almost broken

Portia Moore

Copyright © 2014 by Porsche Moore

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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Contents

Copyright

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Author’s Note

Chapter 1

Lauren

How the fuck did I end up here? It’s the same question I’ve asked myself a thousand times. For two years, I imagined what this would be like. Now, I’m terrified of it. My heart’s beating like a drum. I’m confused, I’m angry, and a sense of guilt is creeping over me. I thought I’d grown, that he couldn’t make me feel like this anymore. Now I feel like I’ve been transported back through time, and it’s all a game again. I’m at the beginning of a match that I haven’t trained for or expected.

“I can do this,” I mutter to myself.

Now, if only I believed it…

2 months earlier…

“I can do this.” I tell myself for the millionth time, exhaling a cleansing breath. My nerves are completely shot. Forget shot—blown to smithereens.

“This is for Caylen,” I tell myself again as I scrutinize my reflection in the mirror, of the Scott’s bathroom. It’s still the same me. I look the same, I sound the same, but standing here, I feel like someone else. I splash cold water on my face, and sigh at the girl looking back me. She’s smiling, but it isn’t real. It’s practiced, close to perfect, and completely artificial. If I can just look happy and content, I might actually start to be happy and content. I look fine—great, if I do say so myself. Unfortunately, I feel like I’m being smothered. The bathroom is quite large, but I swear it feels like the walls are closing in around me.

Everything is.

I’ve been trying to convince myself that I can make it through today. I’ve been in this bathroom for 10 minutes, and I feel like I’m drowning.

Drowning fast.

I glance at my phone and notice how much time has passed. I can’t just hide in here like a big scaredy cat. My daughter is out there. With them. Well not them—her dad and her grandparents. Grandparents who have been coddling her since the moment Mrs. Scott burst out of the house and swept her up and into her arms before we could make it up the steps. The icy glare that Mr. Scott gave me completely melted the moment he laid eyes on Caylen. The Scotts’ living room has been filled with so many toys and stuffed animals you would think it was Toys R Us. They love her.

I should be thrilled.

I really should.

I am thrilled. In a way…

I expected this to be awkward. I prepared myself for the fact that they might not take to Cal’s daughter. There is no awkwardness. They adore her. I’m happy, so happy for her, but I have to admit I feel isolated.

She fits perfectly.

I don’t.

“Everything is great,” I tell myself aloud, running my hands through my hair, moistening my lips, and practicing my fake smile once more.

Everything is great, except I’m in love with a man who really has no idea who I am, and he’s engaged to be married to another woman. Other than that, things are just dandy. When I finally emerge from the bathroom, I find that half the toys have been opened. Mr. Scott and Chris are attempting to set up a gigantic dollhouse while Mrs. Scott is playing with Caylen and the stuffed animal Chris bought her. This looks like something that should be on a Hallmark card.

Still, I want to bail. I want to tell them that they can spend a few hours with Caylen while I go back to my hotel room and cry. Maybe even have a drink. Who am I kidding? This would be a whole-bottle kind of night. No, NO! Stop it! I’m too old for this now. I’m a mom. Just grin and bear it. My eyes drift over to Chris. I’ve been trying to avoid looking at him.

I haven’t been here that long, but I told myself that I shouldn’t look at him for more than five seconds. My eyes didn’t agree with me earlier. They still don’t seem to now. They follow his every move, waiting for another glimpse of who I saw earlier.

Cal.

It was him. It had to be. Or maybe I imagined it. Me and my damn imagination. I’m losing it. It was only a matter of time before Cal drove me nuts, and now it’s finally happening.

“Is everything okay, Lauren?” Mrs. Scott’s voice reminds me that I’m not sitting alone in my own head and that I need to interact with the other people in the room and not act like a freaking zombie.

“Yeah. Yes. Your home is beautiful,” I say eagerly. A little too eagerly. I haven’t seen any other room in the house besides the living room and bathroom. Ugh, now they probably think I’ve been snooping around the house instead of in the bathroom which is where I said I was going. Oh well, I settle down into the brown comfy chair and fold my hands together. Caylen has made her way over to Chris and Mr. Scott, about to be Godzilla to the dollhouse they’re building.

“Caylen let them finish.” I laugh.

“So you like to break things, huh?” Chris teases as he picks her up and holds her in the air. She giggles as he lifts her up and down.

He’s not Cal. He’s not Cal. He is not Cal…

“This is harder than fixing an engine,” Mr. Scott mutters, looking at the instructions for the dollhouse like they’re written in a different language.

“Lauren, would you mind helping me in the kitchen?” Mrs. Scott’s voice interrupts my mantra.

“Sure,” I say, getting up to follow her. I feel like my body is moving in slow motion. Chris gives me a reassuring smile, and my heart practically jumps out of my chest. I look over my shoulder and see him and his dad playing with Caylen as I head into the kitchen.

Their kitchen is large, separated from the dining room but still big enough that it fits a round table and four chairs easily. There’s tons of counter space, at least a dozen cabinets, a huge white refrigerator, and a double stove. This is definitely a kitchen that gets used. I hope to God she’s not going to ask me to help her cook anything.

I make my way over to the sink and wash my hands after she does. Glancing out of the window, I see a horse in the distance. Two horses actually.

“You have horses?” I ask surprised.

“Horses, cows, just a few pigs,” she says with a smile. Well, duh! It is a farm. My daughter’s grandparents have an actual farm.

“Do you ride?” she asks, pulling out three plastic containers from the refrigerator. She takes the tops off them, revealing ham, turkey, cheese, and lettuce.

“Not really. Well, not professionally or anything. Just here and there when I was in high school,” I say nervously.

“Chris rides. Well, he used to. I’m sure he could teach you or help you brush up on your skills,” she says, and I almost laugh at the thought of Cal on a horse with a big cowboy hat on.

“Is meat okay?” she interrupts my thoughts.

“Oh yeah, it’s fine.”

She’s asked me to help, but she’s cranking these sandwiches out like she’s worked at a Subway before.

“The food at the zoo is so expensive, and I’ve been told my sandwiches are pretty good,” she says with a wink, and I laugh, peeling the lettuce she’s assigned to me. It’s weird but being in here with her makes me feel calmer. Not so odd, nervous or anxious.

“Caylen loves the zoo. She’s obsessed with animals,” I tell her, taking a slice of tomato and putting one on each piece of bread she’s put out on the counter.

“Chris does too. You’d think since we had a farm that would have been enough for his animal obsession, but he’d beg us to take him all the time.” She hands me Zip-Lock bags to put the sandwiches into.

“I want to thank you for bringing her here,” she says, leaning on the counter and turning her attention towards me. I smile nervously and fidget.

“It’s fine.”

“After everything, I know that it could have been… You would have had every right to make this difficult, and I just want to thank you for... Thank you, Lauren.” Her smile is sincere and a tiny part of me wants to hug her. She gives off this motherly aurora that just makes you just want to be embraced by her. Tell her exactly how you feel. If I were to tell her how I feel now, I’d say, “I’m desperately in love with your son, and I’d give almost anything to make him remember that he was in love with me.” I’d ask her, “How do I stop feeling this way?!”

I don’t, of course, but I could see myself hugging her one day, maybe. If I don’t completely screw things up. After the sandwiches are made juices, chips, and fruit packed up, we make our way back into the living room where it doesn’t look as if the dollhouse has made any progress at all.

“You guys are all packed up,” his mom announces as we enter the living room.

“Are you ready for to the zoo with the best animals in the world?” he asks excitedly, lifting Caylen up with him. I can’t help but smile. Chris genuinely looks excited.

“Hopefully by the time you get back, I’ll have this done.” His dad chuckles, and he and Mrs. Scott walk us to the door.

“Have lots of fun little one,” she says, kissing Caylen on the cheek.

“I’m going to get that doll house together if it’s the last thing I do,” Mr. Scott promises, rubbing her cheeks.

“I’ll call you guys once we’re on the way back,” Chris says as we make our way down the stairs.

“Have a great time,” Ms. Scott calls.

“So whose car are we taking?” He adjusts Caylen in his arms. It’s still surreal to see him holding her. They fit, and it’s almost like he’s never missed a day of her life.

“The carseat is in mine, but we could switch it if you want.”

“Do you want to drive?” he asks. I hate driving especially when I’m not familiar with where I’m going.

“Not really. You want to drive my car?” I offer. He glances over at it and I see a smile spread across his face.

“Sure,” he says. When we make our way to the car, I swap the lunch bag for Caylen with him, pop the lock on the doors and start to put Caylen in her seat

“Can I try?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I step back, and it takes him a few times to get the straps adjusted and snapped in, but Caylen cooperates, her hand in her mouth and a smile on her face.

“I’m a quick learner,” he tells her, then grins back at me. I laugh and ignore the butterfly flying around in my stomach. We both get in the car, and he adjusts his seat, a lot. It’s been awhile since anyone his height has sat in the driver’s seat.

“You’re really short,” he says with a chuckle, and I’m caught off guard. He’s not only called me short but really short. I think back to Jenna she was at least 5”7.

“Uhm, yeah,” I say, buckling my seat belt. If things weren’t awkward before, they sure are now. The playful smile on his face has disappeared.

“Says gigantor,” I joke to ease the tension. He starts to laugh, and I join in.

“Good one,” he jokes. I glance at him through the review mirror. I quietly let out a breath. When the radio comes on, one of my Italian operas begin to play. I never listened to them while Cal and I were together, but after Caylen was born, Angela introduced me to a few, and they were surprisingly calming. It was as if only a mourning singer could express the pain I was in, and Caylen always slept really well to them. From the look on Chris’ face, I can see that he’s anything but comforted.

“I can turn to something else if you don’t like it,” I say, a little embarrassed.

“It’s sort of depressing,” he responds with a nervous chuckle as he turns onto the road from his driveway. I suppose when you are actually depressed it’s soothing.

“Kind of,” I admit as it continues to play.

“Top 40 okay?” I ask, turning to the radio.

“A little better,” he says playfully.

The ride to the zoo was smooth. He drives like a regular person and not like a Nascar driver on speed, the way Cal did. But if we had Caylen when Cal and I were together I’m sure he wouldn’t have driven like a maniac—possibly. The zoo is actually pretty impressive to be near such a small town. We only made it two hours before Caylen drifted off to sleep. These two are really entertaining together.

“She fell asleep before we even made it to see the bears,” he says with genuine disappointment.

I laugh. “She had a good run. Let’s take a lunch break. She might wake up in a half hour or so,” I assure him. We make our way over to a picnic area, and I pull out the sandwiches his mom made for us.

“Thanks.” He takes one from my hand. I hand him a sanitizing wipe, and he takes it, amused.

I really am a mom now.

I unwrap my own sandwich and bite into it. My taste buds have died and gone to heaven.

“Oh my gosh.” I moan.

There’s a glint in his eye. “Good isn’t it?” he says, tearing through his own.

“This may be the best sandwich I have ever had,” I say, diving back in.

“My mom makes the best sandwiches.” He says, finishing his in record time. I now know why his mom made five for just the three of us. I giggle and hand him another one. He smiles. He looks like Cal, he sounds like Cal, but...

“So, other than hanging out at the zoo? What do you like to do?” he asks in between bites, his green eyes on mine and the lone butterfly in my stomach gets a friend.

It’s like we’re on our first date. Well, except our one year-old is asleep between us in her stroller. Actually, I feel like I’m tagging along on Caylen’s playdate. I take one of the juices his mom packed and take a sip

“Most of my time kind of revolves around Caylen.” I shrug. “But when I get a breather and don’t use it for a nap, I try to squeeze in some drawing,” I tell him, resting my head in my hand.

“Drawing huh? Are you good at it?” he asks curiously. And now I’m having déjà vu.

“What do you mean?” I joke.

He laughs. “Well are you drawing stick figures,” he asks, crumpling up the plastic that his sandwiches were wrapped in and shooting it in the nearby garbage can. It goes in.

“Impressive,” I joke.

“That’s my talent, making trash shots.”

“I can do a little more than stick figures.” I laugh.

“What about you? Is trash ball really your talent?” I ask, making use of the excuse to really look at him. He looks like Cal, he has his voice but he doesn’t necessarily sound like him. This guy, that wears a t-shirt and jeans, plays with kids, and jokes around, is different. And today, unlike the day we talked in my hotel room, he seems care-free, unburdened, and it’s refreshing.

“Well, I play the guitar,” he says, leaning on his elbows. “But you probably already know that.” When he runs his hand through his messy hair I remember when he’d let me do that.

Wait, what?

“You…play the guitar?” I ask in disbelief, and his eyebrows raise.

“Yeah…I never…umm, Cal he never…?” he asks awkwardly.

“No!”

“I used to be in a band,” he says with a shrug, and my mouth drops open.

“You’re kidding?” I can’t believe this.

He nods shyly. “We played a few gigs here and there, it’s not like I was selling out concerts or anything,” he says modestly.

“You’re in a band?” I’m completely shocked.

He smiles, then he sighs. “Used to be,” he adds.

“Well it’s a little hard to stay in the band when you never know if you’re available.” His playful smile has completely diminished. I nod my head and think about the fact that every moment Cal was with me was an interruption to his life. I can’t help but feel a little guilty about that.

“Can I ask you a question?” He leans forward on the table.

I bite my lip. Usually that means there’s a really awkward question following. “Sure,” I say preparing myself.

“Well,” he says, running his hand through his hair again. Cal used to do it as a flirtation; I think Chris does it when he’s nervous. “Do you come from money or something?”

I can’t help but let out an amused gasp. “Uhm, no. Why do you think that?” I ask hesitantly.

“It’s just, well the car you’re driving isn’t exactly a base model and then, uhm…the ring you threw at me the other day looks pretty expensive, and Chicago isn’t exactly the cheapest place to live, and you never mention having a job…” he says, letting out a nervous laugh and rubbing the back of his head.

