perfect man for you, Gracie. I didn’t want you to know I’d already failed at this once.” He clenches his right fist and slams it against his thigh. “I should have told you, though. You’re right. This is all my fault.”
Tears drip from my chin onto the floor. I’m a mix of chills and overheating and suddenly aware of the pain in my scraped knees from when I fell in the parking lot.
I want to believe him so badly, but at the same time, I still hear Regina’s voice in my mind, planting seeds of doubt that I don’t truly know this man.
“Chris,” I say slowly, my mouth dry and my lips trembling. “Promise me you’re not lying.”
“Gracie, youknowI’m not lying. I would never lie to you.”
The pain in his voice cracks me. A vulnerability takes over his face, an emotion I’ve never seen before. There’s no doubt in my mind now that he’s telling the truth.
Relief flows through my body, and my vision blossoms. The world bursts with color as I collapse forward, knowing he’ll catch me.
