What did Kyle know that he didn’t?
At night, Mike never went to bed before Maggie, no matter how sleepy he was. Sometimes, she crawled into his arms and slept there. Other times, she curled as far away from him as possible. Although it bothered him, how distant she’d become, he didn’t say anything.
Wait it out.That was his mantra now.
What hurt him the most was the times she woke up in the middle of the night and locked herself in the bathroom to cry. Her sobs, her pain led straight to his heart.
Tonight, he decided he would no longer stand arms-folded. He had to do something. Anything.
He knocked on the bathroom door. “Maggie?”
He heard her sniffle. “Go back to bed. I’m coming right behind you.”
“Vita mia, just let me in.”
There was a moment of silence, and then the door opened. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she wrapped her good arm around herself. “Were you up the whole time?”
He nodded. “Every night.”
She headed toward the bed. “You should take those sleeping pills they prescribed me. They’re not working for me. Maybe they will for you.”
He followed her. “The antidepressants aren’t working either, I guess.”
She pulled the bed covers up to her shoulders as she slipped back into bed. “You guessed right.”
“We should try something else.”
Her eyes flicked at him. “I’m still not in the mood for sex. I’m sorry.”
“I know, and you don’t need to apologize.” He sat next to her, and his fingers stroked her hair. “I wasn’t talking about sex, Carolina.”
“If it’s not drugs or sex, what else can cheer me up?” Her lips stretched in a sarcastic smile.
“How about talk?”
She stared at him, her smile gone.
“I don’t remember a time when we could shut up around each other. I love that about us. We have no filters. We can talk about anything anytime.” He drew closer. “I love to listen to you.”
“Me too.” She turned away from him. “But I don’t wanna talk about what happened.”
“Okay. Talk about something else,” he prompted.
“Like what?”
“Anything that makes you happy.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be happy.”
Her words stung, like a punch in the face. Was that how she really felt? She’d never be happy, not even with him? What good was he if he couldn’t make the girl he loved the most happy? If he couldn’t take away her darkness and despair? He couldn’t be more useless.
“I mean there are moments when I am…happy, especially with you,” she added, and hope flickered in him. “Then I don’t know what happens. It’s like the feature isn’t installed in my program. I’m sorry.”
“I wish you’d stop apologizing for anything and everything,” he said. “You do that a lot, and it’s irritating. Not everything is your fault, amore. You really need to start believing that.”
“I know. I’m trying, Mike. I’m sorry.” She shook her head, looking away. “Shit.”
He chuckled. “You’ll get there.”