“Oh no. Well…” I try to think of how to explain this.

“You—uh—Cal made good money working for the Crestfields.” I see his hand tighten around his drink.

“Do you know exactly what did I there?” he asks tightly. I know his dad didn’t have an obvious affection for them. It would seem Chris’ opinion of them must not be much better.

“I don’t know much. The details of your job were mostly confidential,” I say, clearing my throat. Now I wonder what his job was. I can’t imagine him being entrusted with such a valuable position knowing he could become Chris at any time.

He lets out an angry sigh and shakes his head.

“The only thing you told me was that you were a liaison for Public Relations and Research and Development,” I say with a shrug. There’s another round of silence. I reach in the bag Mrs. Scott packed and hand him a juice box. He smiles gratefully and takes it.

“A shot of Tequila would be a little better, but grape juice should work just as well,” I joke. He nods as he opens it and drains the little box. I’ve been trying to restrain myself this entire time, but there’s so much I want to know, and I know he wants to know about me. We’re like two polite strangers with a kid. Anything too personal would be going into the realm of intimacy, or maybe that’s my own paranoia.

“Now is it my turn to ask a question?” I say quietly, playing with my empty sandwich bag.

“Go for it.”

“You don’t remember anything?” I ask, folding my hands together. His head tilts a little to the side.

“Not just about me or our...my life with Cal, but before me...?” I ask, and I’m waiting with bated breath. If he could just remember something about us, about me, our life together. It’s pathetic. I know, but it would make me feel some consolation. If Cal loved me and he’s apart of him, he should feel something. Even if it’s locked away in another part of his mind, he should remember something…His eyes lock into mine, and for a second, he looks at me how Cal used to, with an intensity that overwhelmed me, that used to consume me. This time it spits me back out.

“I’m sorry, Lauren, but I don’t remember anything,” he apologizes and stares down at the table. I try to pretend like the words aren’t a knife through my heart. I can’t do this. I can’t cry and feel sorry for myself every time I’m around him and things don’t go my way. This isn’t about me or him. It’s about Caylen.

“No it’s okay. It’s nothing to be sorry over.” I plaster my practiced smile on my face. I really hope he buys it. So what? Even if he remembered something, it wouldn’t matter anyway. It’d just leave the single thread of hope more time to catch fire, the fanning of a flame I need to stomp out fast.

“It looks like rain,” he mutters, and at first, I think it’s an attempt to fill the increasingly awkward silence that has followed this discussion. When I look up at the previously sunny sky that’s become overshadowed by darkening clouds, I know it’s not.

“It does.” I sigh. At least Mother Nature is doing us a favor, excusing us from our uncomfortable little outing. We grab our items and throw them in the trash. I push the stroller as we make our way to the parking lot, ending what started as a nice trip to the zoo. Thankfully, Caylen was sleep before her mommy managed to suck all the fun out of it.

Chris

When I was six years old, my aunt had come to stay with us for a few days. She sucked as a cook, but always insisted on doing it. She told me one morning that when I got back from school she’d have my favorite cake waiting for me. As a six year-old, kid I was stoked. Cake was one of my favorite things. Who am I kidding? It still is. I told all my friends about it, thought about it all day at school, and when I got home, I ran straight to the kitchen. There it was on the counter. A two-tier cake with blue icing. My favorite color. She was so excited for me to try it. She cut me a huge piece, but before I could take a bite, my mom sent her to get something out of the kitchen. The moment I took a bite, I spit it out. I can only imagine the face that I must have made. I told my mom how bad it tasted, and that I didn’t want anymore.

My mother sat next to me and told to me that when my aunt asked how I liked it, I had to tell her it was really good. I was confused. It wasn’t good. It was awful, and I told my mom. She then explained to me that my aunt worked really hard to make the cake for me, and it’d make her really sad if I told her I didn’t like it. As a six year-old, I reminded her that I would be lying and that she had told me lying was wrong. She sat me on her lap and said sometimes lying was okay if it was for a good reason. She told me it was just a little white lie and would make my aunt happy. When my aunt came back into the kitchen and asked me how the cake was, I told her it was good, and I’d finished all of it. She was happy. I felt good about making her happy even if I didn’t really like the cake. I had told my first white lie. Sometimes I wonder, if I had told my aunt the truth all those years ago, that she couldn’t cook, would she have actually learned how to do it, and not suck completely?

If a white lie makes people feel good even if it’s not really helpful, what I just told Laruen has to be black lie. I didn’t do it to hurt her, but it is ultimately for her own good. I told Lauren what she needed to hear. At 28, I’ve told my first black lie. A lie that did the exact opposite of making her feel good. When Lauren asked me if I remembered anything, it felt like time froze. It wouldn’t be good for her—for us—if I told her that I had started to remember things about my life as Cal. I don’t even know if they are really memories.

Do I remember anything? I wish she would have asked me this the last time I saw her, then I wouldn’t have had to lie, but of course she asks me today.

Technically, I don’t know if I’m remembering anything. It could just be an overactive imagination. Extremely vivid dreams that don’t feel like any other dream I’ve ever had. The only way to actually confirm they’re not dreams is to ask her, and I will not do that.

Not now at least. I don’t want to make this whole situation any more confusing than it already is. That would just give her false hope. I thought I may have seen that hope in her eyes earlier, and that would be dangerous. Her hope is for them, which is hope for Cal, and I can’t give her that. Like a person who holds on to someone on a ventilator long after the doctors have said they’re gone.

Cal.

Cal is a selfish prick. Over the past six years, I never remembered anything. Not one single thing and now, now I start to.

It’s him. I know it is. He’s sharing, and if he’s decided to do it, it’s not for my benefit. It’s for his. He wants me to tell Lauren I’m remembering. He wants her to not give up on them, and I won’t hold her hostage to this guy, a memory, a hope for a future that doesn’t exist.

I want to be her friend. I want a relationship that’s uncomplicated and amicable for our daughter. I think back to my conversation with Dexter this morning.

“Just go back to his life, Chris. Cal won’t like it if you marry Jenna, Chris. Just leave all you worked for behind and do what makes Cal happy, Chris.”

I never thought Dexter would be anyone’s spokesperson. I know there has to be something in this for him, and that’s what scares me. Dexter doesn’t bother with anything unless it’s in his own best interest. And usually, what’s in a Crestfield’s best interest is in direct opposition with mine.

What was with all the riddles, it being Dexter’s suggestion and not Cal’s to try out his life? What does that even mean? Cal wouldn’t like it if I wanted Lauren, if I moved back to Chicago? If that’s the case he’s even more self-absorbed and selfish than I thought. I’ve already stepped into the role he left empty, the one good thing he ever did.

I haven’t had as much fun as I have today in a long time. I hadn’t been to the zoo in years with everything going on, and until lunch, everything was going great. For a little while, the heaviness of the situation was gone. We were normal, like everyone else. Two parents with their little girl, no extra drama or baggage. Before this conversation with Lauren, we had a clean slate. Nothing but honesty and cooperation between us.

Now there’s a lie, a lie that changed things between us, one that made us opponents instead of being on the same team. I know it’s just paranoia. I’m just not used to lying to people. How the hell do people do it so easily? I’ve only said one sentence, and I feel so guilty. The worst part is she doesn’t think I’m lying. I’d feel better if there was a hint of skepticism, or distrust, but she believes me. She took everything I said as the truth, and that’s eating me up.

She’s different now. Something in her expression changed right after I told her. Something left her. It could be the very thing I wanted to see gone. Her hope, and the energy that poured out of me the day I talked to her in her hotel room is trickling back in. We haven’t said a word to each other since we left the picnic table. She won’t even look at me now. Before, I’d catch her stealing a glance at me every now and then, but not anymore. I don’t know why it almost hurts that she won’t.

You killed her hope, dumbass! She’s in mourning, you fucking idiot!

Those words slam into my brain. A thought so clear it’s like it’s spoken to me.

“Are you okay, Chris?” Lauren asks. I notice I’ve stopped in my tracks. She’s more than a few steps ahead of me, turned around, her eyes narrowed in on mine.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say aloud and catch up with her. Second lie. I’m far from fine. I’m losing it because even though my thoughts should be mine, I’m starting to think the one I just had wasn’t. My phone starts to go off. It’s the text ring tone Jenna set for herself and my heart does double time. I see it’s only a one word message.

Hey.

But it’s enough to make the feeling I just had dissipate. I quickly type out.

I miss you, and stuff my phone back into my pocket. Lauren takes Caylen out of her stroller. The message goes off again, and I pull out my phone.

It’s just a smiley face, but it makes me grin. I look up and see Lauren has finished putting Caylen in her seat. She walks around the car, and her big hazel eyes look directly into mine. I can see the tears in her eyes, and I start to ask her what’s wrong but something stops me. I load the stroller into the trunk. When I close the trunk, I see that Lauren has gotten into the back seat. I let out a deep breath. I don’t know what just happened, but whatever it was, it’s affected her worse than the lie I told her. I get into the driver’s seat, and she hands me the car keys, her eyes stay on her lap.

“Is everything okay?” I ask, looking at her in the rearview mirror.

She nods. “Caylen might wake up. I’ll sit back her in case she does,” she says quietly her eyes don’t look up once.

“Okay,” I say and start the car.

Not okay! You’re a fucking idiot.

This time, I know it’s not just a thought. My text alert goes off again. I glance back at Lauren whose eyes are closed, her head resting against the window. It’s Jenna’s ringtone. Is that what’s bothering her? It’s a snippet of Jenna’s favorite song…a love song. I put my phone on vibrate and let out a deep breath. This is going to be a long day.

Chapter 2

Lauren

I knew it was her. Before I even heard the lovey dovey ringtone I could tell by the look on his face. How whatever was bothering him melted off the moment he heard from her. It wouldn’t have been that bad if he didn’t look so happy. If he didn’t have that smile I used to see when Cal looked at me. I haven’t seen that smile in years, and he gives it to her over a stupid text message. She can’t even see it. I’m not mad. Really, I’m not. I’m not even irritated.

How could he so blatantly flaunt that he loves her in front of me? I told him I’d try to deal with this but stuff like that happening is not a part of the agreement. Ugh! I know I’m being completely ridiculous but I can’t help it. I don’t even want to be near him right now. That’s how I ended up in the back seat of my own car. I didn’t feel like such an idiot until Chris looked at me like I was a wierdo. But I don’t care, it’s better this way. If he was Cal, I’d have hit him already.

I thought I’d out grown this. I feel like the past two years haven’t happened and my emotions have taken control from my common sense again. This is too much. This is all going to be too much. I see it now, and I’m supposed to spend the entire day with him and his family. What if she shows up? I didn’t even think to ask him about her. What if she comes to dinner? I won’t be able to do it. I won’t be able to handle him brushing up against her, her running her hands through his hair. It makes me want to throw up just thinking about it. What the hell was I thinking?

I hear Caylen yawn and move around in her car seat, and I’m reminded why I’m here and why I have to do this. Why I can’t throw temper tantrums and fold my arms and pout. I take her little hand in mine and sigh. I catch Chris watching me through the rearview mirror. He quickly looks away when he sees he’s been caught. Maybe he wasn’t looking at me. He does need to look at the mirror to drive, but since there are virtually no cars on this road, I guess it’s safe to assume he was looking at me.

He doesn’t know me. I’ve come to that realization. I’m just some woman who he happens to have a kid by. Nothing else. He doesn’t remember a single thing about me. He doesn’t feel anything towards me. While we were at the zoo, for a while, I stopped thinking about the situation we’re in. It was just us, being. It was nice. He’s nice, he’s funny, and fun to be around. I could imagine things being easy with him. Jenna got easy. I got complicated, arrogant, selfish and secretive. It’s not hard to be with someone that’s easy. They probably never fight or argue. Chris doesn’t seem like the type. It’s not hard to love someone like that. He didn’t disappear on her for days at a time; he didn’t use sex to screw with her head. She didn’t have to deal with mood swings, condescending attitudes, or go through an entire pregnancy alone

But she still gets the smile.

She gets the easy part. Things will never ever be easy with me and Chris our—well, my and Cal’s—history will never let us have what they have.

I sigh and try to focus on everything—anything but the situation at hand. I start to pay attention to how he drives, using his turn signal when switching lanes, even when no one is behind us, and staying within the speed limit. When we get to the point of him having Caylen without me, at least I won’t have to worry about his driving. My stomach tightens up. Eventually it will be Chris and Caylen. No, not Chris and Caylen. That’s wrong. It will be Chris, Jenna, and Caylen.

No Cal.

No me.

We finally pull in front of the Scott’s, and he turns the car off.

“I think I might skip dinner?” The words escape my mouth before my brain can filter them. I look over at Chris and expect him to look relieved, but he doesn’t. I think he looks disappointed, but that can’t be. Why want a woman who’s a problem around? He’s seen Caylen they’ve had a nice time. You’d think he’d be glad that I want to go.

“I’m just really tired,” I explain. Well not tired. More like emotionally exhausted. It’s a lot harder than I thought it’d be, pretending to be indifferent and not in love with a person sitting a few inches from you and even harder when you see firsthand they love someone else. He pauses a minute then turns back towards me, his arm resting on the other side of the car’s headrest.

“You’ll have to be the one to tell my mom you’re cutting the visit short with the granddaughter she’s probably been anxiously awaiting since we left,” he says with a tilt of his head and a smile that makes me not want to be in the back seat anymore. Well it does, but under entirely different circumstances. I swallow the lump in my throat and shake away the thoughts starting to surface in my mind.

“I’m sure she’ll understand, right?” I haven’t known this woman long but I think I already know the answer to that. He displays a mischievous grin and takes out his phone and hands it back to me.

“Hey honey,” her voice says through the phone.

“Hi Mrs. Scott. It’s Lauren,” I glance over at Chris who’s grinning.

“Oh, Lauren, is everything okay?” she asks, her tone going from worried to cheerful.

“Yes, Chris is right here. We’re outside actually,” I confirm.

“Oh great! Will finished the dollhouse, and I’ve started dinner. Do you like Lasagna? If not, I can throw on something else,” she says excitedly.

“I was actually going to. I—I…” And I chicken out.

“Lasagna’s my favorite.” I sigh and swat Chris’ arm as he laughs at me. Chris gestures for me to give him the phone. He takes it, and just like that, my tension is gone.

“Mom, could you come and get Caylen?” he asks, and I guess she obliges because he comes out quickly. I notice her expression when she sees me sitting in the back seat, but she recovers quickly and greets us.

“You tired the little angel out?” She laughs.

“We had a ton of fun,” Chris says as he gets out of the car. I do the same.

“This is a beautiful car.”

“Thanks,” I say, wrapping my arms around myself as I walk behind them.

“We’re going to head this way,” Chris says, gesturing toward the back of the house. I look back at Mrs. Scott holding Caylen. She gives me an assuring nod. I let out a deep breath and change directions. I see he’s headed to the yard where I saw the horses outside of their window earlier. I wonder if his mom said something to him. When we reach the gate surrounding it, he stops and leans on it. I do the same. The horses are beautiful. One’s a toffee color with a white stripe down its back and the other a beautiful chocolate.

“That’s Butterfinger and Reese’s pieces,” he says, gesturing to each. I look at him to see if he’s joking, and he laughs.

“Seriously?” I ask.

“My parents let me name them, and when I was a kid, I was obsessed with candy.” He takes something out of his pocket. He extends his hand to me and reveals two bite sized bags of M&M’s. I laugh.

“When you were a kid, huh?” I say after popping a few in my mouth. He grins at me before pouring the whole bag in his own.

“I used to ride,” I say, leaning more of my weight on the gate. He turns around and leans his back on the gate so he’s facing me.

“Really?” he asks in a disbelieving tone.

“Yeah,” I say, finishing my bag of candy.

“Is that so hard to believe?” I ask him jokingly, and he shrugs.

“No, not at all,” he says, covering up his surprise, and I frown at him.

“Hey, I look about as shocked as you did when I told you I play the guitar.” It’s just surprising Cal did something that could easily get him laid and not use it to his advantage. I want to tell him that but it may be a little inappropriate at the moment.

There’s a breeze, but the sun is warm. I close my eyes and enjoy the small moment where I don’t feel suffocated by anxiety. At this second things are just easy.

“Do you want to go for a ride?” he asks.

My eyes snap open. “Now?” I ask a little surprised.

“Yeah. That is, if you’ve really know how,” he says teasingly.

“That sounds a little like a dare.” I fold my arms across my chest and he shrugs a little.

“Not a dare. More like an invitation,” he says, his eyes narrowing in on mine and my heart speeds up. Is he flirting with me? No that can’t be. If this was Cal, it’d definitely be flirting, but it’s not him so I can’t read into this too much. He’s being friendly. Just because he’s being nice to me doesn’t mean he’s flirting. I just want him to be flirting with me, which is why I need to get back in that house where I’m not alone with him before I do something that’s going to make this really awkward for the rest of the day.

“Does this invitation have an expiration date?” I ask, my eyes meeting his briefly. He smiles and shakes his head.

“Not at all,” he says, folding his arms across his chest and closing the distance between us. Not so much where I feel like he’s invading my space, but enough where my heart catches in my throat. I let out a deep breath because it’s taking everything in me to keep my hormones and emotions all tied up in a neat little package.

“I’ll take you up on it when I haven’t been walking around the zoo all day,” I say lightly and I turn away from him to walk back towards the house.

“Uhm, about earlier,” he says, quickening his pace to walk beside me. He’s walked next me like this all day, but now it’s causing my skin to tingle and feel hot even though it’s cool and damp from the rain.

“Yeah?” I ask, keeping my eyes on the wet grass that’s being crushed under our feet.

“I didn’t. When you asked me if I remembered anything…”

My heart almost stops and so do I, right in my tracks. I turn to face him and look up at him, hoping my expression isn’t showing how I feel inside. I look into his eyes. They avoid mine for a few seconds, then he looks into them briefly.

“I do want to remember,” he says quietly. I feel like he has more to say but I wish he wouldn’t because this, what he just said, is enough to get me through the rest of the day.

“I want you to remember,” I say with way too much enthusiasm and a smile so wide I have to bite my cheeks to contain it. I see him look down nervously.

Okay, dial it down a bit.

“I mean, I want you to because if you start to remember that’s a good thing. Right?” I say, trying to turn this around from being about us or about me.

“After Cal left,” he says, pushing his hands deep into his pockets, “what made you not…You didn’t I—you…” he trails, and I let out a deep breath.

“Get a divorce?” I say, trying to help him along and he nods. I try to think of the best thing to say. The thing that will make him the least uncomfortable, that would make this the least awkward, but I don’t know how to say it in any way that won’t. I always tried to hide my feelings from Cal, even before things started to go wrong. When we first met, I didn’t want him to know how much I liked him. I didn’t want him to know I was starting to fall for him because I thought it would scare him away. It’s ridiculous now because he knew everything before I did, even about myself. With Chris, I’ll take a different route. Complete honesty. Well, when he asks for it.

“Because I loved him, and I still had hope.” My eyes don’t leave his chest. I’m afraid to look in his eyes. I don’t want to see what’s there, but I wish he didn’t have on that big khaki coat he’s wearing. I want to see if his chest is heaving, to know if his heart is beating as fast as mine is right now.

He’s shifting his weight around. I glance up at him and see his eyes on the ground, a chill passes through the air and one creeps down my spine as I wait for him to respond.

To say anything.

I hear him let out a breath a long one and he runs his hand through his hair. “And now?” he asks quietly, and I close my eyes and think carefully of how to answer him. I raise my gaze to meet his, and as soon as I see his eyes, even though they’re not the grey I’m used to, I love them just the same. I look up to the sky and feel myself biting my lip. Ugh. The truth. I want to tell the truth, but the truth could really complicate things between us and cloud the reason I should be here.

Caylen.

“You don’t have to answer that,” he says quietly. There’s warmness to his voice, and when I’m brave enough look at him, he’s wearing a sympathetic smile, one that is worse than if he was scowling at me.

He feels sorry for me. Great. That’s just great.

We head into the house, and Chris immediately heads to the kitchen. He has the appetite of a teenage boy. I don’t remember Cal ever eating as much as Chris has the past few hours. Not only did he eat two Sandwiches, three snickers, and an ice cream, he bought a container of popcorn and he ate half before he decided to save it for later. I wonder if the six-pack Cal had has morphed into a keg under that big khaki jacket.

As promised, Mr. Scott has put up the doll house, and Caylen is mesmerized by it. I return to the brown chair I sat in earlier, it almost swallows me but is one of the most comfortable things I’ve ever sat in. Mr. Scott has turned on a college football game, his attention between it and Caylen, who’s hitting him with a doll they bought her. I guess emotional exhaustion eventually translates into actual exhaustion since my eyelids feel heavy as bricks.

“Lauren.” I look back and see Mrs. Scott smiling at me.

“Do you want to go lie down before dinner?”

“Oh I’m fine,” I say, a yawn escaping my mouth, and she smiles knowingly.

“Mom, something’s burning,” Chris says, reappearing. Mrs. Scott’s eyes widen.

“Chris, show Lauren where your room is so she can take a nap before dinner,” she says, scurrying to the kitchen.

“I’m fine really,” I say, fighting another yawn from my mouth. He tilts his head to the side in disbelief.

“Okay, maybe just a really short one.” I stand up from comfy brown chair and stretch. I look over at Caylen and Mr. Scott.

“I’ve got her,” he grunts, only briefly glancing up at me. His ice has melted with Caylen but with me, not so much. That’s totally fine since I’m still not too thrilled about him either. I follow Chris down the hall and up the stairs, sunlight pouring in throughout this whole house. Once we’re up the stairs, he gestures to a room on the left further down the hall.

“There’s the bathroom, in case you need it. That’s my parent’s room.” He points at another door by the bathroom, and we make a sharp right. He opens the door and waits for me to step in. I wrap my arms around myself and think back on the first night I ever stepped into Cal’s apartment. Then, I had on a teensy cloth that barely covered my butt. Now I’m in an oversized sweater and jeans where you can barely tell I have a butt at all.

Chris’ room is pretty large, surprisingly just a little smaller than my and Cal’s...my room back home. I try to resist the urge to scour it, looking for hints of who this person is next to me.

My attempts fail.

He has a queen-sized bed with a navy blue comforter covering it. A desk sits in the corner with a laptop on it. And posters. Lots of them lining the walls, mostly of bands and a few sports teams.

“I haven’t really done much decorating since high school,” he kids. He’s standing there with his arms folded across his chest, the outline of his muscles showing through his blue t-shirt, the khaki jacket gone. I look down quickly at his stomach but can’t tell if my earlier theory about his stomach ballooning outward is correct. I walk over to a shelf housing at least thirty trophies. Basketball, hockey, soccer all different years. There are two pictures posted near them. One is of him and his parents all wearing Lions Jerseys, and the other of him by himself. He looks really young. His hair is so much shorter, and he has a smaller build. I can’t help but smile. I’ve never seen any pictures of him this young before. He’s standing next to a girl about his age with strawberry blond hair. They’re holding what looks like a science project.

“That’s my best friend Lisa. She should be coming for dinner tonight,” he says, and I can tell he’s behind me because every nerve-ending in my body, starting from my neck down, awakens.

“H—how old were you on here?” I ask him, my voice a little squeaky.

“Seventeen,” he replies.

I look to my right and out the corner of my eye I see more pictures on his wall. “May I?” I ask. I hope he doesn’t think it’s intrusive, but who am I kidding? I can do it while he’s here and deal with a little awkwardness or shuffle through his things after he leaves and potentially deal with even more awkwardness if he catches me.

“Yeah,” he says quietly. I walk over to the Wall of Christopher. There’s a picture of him when he’s about six in a little league outfit. He’s adorable, his chocolate brown curls peeping beneath his hat. There’s one of him near a lake where he looks about twelve or thirteen. I’d bet it’s the same girl from the science fair photo, but this time with a blonde boy with piercing blue eyes.

“How old are you here?” I ask. He’s leaning on the chair behind the desk his eyes on me, and I feel uncomfortably excited for just a moment.

“Thirteen. That’s Lisa again and my other best friend Aidan. He’s doing a tour in Iraq. He’s been one of my closest friends since he moved here from Chicago in second grade. His dad was in the army, and they always moved around a lot. But his grandmother never left, and he came back to visit every year. She has to be going on like 80-something now. And he’s obviously not as scrawny.” He chuckles and I smile.

“You guys all grew up with each other, huh?” I ask curiously.

“Yeah, I’ve known Lisa since pre-school. I met Aidan when I was around seven. Lisa went to visit her dad the summer Aidan’s parents moved in with his grandmother. When she came back, it was awkward. It was pretty much a fight over who was my best friend. Turned out, Aidan and Lisa had a lot more in common than I did with either of them. They liked to fight. They’d throw tantrums if they lost at anything and basically would get into as much trouble as possible. When they figured out they were more alike than me, they implemented voting on everything, which was two against one from then out.”

I smile at him being so open about his past with me. That’s definitely not something I’m used to. “So you were all little trouble makers?” I ask with a giggle.

He shakes his head. “They were the trouble makers. I was caught in the middle.” He chuckles.

There’s another picture of him and his dad, sitting on the porch. He looks about 19, same green eyes, longer chocolate hair, his build a little more defined than the last teenage version of him. Then there’s the infamous pie-eating contest with his dad. The clarity of this one much better, of course. I start to turn away, but before I do, there’s one last picture that catches my eye. It’s him and the blonde I met the other day. Who am I kidding? I know her name; it’s burned into my brain.

Jenna.

He’s next to her, dressed in a black suit and a bow tie. Cal wouldn’t be caught dead in a bow tie and his hair is obviously styled back. He looks almost suffocated in the suit. He’s smiling and maybe I’m just jealous, but this picture isn’t reminiscent of Cal or the Chris standing next to me...

“Her dad is a renowned Doctor. He wins a lot of awards, so lots of sitting in uncomfortable suits,” he replies like he’s reading my mind or maybe my expression. I think I’ve seen enough pictures for today.

“Is she coming for dinner tonight?’ I ask, the thought almost making me dizzy. His best friend is coming. Who knows who else they’ve invited.

“Not likely,” he says, pressing his lips together. I can’t imagine she’d want to sit down and break bread with the wife of the man she’s in love with just like I don’t want to see her.

“I’ll let you get to your nap,” he says, leaving the room. I nod before he shuts the door and let out a deep breath. I look at the bed once more before sitting on it. It’s really soft. I let my back fall onto it, look at the ceiling, and wonder if this my new normal. Am I doomed to trying to be polite, not seeming intrusive and walking on eggshells, afraid of asking what I want to know, or afraid of knowing too much? Because the more I get to know him, the guiltier I am that I wish more than anything to see Cal. And gosh, I have enough to be guilty about.

Chris

I’ve been holding my breath in forever. It’s like I’ve been on a rollercoaster all day, my stomach going up and down, my heart speeding up and slowing down. When we stood in front of the horse yard, I intended on apologizing to her about the ring tone thing with Jenna. To ask her what I could do to make things easier for her, but standing there with her for the first time, it was easy. I didn’t want to ruin it. I wanted things to stay how they were, but part of me wanted to push the invisible boundary, the wide line drawn that’s keeping the appropriate distance between us. To see how close I could get to it without going across. To be closer to her. To see if she noticed I was crossing the line. I think she did, and she backed away. I wanted to make up for earlier, for the lie I told. To try to make her feel better, and that backfired too.

I don’t think I made her feel better at all by telling her I want to remember, then asking—well, I didn’t technically ask. I wanted to, but deep down, I tried to stop the words from coming out. But she knew, and she wasn’t afraid to answer. I was afraid to hear the answer, but her answer was as loud as anything I’ve ever heard, and it was terrifying. I want answers but not the ones she’s going to give. I want the easy answers, the ones that will make this less complicated, the answers that mean I’m not hurting anyone. All her answers won’t make things easy. They’ll just give more questions, hard ones, and I have enough of those.

The most puzzling thing of all is how I seem to notice things about her, little idiosyncrasies, that I usually don’t notice about other girls this quickly. How she grabs her wrist when she’s nervous. How she looks up at the sky when she’s thinking. How she bites her bottom lip when she’s fascinated with something. How she bit it the entire time she saw the wall of, pretty much, my entire life.

After I destroyed my room, my mom took it upon herself to create a collage of all the pictures she found. I guess she knew what I didn’t. Lauren probably has never seen any of these. Cal doesn’t seem like the sentimental type to have shown her, seeing the way her expressions changed at each one like she was taking in little pieces of me as she looked at each, even if it looked like she was going to vomit when she saw the one of Jenna and me. I hate going to the banquets and conferences for her dad. They’re all boring, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t like me. If she tells him about this, I’m sure his campaign to get rid of Chris will have a lot of support behind it. Not that Jenna needs much more of a push, but she’s texted. I need to call her. I head down the stairs and hear laughing and a commotion. Lisa has gotten here, and she’s holding Caylen. Standing next to her is my other best friend Aidan. They’re both staring at Caylen in amazement.

“Scott, you have a fuc—freakin’ kid. And she looks like your twin!” he says.

“Dude what are you doing here?” I ask excitedly.

“I thought I’d surprise you, but you definitely one upped us.” Lisa laughs.

“Aren’t you a pretty little girl,” Lisa says, playing with Caylen.

“I’ll take her while you guys catch up,” my mom says, taking Caylen from Lisa.

“It’s so good to see you, Aidan,” she says, giving him a pat before she scurries off in the kitchen.

“Chris, you’re a dad. You know when you told me the other night, it didn’t really sink in, but holy shit!” Lisa says, pushing me in the chest.

“Yeah, I heard you guys started getting wasted without me. That anyway to treat a solider coming home?” he says, punching me in the arm. The double-teaming has started already.

“Is her mom here?” Aidan whispers looking around.

“Is Jenna here?” Lisa chuckles.

“Her mom’s upstairs taking a nap, and Jenna, I haven’t talked to her in about a week, other than the occasional text. It came today, so that’s a good sign” I say hopefully.

“You don’t think Ice Queen still going to marry you?” Aidan laughs in disbelief.

“She’ll still marry him and just guilt-trip him his whole life,” Lisa says to Aidan.

“Want to put money on it?” Aidan retorts.

“Name it.” And for a minute, it’s like I’m not even in the room.

“Uh, this is kind of my life you’re placing bets on,” I interrupt them.

Aiden turns toward the kitchen and yells,” Mrs. Scott, whatever you’re cooking smells de-licious!”

“It’s your favorite. Lasagna,” she calls back.

“I can’t wait!” he says, completely ignoring me.

“Wait. You’re not staying for dinner,” I laugh but am so serious.

“You guys suck at welcoming me home. Since when can’t I stay for dinner?” he asks, amused.

“Since there’s a girl here he doesn’t want you to embarrass him in front of,” Lisa says, nudging him.

“Wife to be exact, right?” Aidan nudges her before crossing his arms.

“I’m glad you guys think this is so funny.” I’m a little offended, but I expect this from them.

“It’s better to laugh than cry buddy,” he says, putting his arm around me.

“So really, what the hell is going on?” Aidan says, tossing around one of Caylen’s alphabet blocks.

“Lisa didn’t fill you in?” I sigh.

“I did he doesn’t believe me,” she says.

“Hey you had your one-on-one with him. Can we get some guy time?” Aidan says tightly.

“You mean stupid time,” Lisa says, rolling her eyes.

“So this girl’s going down on me and her mouth is...”Aidan starts excitedly.

“Eww eew eww! I’m going!” Lisa says, leaving in a playful huff.

“Let’s go out to the back,” Aidan says, and we cut through the dining room, head to the back porch, and sit on the steps.

“It’s good you’re back. I’m glad you made it home safe,” I say genuinely. Aidan’s always been the type to live on the edge but was never one for authority even with his dad being in the army. We never saw him being disciplined enough to join the army, but when his dad was diagnosed with lupus, it was like Aidan went for him.

“Don’t start going all crybaby on me,” he says, pulling out a pack of gum from his jeans.

“How was it over there?” I say, taking a piece of gum from him. He’s still a “Big Red” guy. I didn’t even know they still sold it.

“I’m home,” he says, a wide smile on his face. “The details aren’t’ so much important right?” he says, resting his elbow on his knees.

“Besides, while I’m off the deep end, it’s like you’re floating in it,” he says, giving me a nudge. I sigh.

“You’re a fucking dad, man!” His excitement is apparent, and I sigh but can’t help but smile.

“How does it feel? I know you always wanted enough kids to fill a stadium,” he says, frowning at the idea of it.

I chuckle. “It didn’t feel like anything until I saw her. Now it’s real, I have this little person with my DNA that I’m responsible for.”

“When Lisa told me, I was like screw that. You need a paternity test. But it’s pretty obvious she’s yours. Like a little girl version of you…it’s kind of creepy actually,” he jokes. I think.

“So DID, that’s pretty messed up man,” he says with a sigh.

“You think,” I say, taking another piece of gum from him.

“Really, all the signs were there.” He stands up and stretches. “Like pieces to a puzzle but no box to guide you.”

“Really, Dr. Grunnel,” I say, rolling my eyes at his supposed psychiatric expertise.

“DID isn’t all that uncommon a concern when you come back home from combat,” he says in a serious tone.

“Along with all the other glorious perks,” he says, his tone returning to normal.

“The thing I don’t understand is, from what I’ve researched, the cause is usually a traumatic event. So I can understand why soldiers are high-risk, but nothing’s happened to me to cause this. It’s like this guy came out of nowhere,” I say, standing now too.

“Or. Maybe you don’t remember,” Aidan says solemnly. The thought has crossed my mind. I don’t know if I’d want to remember something so traumatic it’d cause my personality to break.

“If something happened, this Cal guy knows. He knows a hell of a lot more than I do,” I say, noticing the anger in my own voice.

“That’s what he has on you. He knows everything you don’t,” Aidan says. I think back to my earlier conversation with Dex and his pseudo-insinuations of the damage Cal can do to my life.

“I need to know what he knows,” I say almost to myself.

“If I knew why he existed, and am able to deal with it, I wouldn’t need him.” I say adamantly, and Aidan puts both his hands up.

“Let’s not go that far, I’m not a psychiatrist or anything, but my understanding is ‘alters have a purpose or use’ if there was no need for him he wouldn’t exist,” Aidan shrugs.

“I don’t need this guy.”

“Well somewhere in there,’ he points to my head, “begs to differ,” he says, and I swat his hand away.

“Soo…the kids mom,” he says, leaning on the railing with a sneaky smile on his face. This is what he brought me out here for.

“This is why you aren’t staying for dinner.”

“Your mom made my favorite thing in the entire word. I haven’t had a home-cooked meal in months. I’m staying for dinner, just come to terms with that now.” He laughs.

“One to ten, where’s she scoring?” he says, standing in front of me. I push him, and he pushes me back.

“Come on!” he laughs, and I put him in a headlock, and in less than a minute, we’re wrestling on the porch.

“She’s either a one or a ten. You’re putting up too much of a fight,” he says, out of breath.

“Wow, we’re back to being 12 huh?” I hear Lisa say, amused.

“One or ten,” Aidan says again, gripping my neck tighter. I manage to elbow him in the stomach, and he lets me go.

“Your mom says cut it out,” Lisa says before rolling her eyes.

“Whose white Audi is that outside?” he asks, and I sigh.

“It has to be Caylen’s mom’s,” Lisa adds matter-of-factly.

“If she is a one, who cares with a car like that,” he says as we head back into the house.

“Ms. Red, Chris says I can’t stay for dinner,” he says with a whine that reminds me of when we were kids.

“Of course, you can stay. Chris, why wouldn’t Aidan be able to stay for dinner? I made his favorite,” my mom says, frowning at me.

“I just…you know this is Lauren’s first dinner with us. Aidan can be a lot to handle,” I say, trying to give my mom the hint.

“But Lisa gets to stay!” Aidan says defensively.

“That’s because I’m not an ass,” Lisa quips.

“Yeah, you’re an animal of an entirely different species,” he says.

“Jerk-off!” Lisa pushes him.

“My mom is right here!” I say, shooting them a glare to shut them both up.

“Sorry Ms. Red,” Aidan says.

“Me too. He brings out the worst in me,” Lisa says guiltily.

“I think Lauren would want to get to know the people important in your life.” My mom smiles at me, and I sigh.

“Aidan, please try to be on your best behavior,” my mom says, patting him before attending back to her pot. We all head into the living room and sit down.

“Seriously Aidan. Don’t be a jerk. She’s been through a lot,” I say seriously.

“She’s driving an Audi. I doubt she’s been through all that much.” Aidan chuckles.

“I’m not joking,” I say, shooting him a warning.

“Can we just watch the game?” He waves me off, turning up the volume on the TV. I slouch back into the sofa and turn my attention to the game on the television. My team’s down by 18 points.

Do you see my bags at the door and the one I’m holding? Do you not get it?!

I immediately sit up and look behind me. No one’s there. I look over at Lisa, who’s lying down on the opposite couch.

“What?” I ask. She looks over at me confused.

“What?” she asks.

“Didn’t you just say something?” She shakes her head

Okay I know she said something.

Someone did.

Maybe I didn’t hear anything.

I settle back down in my seat, keeping my eye on her. Lisa has a lot of talents, but ventriloquism isn’t one of them. I need to get some more sleep.

I’m leaving, Cal. Fuck you and your texts!

What the hell was that?! I look back over at Lisa whose attention’s on her phone. I look behind me, and no one’s there. Now I know it wasn’t her, and I know whose voice it was.

It’s Laurens’.

“Dude, you okay?” Aidan asks me with a raised eyebrow.

“You didn’t hear that?” I hesitate.

“Hear what?” Aidan asks, sitting up. He didn’t hear it. Which means only I heard it. How is that possible? It was as if it was right in front of me. I get up from the couch, make my way to the hall and up the stairs, and a moment later, everything blurs around me. I’m somewhere else, and I see me.

I’m holding Lauren. She’s fighting me as I carry her up a set of stairs. As fast as I see it, it’s gone, or did I even see it at all?

Of course I saw it. It was happening to me!

“Are you okay, son?” My mom is at the top of the steps, looking at me suspiciously.

“Yeah, I thought I heard Lauren call me,” I mutter. It’s the closest thing to the truth I could come up with. She comes down and pats my shoulder.

“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” She chuckles before making her way past me. I laugh nervously. Not a ghost, but it seems like someone’s definitely trying to scare me.

It’s easy to scare a pussy.

Chapter 3

Lauren

The smell of pasta wakes me up from my sleep. I inhale the scent of the pillow I curled up with. It smells like fabric softener and a hint of something else. Whatever it is smells fantastic. Chris’s bed has the perfect balance of firmness and softness. I’m not sure how long I’ve been asleep but my stomach’s growling. I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep in someone else’s house, but that theory turned out to be very wrong.

I sit up in bed, the sun’s no longer lighting the room. I pull out my phone. It’s 5:15. I head to the bathroom Chris showed me earlier. My ponytail is a mess now. I take the holder off, run my hand through my hair, and splash some water in my face, trying to get rid of the just woke up look.

I head to the stairs and hear Bubble Guppies, one of Caylen’s favorite shows on the Scotts’ surround system. She’s already toddler-ized the Scott’s house.

Caylen’s sitting in the middle of the floor on a big pink blanket eating graham crackers. Mr. Scott is asleep on a brown couch that matches the comfy brown chair I sat in earlier, and across from him is the girl that was in the picture earlier, but her long locks have been replaced by an asymmetrical bob. She sits up from her previously stretched out position when she sees me.

“Hi!” she says cheerfully, sitting.

“Hi.” I kneel down next to Caylen and kiss her on the cheek.

“You must be Lauren.” I stand to shake her hand, but she pulls me into a hug instead.

“Lisa, right?” I say as she releases me.

“Yeah. I hope my reputation doesn’t proceed me!” she says with a nudge.

“Uhm. I was looking at pictures in Chris’s room and you were in some. Nothing bad!” I assure her with a laugh.

“Good.” She folds her arms across her chest. I see her taking me in. After all, I’m the woman who married her best friend’s alter ego...or something like that.

“Your daughter is so adorable,” she says, looking at Caylen.

“Thank you.”

We stand around awkwardly for a few seconds.

“Chris and Aidan went to grab something from the store.” She runs her hand through her hair, and I notice a tattoo right above her wrist. It’s a word written in cursive.

“Fate.” She points to it, noticing my scrutiny. She then shows me the opposite side of her wrist is the word Hope.

“If you believe in fate, you better hope she doesn’t screw you over.” She laughs.

“Fate must not like me very much,” I mumble, and she laughs.

“Fate doesn’t like most people.” She giggles.

“If I were you, I don’t know how I’d deal with all this. I mean, I’d be literally pulling my hair out, his hair out, anyone in the general vicinity,” she says, and I smile tightly. “But you’re definitely doing the mature thing. Me, I’ve been told I’m not very mature. That’s why I work with kids.” she jokes.

“Oh. What do you do?” I ask, glad to be able to have the spotlight off of me.

“I’m a preschool teacher,” she says with a smile. I’m a little surprised. She’s dressed in low rise jeans with a midriff sweater, a red streak down her asymmetrical bob and a small piercing in her nose. She looks more like a rock star bartender than a teacher, but Caylen is pulling on her pants and lifting her arms for her to pick her up, so kids must love her.

“Hi beautiful,” she says, picking Caylen up.

“I’m jealous,” I kid.

“Kids love me.” She shrugs.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Mrs. Scott calls from the kitchen. The previously sleep-ridden Mr. Scott rises.

“Excuse me ladies,” he says, brushing past us with a wide, almost charming, smile. The first I’ve seen from him since I met him.

“I can take her,” I tell Lisa. She waves me off.

“We’re fine,” she says with a wink before following Mr. Scott into the dining room. I go to grab my purse when I hear the door open.

“Straight ahead.” A tall guy holds the door open as Chris comes in holding a big white box. Once he’s made it inside and sets it down, I see it’s a high chair.

“You went and bought a high chair?” I laugh.

“She’s the guest of honor. She should have her own seat,” he says.

“You’re Lauren?” the blonde guy asks me with a chuckle in his voice. The way he says it I’m not sure if I want to answer the question.

“That would be me,” I say hesitantly. He looks back at Christopher and chuckles.

“Twelve,” he says his eyes roving over my body.

“I’m sorry?” I ask, confused.

“Excuse his numerical outburst. An aftereffect of his post-traumatic stress thing from combat,” Chris says tightly, and I’m not sure if he’s joking or not.

“He’s joking,” the blond guy says, seeing that I’m not smiling at all.

“Christopher can be so rude,” he jokes and extends me his hand.

“I’m Aidan. I thought I was Chris’s best friend.” I look over at Chris questioningly and see that he’s staring pretty hard at Aidan.

“Nice to meet you,” I reply. He’s Chris’ height and build but he has a buzz-cut, though his hair’s long enough to show the blonde color. He has ocean blue eyes and his smile reveals perfect teeth. They sure know how to grow them in Michigan.

“Welcome home!” I say, realizing Chris told me earlier that he was out on tour.

“The best welcome I’ve had all day,” he says, our hand shake still lingering. Is this dude really flirting with me right in front of my husband?

Well, I’m not exactly sure how I should refer to Chris. I let go of his hand, but he’s continues to smile at me his eyes directly on mine. I cross my arms around myself.

Is this guy for real?

“Can you take this in the dining room?” Chris says, shoving the highchair box into Aidan’s chest.

“Sure buddy,” Aidan says tightly and makes his way into the dining room.

“Don’t mind him. He can act like an idiot around a beautiful woman,” Chris says.

A smile a mile wide spreads across my face. Chris looks down at his feet embarrassed maybe, having realized the compliment.

He thinks I’m beautiful.

Chris thinks I am beautiful.

That manages to get me through the rest of the night. It causes me not to mind so much that his best friend, Aidan, stares at me like I’m wearing a bra and thong right at the table and that Mr. Scott is ignoring my presence entirely. Mrs. Scott is trying to keep the dinner conversation pleasant and uncontroversial which has been hard since Lisa seems to love talking about politics, religion and every awkward thing in between. I manage to stay out of the fray, pretending to keep myself busy with Caylen. The food is mouthwateringly delicious. Mrs. Scott makes cooking seem as easy as breathing. The pasta was to die for, and I’m biting into what’s left my chocolate cake. The boys have drifted off into a debate about the upcoming football season. Lisa starts to look bored. It’s nice seeing him with them. Carefree, light, and not like a dark cloud’s following him. It’s good to see him so ‘Chris-like’, not guarding his behavior, afraid of saying the wrong thing. Seeing him like this reminds me more of Cal when we first met. Mrs. Scott is starting to clear the table and Lisa turns her attention to me.

“So Lauren, how did you and Cal meet?” Annnd the room becomes silent. Except for Caylen, hitting her plate with her spoon. My eyes find Chris’s, and they’re a little wide. He’s biting the corner of his lip.

I thought Lisa liked me but she obviously hates me, having brought up such an awkward topic, one that Chris and I have been tiptoeing around so carefully. She’s just thrown it in the middle of the table for everyone to see.

“Really, Lisa?” Chris says tightly.

“What? I’d like to know. Wouldn’t you like to know?” she asks innocently, glancing at Aidan,

“I would,” Aidan chimes in. I remember how Chris said earlier they liked to double-team him when they were little. It seems the tactic has stuck with them. I wait for one of the Scotts to intervene and say it isn’t appropriate, but Mr. Scott just sits quietly with a frown on his face and Mrs. Scott keeps clearing the table, not making eye contact with anyone. I really wish I would have taken that glass of wine she offered me earlier.

“I worked at a popular club while I was in college, and we met there,” I say in a quick breath.

“What type of club?” Aidan says his voice full of innuendo.

“Not that type of club,” I say with a deliberate edge to my voice.

“Was it love at first sight?” Lisa says excitedly.

“Come on,” Chris says, exasperated.

“What? It’s romantic!” Lisa says, a hint of a slur in her voice, and I wonder how many glasses of wine she’s had.

“Aren’t these just obvious things everyone wants to know?” she asks, looking around the room for someone to agree with her.

“I’d really prefer not to hear this right after I’ve eaten.” Mr. Scott sounds disgusted.

Something in me starts to rise, thinking about how he lied to me, his hatred for Cal, and how he’s pretty much pretended I haven’t existed since I’ve gotten here.

“No, not love. Just lust, pure unadulterated lust,” I say with a tight smile. Mr. Scott’s mouth drops open a little. When my eyes find Chris’s face he’s turned completely red.

“Oh shit,” Aidan says, covering his mouth and laughs.

I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have let him get to me like that, but I couldn’t help it.

“But isn’t that all that love at first sight is? Just lust?” Lisa asks, completely unfazed as if she’s about to turn this into a talking point. She should be a philosophy professor instead of a pre-school teacher.

“On that note, everybody have a good night,” Chris says sharply and stands from the table.

“Come on, Chris, we’re just having fun” Aidan says, lifting his hands innocently. He doesn’t look at anyone except for me.

“Stop being such a baby, Chris.” Lisa laughs.

“Are you ready, Lauren?” Chris asks, ignoring Aidan and Lisa’s nudges.

“Yeah,” I say, unsure of what is happening, but I’m pretty glad to be rescued from this nightmare. I lift Caylen out of the highchair.

“Where are you going?” Mr. Scott asks sternly.

“I wouldn’t want to ruin your appetite anymore, Dad,” he says. I smirk and quickly follow him towards the door.

“Thank you for dinner, Mrs. Scott,” I say a little awkwardly as I grab Caylen’s diaper bag and my purse, thankful they’re easily in my reach.

“I can take them back to the hotel,” his dad says, following us out of the house. Like hell that’s happening. I have my own car, and I’ll drive myself before that happens.

“Yeah, I’m sure Lauren would love that since you’ve been such a nice guy to her since she’s been here,” Chris says sarcastically. Mr. Scott looks down at his feet guiltily. I follow Chris, who’s stomping angrily towards what I’m assuming is his truck. It’s a big red Suburban. I smile as I see the purple car seat installed in the backseat.

“I picked it up earlier when I got the high chair?” he says, glancing up at me, the anger melting from him. “It’s cute,” I smile as I put in Caylen in her car seat. She likes it. A few seconds later we’re about to pull off when Mrs. Scott appears at the driver side of the car near Chris.

“I wanted to kiss my granddaughter goodbye if that’s okay,” she says with a warm smile on her face, seemingly unfazed by the previous fiasco. I smile at her. She opens the back door and gives Caylen a kiss on her forehead.

“See you soon, Princess,” she says to her before giving her a hug as best she can while Caylen’s in her car seat. She then closes the door.

“You be safe, okay?” she says, patting the top of the car door.

“Love you, Mom,” Chris says, his stern demeanor softening, and she smiles. He pulls off, and we ride in silence for a while. I want to ask how I’m going to get back to my car, but I guess he’ll pick us up tomorrow. It’ll be nice to let Caylen see him again before we leave. The sky is the beautiful purple color right as the sun is setting and evening is taking over. It hasn’t been three minutes since we left, and Caylen’s drifted off to sleep. I look at Chris through the review mirror. He seems to be in deep thought. I wonder if he’s mad about the comment I made earlier. I could see it being a little embarrassing but I really just wanted his dad to shut up.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” I say glancing over at him.

“I shouldn’t have said that.” I sigh. “I’ve had the tendency to say first and think later.”

He doesn’t say anything, but I see a small smile on his face.

“I thought I’d gotten better since Caylen, but it just sort of slipped out,” I say, playing with my fingertips.

“I think you handled that pretty well,” He smirks, then laughs. I do as well.

“You shut my dad up. Most people aren’t able to do that,” he says, glancing over at me. “You know, I don’t really get why he has so much hostility towards you. It pisses me off because out of everyone involved in this, you’re the most blameless one,” he says, his face frowned up. He’s pissed off at his dad because of me. It feels wrong that I’m a tad bit happy about it, but the better part of me scolds my joy.

“I don’t think it’s me, per say, he’s pissed off with. He’s angry at Cal. I’m associated with him. I represent or am a reminder that he’s real and what he’s done. He can’t take it out on Caylen, he won’t take it out on you, so I’m his scapegoat,” I reason. Whenever I talk about Cal with Chris, I feel guilty. I’m not sure why, but maybe Chris feels the same way his dad does. He has to. He’s just much better at hiding it.

“It’s so easy for them to separate the two of us. I think they’re doing a better job at it than me,” he says as he makes the wide turn that leads to lead to the Ritter Inn.

“What do you mean?” I ask curiously.

“I keep trying to...” he trails off and sighs. He glances at me momentarily, and I can read every emotion on his face. He’s frustrated and a little sad. It’s almost refreshing to be able to tell what’s wrong with him so easily. I was pretty clueless as to what Cal thought or felt.

“It’d be easy for me to just think of this guy as another person. Right?” he says, and I nod. I thought that was what we were doing even if we weren’t it makes things a lot less complicated for me.

“My parents, my friends, Jenna, well maybe not so much Jenna… They’ve separated the two of us. Cal did this, I did that. Cal married you, I proposed to Jenna.” He sighs.

“But Caylen discredits all of that,” he says, looking at me for a response. I’m not sure what to say. We’ve now pulled into the small parking area for the Ritter Inn. Chris turns off the car but neither of us move to get out.

“How are you doing with separating us?” he asks, and I’m afraid to look up at him but I do. Our eyes meet but, it’s getting dark out so it feels like a filter.

“You’re so different,” I say, forcing the words out of my throat. “I haven’t had a lot of time to get to know you, but thinking back on the time I spent with Cal, there were moments that—that he reminded me of you,” I say, and I feel my heart pounding. “Of how you were today at least,” I clarify.

“Seeing you in those pictures, when you were a little boy, in high school, your life before me—before Cal—I’m guessing.” I take a deep breath. I will not cry.

“I was able to understand a little more that anytime Cal was with me, your life was interrupted. That you have a life.” I take another deep breath.

“So I appreciate you not reacting like your father towards me.” I smile and look away from him.

“Uhm, I, I think you should hear something,” he says. He maneuvers in his seat and pulls out his phone. A few second later the voicemail states he has one saved message. The moment it starts to play I freeze, and my breathing catches. I have to react. I want to show Chris I’m not affected by this, but I am.

That was Cal.

That was him, pissed to the max and acting like a complete asshole.

But that’s Cal.

My Cal.

I’m going to be sick. After the euphoria wears off from hearing his voice, I feel betrayed. Completely and utterly betrayed. I’m furious. For the first time, it really hits me that he kept all of this from me. How he didn’t trust me enough to tell me about any of this, how Dexter knew all along. I’ve been thinking of Cal as a victim but he’s not the victim he could have made this right at any time and he didn’t and now, now after all of this he demands for Chris to make it right. I’m gripping the seat so tight my fingers feel hot. When he came back, the little time he had, he didn’t use it to talk to me, to warn me about what was going on, to tell me he loved me. He used it to taunt Chris?!

“I didn’t play this to upset you,” Chris says quietly, and I nod but I can’t look at him. Right now he has Cal’s face. And I really want to slap that face right now.

“He’s an asshole, your dad’s right. A fucking asshole,” I say, angrily hitting the dashboard. I feel my throat start to burn. I look back to make sure Caylen’s still asleep and she didn’t hear the words that slipped out of my mouth.

“But you love him,” Chris says quietly, looking at his lap. I laugh and wipe away the single tear that has escaped, and I feel like a complete idiot for having to admit it.

“Yes.” I laugh at myself because I’m a joke, a complete and utter joke. I start to feel claustrophobic in the car. I let down my window for some fresh air to come in.

“Are you okay?” Chris asks, growing concerned. I haven’t been okay in a long time but no less okay than I’ve been the past week.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say, thinking that if I keep saying it enough maybe I will be. I let out a deep breath and slap my hands on my lap. I look over at Chris, who’s looking at me like a lost puppy.

“I really am, Chris. Thank you for letting me hear that,” I say, plastering my fake smile on my face and wiping the wetness from my eyes. I grab Caylen’s diaper bag off the floor and open my door to get out.

“I’ll help you up, Lauren,” he says quickly getting out of the truck. I’m a little taken aback at how fast he gets out of the car. It’s not that big a deal. I’m used to juggling Caylen and her diaper bag, but it’s cute. He’s much better at getting Caylen out of her seat than putting her in, but she’s sleeping so that makes it a little easier. I head toward the door of the Inn but he steps ahead of me to open the door. That’s also cute.

“Mr. Scott!”

I look back at Chris surprised.

“Amanda, Hi. A little late for you to be working isn’t it?” he says. His voice has changed; it’s deeper and a bit more authoritative. His posture’s even straightened. The girl at the desk giggles and twirls the ends of her hair. She can’t be more than seventeen and the way her face has flushed pink, I think she has a crush. Not that I blame her.

“It’s not even 9:30, and I’m not a kid,” she says with a shrug and a flirtatious smile, and for the first time, she notices me and the child he’s holding.

“Oh my God, she’s so pretty,” she says, glancing over at Caylen. She’s asleep her face resting on Chris shoulder. He walks closer to the counter and turns where she can get a better look.

“She’s adorable,” she squeals. “Is she your niece?” she asks, touching Caylen’s hand. My stomach drops. Of course, she wouldn’t think she’s his daughter. No one knows about her or me. I feel my chest tighten, wondering what he’s going to say. If he’ll be ashamed or embarrassed. I don’t think I’ll be able to take it if he is.

“She’s my daughter,” he answers proudly. The girls’ eyes widen, and I let out the breath I was holding. I didn’t expect him to say it so simply.

“Oh,” is all she can manage to say.

“This is her mother. Lauren,” he says, and she looks over at me, her mouth agape. I definitely didn’t expect him to add that.

“Hi,” she says barely above a whisper.

“We met earlier when I checked in,” I say. She looks as shocked as I am relieved. I suddenly feel light, and there’s a joy coursing through me. He hasn’t really done anything, but to hear him say that feels good. Even though I’m not really sure who she is to him, or if she’s important at all. It feels good we’re not a dirty little secret.

“Right. Room five,” she says, recovering from her initial reaction.

“Yup,” I nod.

“Did you need anything?” she says tightly.

“No I’m fine.” I shake my head and head towards the stairs to my room.

“Good night, Amanda,” Chris says to her and follows me to my room.

“See you, Mr. Scott,” she calls out after us. It’s so much easier to unlock the room when I’m not juggling Caylen. I open the door and flick on the lights.

“The rooms bigger than your last one,” he says as he comes in behind me. He noticed. The room I had the last time I was here was tiny.

“It was only an extra thirty dollars too,” I say, closing the door behind him. He stands for a bit taking everything in. There’s toys scattered about but the bed’s made and the room neat, otherwise. He walks over and sits down on the sofa. He carefully takes off Caylen’s coat so as to not wake her and then her shoes.

“You’re pretty good at this,” I say, a little surprised as I take off my own coat and shoes.

“Really?” he asks, a wide smile on his face that makes me forget what I just said.

“I’ve never been around kids this little,” he says honestly.

“Well you’re doing really well,” I tell him, fixing the space on the bed for her, and he lays her down, then kisses her on the cheek. It’s moments like these that make all the drama I’ve gone through today worth it all.

“So your first day full day as a dad. How does it feel?” I joke with him. He stuffs his hands in his jeans and smiles.

He chuckles. “Not too bad.” He gestures towards the couch.

“Sure,” I say. He sits down stretching out his long legs. I should have already offered him a seat. He’s wearing a brown pair of Timberland boots, and jeans, his big khaki jacket is back.

“So. Mr. Scott?” I ask him curiously, remembering the girl downstairs.

“Oh, Amanda. She’s a student at the school I teach at,” he says simply, and my mouth falls open.

“You’re a teacher?” I ask surprised.

“Well. A substitute, “he says modestly.

“That’s great. So you have your bachelor’s degree?” I ask him and he nods.

Wow.

Cal didn’t have any respect or interest in higher education.

“So Amanda was one of your students,” I guess.

“Yeah, I think she might have a crush on me.” He laughs. Thinks? I’m sure she and every other girl in his school.

“Yeah, I think you broke her heart when you told her you had a daughter.” I giggle, and he shrugs.

“So how are we going to do this?” he asks, adjusting his position so he’s facing me. His demeanor change is so abrupt, I’m caught off guard. “I mean with Caylen. I really want to be involved. My parents love her. I know we live pretty far apart but we can make this work right?” he asks for my assurance, and I nod.

“Yeah. Caylen has really taken to you guys. Whatever I can do to make things easier,” I say honestly. And I see the worry disappear from his face.

“Good,” he says, his eyes lighting up and it causes my stomach to do flips.

Chapter 4

Lauren

“You’re what?” Raven doesn’t even try to remove the sharpness from her voice.

“It’s just going to be three weeks. It’s not that big a deal,” I say calmly as I brush out my hair. Truth is, I’m far from calm about this. I’m nervous, a little scared, and anxious. But I can’t let Raven see that I’m unsure about this. When I talked to Chris about going back for three weeks it was so easy to say yes, looking into those warm, green eyes. They’re coaxing and intoxicating. He has a way of easing you into doing what he wants with a shy smile and bright eyes. I would have told him I’d wear a clown suit and heels just to be near him, it didn’t’ seem complicated then or like a dumb idea at all. At the time it wasn’t even a big deal, but as the time for me to go approaches, I begin to see the problem. It’s a big deal, and it’s a very big deal to Raven. She’s tapping her foot, her arms now folded across her chest as she’s standing in my bedroom.

“I don’t like this, Lauren. I really don’t like this,” she says, shaking her head. I shouldn’t have said anything, but I don’t want to feel like a child that has to sneak around and hide, especially since she’s looking at me like I’m about to be put on punishment.

“It’s not for you to like. This isn’t about you, Raven. This is what I think is best for Caylen,” I say adamantly.

“You don’t think I want what’s best for Caylen?” she asks in disbelief.

“You don’t think that I want what’s best for her?” I ask with thinly veiled sarcasm.

“I think that your judgment is a little clouded.”

And here she goes.

“I believe you should hold off on getting her so involved with Cal…”

“Chris. His name is Chris,” I interrupt her, and she rolls her eyes.

“Involved with Chris until he’s gotten some type of hold on his mental state.”

I knew this was coming. She walks near me so I can see her face in the mirror.

“He’s not dangerous, Raven. I’m not worried about him hurting her!” I say pointedly.

“What about him hurting you?” she says firmly, and I let out a sigh and look away from her gaze.

“I’m not worried about that either,” I retort.

“You can’t break what’s already broken,” I mutter under my breath as I finish my braid and tie it at the end. I stand up, and she grabs my shoulder. “Almost broken.” I roll my eyes at her and get up to put on my gym shoes.

“You’re not broken yet. I can see it in your eyes. I know you, Lauren. You haven’t given up hope.”

“What’s so bad about me having a little hope, Raven? Is it such a bad thing?” I ask her, but I know the answer to that. I just wish someone could make me feel a little better about it. Raven lets out a deep sigh, and I know she’s not going to be the one to do it.

Angela. I should have told Angela first.

“Honey. You’ve been through so much with Cal…this man. He’s put you through so much,” she says solemnly, but maybe it’s better if she yells. Anything’s better than her somberness. It makes me feel pathetic

“You know, I was a big supporter of the two of you, but he’s damaged goods. He’s in love with another woman.” First knife through my heart. “You’ve given him the ok to move on.” Second knife. “You say that he isn’t Cal and if that’s true, he doesn’t love you that way.” Screw the knife. She’s ripped out my heart and is stomping on it.

She takes my hand like it will make her words hurt less. I bite my lip, I refuse to cry. This is stuff I already know and I’ve told myself a thousand times. “I don’t want to see you get hurt any more. You need to let him go,” she says, stressing the last part.

Let him go.

She’s not the first to say it. It’s not like I haven’t thought about it. She’s right about every single thing she’s said. I just wish it was as easy to do as other people think it is.

“You said Chris wants to be a part of her life, and honey, that’s great. But just because he’s going to be a big part of Caylen’s life doesn’t mean he has to be a big part of yours.”

I take my hand away from her.

“Have you both talked about the status of your marriage, getting a di—”

I cut her off when I shoot her a warning glare.

“Please, can you just stop?!” I plead with her and let out a deep breath. She never knows when to let up. She keeps going and going and each statement feels like a brick being put on my chest.

“I want what’s best for you, Lauren. You deserve to be happy,” she says quietly before picking up Caylen and leaving the room. I throw myself onto the bed. I was heading to the gym, but now I feel like just crawling under the covers and sleeping the day away but I won’t. I might as well get prepared for this. I told Raven first about going to Madison so that Caylen can spend time with the Scotts and her dad. I still have two other people to tell. I’m so tired of defending myself and my decisions about my child to people. At the end of the day, any decision I make, I’m going to have to deal with the fallout.

Well, that’s not completely true. If I really do end up broken they’ll have to deal with the fallout of that.

I push myself up from the bed and head into the living room. Raven’s sitting on the sofa reading a book while Caylen’s on the floor playing with her toys. I steal a quick kiss from her and before I leave out the door I double back and kiss Raven on the cheek. She looks at me surprised. “I love you. I understand that you only want what’s best for me.” She smiles warmly at me and squeezes my shoulder.

“I’ll only be about an hour,” I say as I head out of the door.

HHH

After the gym, a long shower, and Chinese food, Raven and Caylen are both asleep. It’s only 7:45 p.m. I think what we ordered attributed to Raven’s early nap. Caylen is usually asleep about this time. I clean up the last of her toys scattered around the floor, and my heart skips a beat when I hear my phone buzz. It’s my favorite ringtone.

His ringtone.

I quickly finish putting Caylen’s toys in the bin and turn off the television. I grab my phone, head to my room, and flop on my bed. I don’t look at it until I’m good and comfortable.

How are you guys?

It’s very wrong that his texts are something I look forward to now. It’s been two weeks since we were with him. He sends them in the morning and usually around four. We started Skyping the day after I got back home. I think it’s helped to ease the awkwardness of the whole situation. It’s never long, only about five to ten minutes. It’s usually him talking to Caylen and me answering him about her day.

We talk through Caylen.

But the texts I look forward to them more than the skyping. They’re specifically for me. Well not really. Things like this make me feel pathetic. He didn’t say “how are my girls” or ask about me in particular, but it still makes my day.

I think about the conversation I had with Raven earlier. She’s right. God she’s right. Still I can’t shake the tingling feeling shooting up my neck, or the way my day seems to start to feel better when I get these simple texts. How did I end up like this? I know there are so many reasons I shouldn’t feel like this, why I shouldn’t let myself feel like this about them, but not one of those reasons stop the feelings that wrap around me like chains. Chains I don’t want to get rid of, but that I need to get rid of. I take a deep breath and quickly text him:

Caylen’s great

Short, direct, and to the point. Well, the smiley face was to let him know I wasn’t being a B. I want to ask him how his day was. What he did, if he thought about me, but of course I don’t ask any of those things. I grab my pillow and pull it closer to me. I think about how Cal and I used to text when we first got together. They weren’t like this though, Cal’s would start off cordial enough and ended with how good he was with his tongue and all the places he wanted to put it. Not much later he’d be at my door to show me. Then when things got bad his texts made me want to break my phone to substitute for his face. My phone alert goes off again. It’s one word.

Good.

I roll my eyes. I scold myself for being disappointed. I don’t know what I expected him to say, but the one-word reply was annoying with Cal, and with Chris, it’s no better, but Chris should only be sending me one-word replies. He has a fiancé who gets the long replies. Who gets the smile when she texts him. Those aren’t meant for me. I’m just his wife, after all. A little voice inside of me tells me that title is on borrowed time. I shuffle through my bed to find the remote to my television. When Cal was here there was never a TV in our bedroom. He said the bedroom was meant for two things, sleeping or getting put to sleep. Now the only thing puts me to sleep is usually a marathon of Property Brothers or a season of Real Housewives.

I watch about half an episode before falling asleep, and the alert goes off again. I grab it and a smile creeps across my face once I see what it says.

How are you?

I type back thinking of you and immediately erase it. He wants to know how I’m doing. That’s a first for us. A good sign, right? Or maybe he’s just being polite.

Had a good day. Nick Jr., gym, good Chinese food. What more can a girl ask for ;)

I send it and think that it was too much. Ugh. I feel like I’m in high school, overanalyzing a simple sentence. Then my alert goes off again.

One to ten. How good was the Chinese food?

I laugh at that, remembering how much he ate while I was with him last time. I quickly type out:

You sure you want to know?

UGH That GOOD Huh?

LOL. Yes. THAT Good.

Our Chinese food sucks here

I roll over on my stomach and glance at the mirror seeing the goofy smile on my face. I haven’t seen that smile in a while. I get butterflies in my stomach when the message goes off again.

Are you busy?

I wonder why he asks that?

He’s probably about to call.

No he’s not going to call me. He knows Caylen’s sleep now. Or maybe he doesn’t. Before I get hopelessly optimistic, I decide to avoid the disappointment.

Caylen’s sleep right now.

A few moments’ pass, and I’m disappointed when my alert doesn’t go off. He was texting so quickly before. I lay my head on the pillow and feel myself pouting when my door bursts open. I almost jump out of my skin.

“What’s up, hun!” It’s Hillary. Of course it is. She barges through closed doors like no one else can.

“What’s wrong? You look like you lost your best friend.” She chuckles before flopping on my bed across from me. “And, that can’t be true since I’m right here,” she says, slapping me on the butt.

“Waiting on Garret again?” I tease.

“Of course. You know I need my evening cardio.” She giggles. Hillary is one of the only women I know who manages to meet a guy wherever she goes. I’d been going to my gym for four days a week for the past year and never saw Garett. The day she goes, he’s turns out to be a new fitness trainer, tall, attractive, muscular and athletic. Hillary spotted him the moment he walked in.

“God, your bed is so amazing,” she says in an exaggerated tone.

“He’s going to get fired if they catch you guys,” I laugh.

“Don’t be a hater, Lauren. I told you, you could borrow him if you want,” she says, nudging me.

“No thanks.” I roll my eyes at her.

“I can’t believe this bed isn’t getting any action. You should let us borrow this,” she says, rolling on her stomach and lifting her wiggling butt in the air.

“Eww, Hillary you’re disgusting” I say, attempting to push her out of my bed, and my phone rings. My heart skips a beat when I see it’s Chris. He’s calling! I glance over at Hillary, who’s eyeing me suspiciously.

“Are you going to get that?” She chuckles. I cannot answer while Hillary’s here. She looks at me suspiciously.

“Oh, I’ve got to see who’s calling to get that look on your face,” she teases. We both reach for my phone, and she gets to it first. Her face immediately sets into a frown.

“Oh, Lauren. NOO,” she says. I jump off the bed to get the phone, and she moves it behind her back.

“Hillary give me my phone and a little privacy,” I demand.

“Isn’t he still with that girl?” she says pointedly.

“He’s Caylen’s dad. What does that have to do with anything?”

“He’s calling to talk to you about Caylen?” she says sarcastically.

“I don’t know because I haven’t answered the phone. Give it to me.” I grab her arm and force the phone out of her hand. It’s stopped ringing.

“Don’t do this to yourself, Lauren,” she says, whining.

“Do what? What am I doing?!”I say, throwing my hands up, exasperated. She shakes her head and folds her arms eerily similar to Raven this morning.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about. What happened to moving on, leaving the past in the past? Just having a relationship for Caylen?”

“Who says I’m not doing that?!” I laugh in disbelief. I know I’m not, but they don’t know I’m not.

“Your face says it all!” I can’t be that easy to read.

“Hun. Don’t do this. I see this going so badly, and you know if anyone knows disaster waiting to happen it’s me,” she says, pointing to herself. I roll my eyes.

“I just want to be his friend. Can I at least be his friend?” I say defensively. Hillary sighs.

“Friends, Lauren. Really? What are you going to do, be his best man at his wedding after he divorces you and marries that other chic?” I feel my breath catch in my throat and Hillary looks down at her feet guiltily.

“Okay that was harsh.” She steps towards me, and I step back. I feel tears in my eyes, and my jaw stiffen.

“You know what, Hillary, you screw a lot of guys—a whole lot of fucking guys. And you know what I think? I think it’s stupid and dangerous, and you deserve better!” I spit back at her. Her eyes narrow in on mine.

“Say what you want, but I’m happy with my life. I know exactly what I want from the men that I choose to deal with. I don’t have any secret agendas or unrealistic expectations. When things don’t work out for me it doesn’t break me. That’s the difference between us. If I fuck five guys tonight, and they don’t call me, I don’t give a flying fuck. I won’t shut down. It won’t immobilize me. If this goes wrong, can you say the same thing?” She walks to my door and turns around before she leaves.

“And FYI, what I tell you is because I care. Because you’re my best friend, not to be a bitch to you when you’re saying something I don’t want to hear,” she says quietly before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. I sit down on my bed and look at the missed call. The text alert goes off again, it’s Chris. I suddenly don’t feel as excited as I was to get a text message.

Chris

She hasn’t responded. She didn’t pick up her phone when I called either. She always responds right away whenever I text her. Usually it’s asking about Caylen, or to see if our Skype time is okay. This was different though. This time I wanted to talk to her. We haven’t really talked these past two weeks since they’ve been gone. Well when we Skype, we talk, but it’s pretty much about Caylen. Still, I watch her, how she is with Caylen, how much she loves her. I notice the way she smiles, how her hair falls in her face, the little giggle she does. Even though she’s usually wearing just a pony tail, and in sweats or a t-shirt, she’s beautiful.

I try to push thoughts like that out of my head. Every time they come, I tell myself how beautiful my fiancée is, how much I love Jenna. I tell myself that this is just curiosity or infatuation with Lauren, and it’s shallow, artificial and could ruin everything if it gets misinterpreted—if I misinterpret it.

I remind myself of that line that’s between me and Lauren. The one that’s there for a reason. That still didn’t stop me from texting her even when I knew Caylen was asleep. Or calling her to hear her voice I don’t know why or where this is coming from, but I know it needs to stop.

I’m supposed to see Jenna tomorrow for the first time since all of this happened. She stayed in Lansing for school. She’s coming up for the weekend. She sent me a text me and wants to meet once she gets back tomorrow. I hope seeing her will clear my head of all this confusion and get me back on track.

Lauren hasn’t called me back. I know there’s a plenty of reasons as to why. Maybe she fell asleep, or Caylen woke up, or she just doesn’t want to talk to me. I should call her again, just to make sure she’s okay. I stand up and let out a deep breath. I shouldn’t call her. We have nothing to talk about if it’s not about Caylen.

But really, we have everything to talk about since we really don’t know anything about each other. As parents, we should get to know each other. We should be friends. Being my daughter’s mom’s friend is okay, perfectly acceptable.

Yup, I’m calling.

I hit her name in my phone and hear the ringing tone again. It rings about four times, and I’m about to hang up when it stops.

“Hey.” Her voice is little above a whisper and flat. She sounds tired or sad, not what I was expecting from the tone of our last text.

“Is everything okay?” I ask concerned.

“Yeah, everything’s fine” she says, letting out a small sigh.

“Chinese food not turning your stomach is it?” I decide to joke, and she lets out a laugh. It makes me smile.

“I hate to tell you, but my stomach is the most satisfied part on me,” she kids back. She’s funny.

“Caylen tire you out?” I ask, feeling a little more relaxed since she seems to be in better spirits. I sit down on my bed and rest my elbow on my knee.

“Not really. My aunt Raven’s here today. I was able to get a little R&R,” she says, and I can tell from her tone that something’s bothering her.

“Then what’s wrong?” I ask her, and she’s quiet.

“What makes you think something’s wrong?” she asks after a second, and I shrug even though she can’t see it.

“It doesn’t take a genius.” I laugh to lessen the tension.

“I got into a fight with my best friend,” she says hesitantly.

“A bad one?” I guess.

“Yeah. I said something I really shouldn’t have, and I feel like a huge puppy kicker.” She sighs and I laugh.

“Are you laughing at me?” she asks, surprised.

“Puppy kicker?” I chuckle, and she pauses and then giggles.

It’s cute.

“Oh yeah. I’m sorry. Sometimes I drift into the code words I trained myself to use around Caylen. Before her, I had quite the potty mouth,” she explains, her voice is light and almost back to itself.

“What’s ‘puppy kicker’ a code word for?” I ask, lying back on my bed.

“Bitch.” She chuckles.

“Really? What other codes do you have?” I say, finding myself way too interested in this.

“Uhm. Well let’s see, poo, of course, for shit. Bottom mouth for a-hole. Diaper for douche. Frick for fuck.” She pauses at the last part and a moment of awkwardness slips in.

“Well puppy kicker is definitely the most creative,” I tease her, and I can tell she’s smiling.

“You think you could do better?” she says in a challenging tone.

“Hmm lets see. Ground licker for kiss ass, tree dung for shit, the classic darn-it for damn and for fuck, frechetta,” I rattle off.

“Did you come up with these off the top of your head, or do you secretly have a list or something?” she says, amidst laughter.

“Well let’s just say since I work with high schoolers and profanities are frowned upon, this isn’t the first time I’ve discussed code words.”

“Did you come up with freschetta because you love the pizza?”

“Of course,” I say.

It should be obvious.

“You are such a foodie!”

“Is that code word for fattie?” I ask sarcastically.

“No comment,” she says, covering up a laugh.

We talk about our favorite foods. Hers is any type of pasta. I tell her I’m easy. Steak and potatoes. She tells me about her best friends, Angela and Hillary. How she always wanted to go school in the city. She loves cats but is allergic to them, and if she had to live any other place in the world, it’d be Paris even though she’s never been. I tell her when I was younger I wanted to be a pilot. She finds it ironic that I’m afraid of heights. I joke that it’s more tragic than ironic. I tell her how even though Aidan can be a ground licker sometimes, he’s really a loyal friend. We talk about so much but avoid the obvious like her life with Cal, how I met Jenna, how things are going to go from here, but it’s nice and it’s easy, and I don’t even realize two hours have passed until Aidan texts me and asks why I’m not downstairs.

I was supposed to meet him for a run. I didn’t realize how late it had gotten, and she hadn’t either. I don’t want to get off the phone. She doesn’t seem like she wants to either, but it’s probably a good idea since it’s almost ten. I tell her goodnight, and she says not to eat too much before bed. I tell her I don’t eat that much, and we finally hang up. I feel good about our talk. No lines were crossed, and I’m much closer to being her friend than before the conversation. I throw on my shorts, gym shoes, and run down to meet Aidan. He’s like an old guy when it comes to being on time.

“Dude what the fuck? You were supposed to meet me down here twenty minutes ago?” he says, throwing his arms in the air.

“Lost track of time,” I say simply.

“And what’s with the goofy smile on your face,” he says, nudging me. I shove him back.

“Thinking about how I’m about to make wannabe Captain America eat my dust,” I say before taking off in front of him.

“So you cheat now?” he calls after me.

“Who said we were racing?” I call back to him before quickening my speed and furthering our distance.

“All that training and you’re still slower than your grandma!” I taunt him. When we reach our halfway mark, we both stop to catch our breath.

“So you seem to be in a ‘just got some’ mood today,” he jokes. I frown at him.

“You make up with Jenna?” he guesses.

“No, she’s coming home tomorrow though,” I inform him.

“You’ve been jerking off or something, then?” He laughs. I wave him off.

“You were late coming down for our run. You’re never late, and you had that just-fucked smile on your face.” He chuckles.

“You’re an idiot,” I say, sitting down on the ground.

“Hey, sometimes a man’s hand can be his best friend,” he says, flopping down next to me.

“I wasn’t jerking off. I was on the phone and lost track of time,” I say to shut him up. He gives me a disbelieving look.

“I was talking to Lauren,” I say, and a smug grin spreads across his face.

“How long were you guys on the phone?” he asks mischievously.

“Not that long,” I shrug. He gives me an incredulous look. “About two hours,” I finally admit.

“Get the fuck out!” he says, slapping me on the back.

“Dude, the only reason I stay on the phone with a girl that long is if I haven’t screwed her yet and it’ll better my chances, or she’s a hell of a dirty talker,” he laughs.

“Two hours isn’t that long.” I shrug.

“Okay, you’re right. You guys do have a lot to talk about. What did you find out?”

“Well we didn’t really talk about a lot of important stuff. I figured I’d save that for when she’s here, you know,” I say, pulling out my candy bar and opening it.

“Wait. So you were on the phone two hours just shooting the shit?” he says knowingly.

“I wouldn’t exactly call it that,” I explain hesitantly, and he starts to shake his head, chuckling.

“What?” I say as he stands up.

“You like her?” he asks, but it’s more like a statement.

“Yeah, she’s cool, and she has my kid.” I defend.

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“It’s not like that. I want to be her friend and friends should have something to talk about.”

“You and I have been friends our whole lives, and we’ve never talked on the phone like that,” he says as we start to walk back towards the house.

“Awww, what? Are you jealous”? I kid, and he laughs.

“How about you and Lisa? You guys talk that long?” he asks, folding his arms, and the only answer I have is one that will strengthen his case.

“I didn’t plan on talking to her that long,” I admit. As we start to speed up our pace.

“You better watch yourself, Scott.” He chuckles as he runs ahead of me. We end up running about two miles there, and back. Aidan wins by almost a half a block. I guess they did teach him something in the army.

“I’m starving,” he says as he catches his breath.

“Me too,” I reply as walk the rest of the distance between us, inhaling as much air as I can.

“Let’s go get some burgers,” he says, grabbing a water bottle off my porch and downing it.

“I want breakfast.”

“You always want breakfast it’s almost eleven at night,” he says, whining like a four year old.

“We can grab some burgers, and I can drop you off and get to my next workout plan for the evening,” he says with a wink.

“I’m going to go fry some bacon,” I say, heading into the house.

“Screw it. Throw me on some eggs,” he relents, following me.

“So what’s this one’s name?” I ask as I open the door.

“Rachel, and the body on th—” he stops mid-sentence as we see Jenna sitting at the kitchen table with her hands folded.

“Jenna,” I say happily.

“I figured you’d gone out on your run,” she replies quietly, a barely-there smile on her face.

“Hey Aidan,” she says, throwing a quick glance his way.

“What’s up, Jenna?” he responds back dryly. The two have never really warmed up to each other. Jenna thinks he’s a chauvinistic pig. Aidan thinks she’s high-strung and boring so we all never have hung out much. I look and back at Aidan.

“Rain check on breakfast,” I say, and he nods quickly, heading out the door. I lock it behind him and see Jenna’s stood up. I lean back against the door, and we both stare at each other for a couple of seconds. I want to pull her towards me and hug her, but her expression is stoic, and I’m unsure how to approach her.

“When did you get back?” I ask her hesitantly. I search for the ring on her finger, and I don’t see it there. My heart drops.

“This afternoon. You want to sit down?” she asks, gesturing towards the seat across from her. I nod and pull out the chair across from her. She’s rubbing her hands together, and I take a chance and pull hers into mine. She lets out a breath.

“Where’s your ring?” I ask her quietly. Her eyes watch my hands as they embrace hers.

“I still have it. I just haven’t decided where to put it yet,” she replies and her hands slip out of mine. “So how are things?” she asks her blue eyes surveying me. When my mom was sick, they were the only things that made me feel better. They were piercing and stern. She didn’t allow me to wallow in self-pity. Her stare can be intimidating, one that’s going to be really useful for her once she’s a lawyer. I’m used to it, but this time it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I shift in my seat and try to choose my words carefully. I didn’t expect to see her tonight. I thought I’d have time to prepare, now all my thought’s seem jumbled and crowding each other. Like if I speak right now, only gibberish will come out. She’s waiting for me to answer. It’s been at least almost a minute and her stare is cutting into me. I feel like I’m on the witness stand.

“Did you hear me?” she asks, irritation evident in her tone.

“Well…” That’s all that comes out of my mouth, and she bites her lip.

“How was your visit with…” She lets out a deep sigh and smiles tightly. “Your daughter.” She forces the words out like she’s chewing broken glass. She stands up and then turns away from me and smooths her hair with her hands as she laughs nervously. “I’ve been practicing how to say that without sounding like a complete bitch all day.”

I laugh, but not at her but because I can’t get the word puppy kicker out of my head.

“It’s not funny, Chris,” she snaps me back to the present, her eyes downcast.

“We don’t have to talk about that right now,” I say, approaching her. She doesn’t step back this time. I put my hands on her waist and then she moves away. I scratch my head.

“No. It’s important. Right?” she says pointedly.

“Yeah.” I nod my head.

“I know, you’re ecstatic. I know how much you want kids.” She says the last part quietly.

“She’s the silver lining in all of this.” I shrug, and she doesn’t say anything for a minute.

“Does she look like you?” she asks, and she sits back down. I know talking about this isn’t easy for her, but she’s good at hiding how she feels when she wants to. She wants me to think she’s okay with this, and really, if there’s any chance for us she has to be okay with Caylen. So it gives me a little hope that she’s trying to be. I pull out my phone and scroll through the pictures Lauren’s sent me of her and choose my favorite one. I cautiously hand the phone to Jenna. She takes a small breath before taking it, and when she sees the picture, she closes here eyes after just a second. She rests her head in her palm as she stares at the picture again before she hands the phone back to me.

“She’s beautiful,” she says quietly. I take the phone back and think of whether to say thank you or not.

“She look just like you,” she adds tightly, then sighs. “Can you get me some water?” she chokes out. I open the refrigerator and grab a bottle of water and hand it to her. I notice her hands shaking a little. She takes a drink and sets it down as she lets out another deep breath.

“I—I want you to meet her. When you’re ready,” I say hesitantly.

Her eyes widen. “Not ready,” she replies quickly, then lifts her head up.

“Don’t they live in Chicago?” she asks, and I nod. She looks a little relieved when I tell her that, but I might as well get all of this out of the way at once.

“She’s coming back this weekend,” I tell her, and the relief that she had a few seconds ago has disappeared.

“Are you going to pick her up?” She says the words so quickly I have to remember how to answer her question.

“No, Lauren’s going to bring her.”

Her eyes immediately narrow in on mine. “Why? Why can’t you just pick her up and bring her here?” she asks bluntly.

“Well, she’s only a year old, and has never been away from Lauren that long. She’s still getting to know us,” I say as if it’s obvious, and her eyes grow wide.

“How long are they going to be here?” she asks sharply.

“Just for two or three weeks,” I say quickly. She runs her hands over her face.

“Have you asked her about the divorce?” she asks abruptly. I’m caught off guard. I guess I shouldn’t be. I know it’s something—well one of the first things—I probably should have talked to her about. Jenna’s definitely not going to like that it wasn’t. It’s just with so much going on…

“I’m going to,” I say firmly.

“That means you haven’t!” she says, her tone rising.

“It’s just so much has been going on,” I try to explain. I can see her anger rising exponentially.

“What has been going on to keep you from making this a priority? Have you even found a new doctor yet?” she asks sharply, interrupting me, and I can only look away from her.

“I’ve been looking for one, but it turns out Dr. Lyce is one of the best,” I say, ignoring her burning stare.

“Have you made an appointment to see her?” she asks angrily. She’s on a roll, and when she gets on a roll she doesn’t stop.

“No, I don’t know if I want to see her after everything,”

“Then what the hell are you doing?” she yells at me.

“I’m trying to figure everything out!” I snap back.

“What is there to figure out? If you want a divorce, you ask her for it. If you want a new, doctor you find one.” Her hands are balled up, and she’s shaking. “How fucking dare you ask me where my ring is, and you haven’t even asked your ‘wife’ for a divorce?” she says, thumping me in the chest with her finger punctuating each word. Her eyes are wide and full of angry tears, and I realize how right she is.

“Is everything okay?” my mom appears in the kitchen standing in her robe. Jenna’s eyes narrow in on me before turning towards my mom.

“I’m sorry I was so loud, Mrs. Scott,” she apologizes quietly.

“It’s okay Jenna, do you guys need anything?” she asks, glancing at me, and I smile tightly.

“No. Chris was just going to walk me to my car now,” she says, heading towards the door. “Have a good night Mrs. Scott,” she says before leaving. I let out a sigh. My mom looks at me sympathetically before I follow Jenna out. She’s already at her car, her arms folded across her chest. She’s not in it, so that means she’s not done.

I walk over to her and stand an arm’s length away from of her.

“You’re right. I’m just trying to make this right for everyone.” It’s dark out so I can’t really see her facial expression but if I had to guess, I’d say she’s rolling her eyes.

“You like things to be easy, Chris. You try to make everything easy for everyone, and this just isn’t going to be a situation where things are going to be like that,” she says, closing the space between us. I take her in my arms, and she rests her head on my chest.

“I’m going to ask her. I just don’t want to spring it on her. She knows that it’s going to happen. I just want us to get to a good place with us and Caylen, and then we can go from there.”

“It’s not springing it on her!” She pulls back from me and lets out a deep, frustrated groan. “You said that she was letting the past go. She knows you’re engaged, you can’t marry me while you’re married to her. So she’s either letting you go or she’s hoping for something different. You can’t let her keep holding on, that’s going to make all of this worse!” she says frantically. “You can’t let this guy control your life. Start making your own decisions.” She’s adamant, and she’s right. As long as I’m married to Lauren he—Cal—still has a hold on me. His actions still supersede mine.

I’ll be her friend, and she’ll see that we can be friends and have a relationship for Caylen.

“I’ll tell her before she goes back to Chicago,” I say mostly to myself, ignoring the tightening in my chest and the growing tension in my head.

“And I think I should meet Caylen while they’re here,” she says, looking up at me with a small hopeful smile. I feel good about this and ignore the feeling that came before.

Chapter 5

Lauren

Tell me what you want….

Everything…

I hate this feeling. The nervousness, the anxiousness that starts in my stomach and spreads everywhere. I want it to go away. I want to feel fine about all of this, but something’s tugging at my thoughts, suggesting that I’m about to fall down the rabbit hole.

I had another dream about Cal last night, it was the first night we had ever slept together. Everything happened as it did that night except after he asked me what I wanted, when I told him everything, he told me I couldn’t have it.

I couldn’t have everything and not to get my hopes up.

I woke up after that, before it even got to the good part. I haven’t had any of the good part in…I don’t even want to think about how long that’s been. What I have been thinking about is the last time I talked to Chris. How we talked for almost two hours and it passed like minutes. It was the first time where the butterflies settled in my stomach, where there was no nervousness or anxiousness. He talked to me like a friend. I don’t think Cal and I ever talked like friends.

Just friends.

I’ve been trying to not think of Cal since this all happened. I know focusing on him is the wrong thing to do but I can’t help it. I miss him, but I am so angry at him, for letting this happen, for never just telling me the truth.

Then again, this whole thing is pretty unbelievable. If he told me when we first met, I probably would have headed for the hills, but once I fell in love with him, it wouldn’t have mattered. It would have been so much easier if he had just told me. It wouldn’t have been the long sleepless nights worried about him and where he was because I would have known. Then again, Chris didn’t even know what was going on. I wonder how all that would have worked out, but it’s no use thinking about it now. It hurts too much. You think it’d be harder for me to not think of him when I’m around Chris, but it isn’t as hard. He and Cal are so different it’s easier to believe when I can see the difference. It’s when I’m not around Chris that I start analyzing everything. Thinking of what it means when he’s not around. If he’ll ever come back, if it was him who winked at me and called me gorgeous, if it even happened at all.

I’ve started to look up things about the condition and to see how many people live this every single day. Some have as many as ten or twenty alters. The word alter makes me cringe though. To condense a person into an ‘alter,’ their life, their hopes, and their loves—I guess that’s because I fell in love with one. Chris hasn’t talked to me about seeing anyone about his condition. He mentioned he didn’t trust his prior doctor, not that I blame him. I want to ask when he’ll be doing that, but I guess since Cal hasn’t attempted to resurface, it’s not his priority right now. I don’t even know if he thinks it should be my concern. It’s when I start to think of things like this that the anxiety in the pit of my stomach starts and won’t go away.

I try to think these three weeks are going to be smooth, that Caylen and the Scott’s will spend lots of time together and Chris and I will have a better understanding of one another and everything will be sunshine and roses, but for some reason as I approach their door, I don’t think it’s going to be that easy.

In these three weeks, a lot of questions are going to have to be answered. That may not be easy. We’re going to have to come up with solutions that aren’t simple to come up with, but for this to work, we’re going to have to face them.

It’s one o’clock in the afternoon, and Chris actually got called into work today. He asked me if I wanted him to not go in but I didn’t think it was necessary. He should be home soon anyway. What I didn’t expect was for Mrs. Scott to ask for me to come over as soon as I made it. I’m halfway up the steps before she opens the door a wide grin on her face.

“Hi, Princess!” she says as she rushes over to me and takes Caylen out of my arms.

“I’m so glad you guys made it safely, how was your drive?” she says, giving me a quick glance and a warm smile. She never takes her attention away from Caylen for very long. If it was anyone else I’d take offense, but with Mrs. Scott I know she means well.

“It was good. She slept most of the way,” I say, following her into the house.

“She’s such a good little girl,” she coos to her as we head into the kitchen. The smell of chocolate chip cookies greets us.

“I baked these just for you,” she says to Caylen. I hope I can at least have one.

“You don’t mind do you, Lauren?” she asks hesitantly.

“Only if I can have one,” I joke, and she laughs.

“Please, especially before Chris gets home. He can eat the whole batch by himself,” she says as she gives Caylen a half of a cookie and hands me the plate. Like everything else she’s cooked, they’re delicious.

“I’m so glad you guys are here and I have a surprise to show you.” She picks Caylen up off the counter and gestures for me to follow her. She leads me to a room with a closed door.

“I hope you like it,” she says before opening it. When she does, she reveals a beautifully decorated little girl’s room. There’s a full-sized bed with a beautiful pink and white down comforter, matching curtains and on the white walls are pink flower decals. There’s a white dresser, and beside it a bookshelf stocked with children’s books, and a lounge chair with a teddy bear as big as I am. She puts Caylen down and she immediately makes her way over to the bear. I’m literally speechless. I can’t believe she did all of this in two weeks.

“You like it?” she asks with a nervous smile, and I feel tears in my eyes. I blink them away quickly.

“I can’t believe you did all of this.” I say as I make my way around it. It’s the perfect little girl’s room. Caylen has a beautiful room back home, but the attention to detail Mrs. Scott put into this for a little girl she’s only met once—my little girl—lets me know without a doubt she’s been accepted into their hearts.

“That means you like it?” She chuckles. I nod. “I hope this wasn’t too much of an inconvenience?” I ask still taking everything in.

“Well, this used to be my crafts room. Whenever I do crafts I typically I end up in the living room or at the kitchen table so it really was just a storage room, and the moment you showed me Caylen’s picture I knew it would be hers. You really like it?” she asks genuinely.

“I love it.” I giggle. Caylen’s taken her cookie and is trying to feed it to the bear.

“Oh, Caylen, you’re going to get it all dirty,” I sigh, taking the cookie from her hand.

“You can get it as messy as you like. This is all for you and your mommy,” she says, sitting beside Caylen who has started to pull books off the shelves. Wait. What did she just say?

“Excuse me?” I ask her, making sure I heard her right.

“Well that’s why I purchased a full-sized bed,” Mrs. Scott says, not taking her eyes off Caylen.

“I was just thinking it would be a little silly for you to stay at the hotel for three entire weeks, not to mention how expensive that is when we have a perfectly good room for you,” she says, and my stomach feels as if I was just thrown off a high rise building. My mouth is dry I’m trying to use my words. They should come out but none do. She can’t be serious, I can’t stay here. I’m growing accustomed to the fact that Chris isn’t Cal, and when I’m with him, I’m reminded more of that, but he still has his face and his voice and I don’t know if I can take on all that 24/7.

“I really appreciate the thought but…I—I don’t know if that would be such a great idea Mrs. Scott,” I laugh, running my hands through my hair nervously.

“It’s a great idea, isn’t it Caylen?” she says happily, and I sigh. When she finally looks at me, her wide smile softens.

“Well in the daytime, I’m the only one here, really. William is out handling things for the farm, and Chris is teaching or at the community center. I won’t be much of a bother to you, I promise,” she says, giving me an assuring smile. I still shake my head.

“And since she’s only going to be here for three weeks, I’d love to spend as much time with her as I possibly can and the same thing goes for Chris and William. We’re a small town, but I’d feel terrible knowing that the two of you were in a hotel, eating fast food and junk food when you can have dinner with us,” she continues, and I wonder if she really doesn’t get it? Doesn’t she realize I’m in love with her son? That I’m trying really hard not to be in love with him, and being in such close proximity doesn’t help that much?

“And thinking of how much gas you and Chris will waste going back and forth, it just doesn’t seem logical,” she continues. It’s funny that her argument is that the logical thing to do would be to stay here. If only logic was involved, it would make sense, but there are so many other things besides logic involved here. My mind is saying to logically decline, stay at the Inn, and thank her again for the lovely room she created for Caylen. But the other part of me, the emotional and hopeful part of me says to say thank you and hug her and pretend it’s not a big deal.

“It’s only three weeks Lauren,” she says with a warm smile that makes me feel like this is a great idea and that everything is going to be fine. Then that bitter, nervous, pessimistic side of me uses her words against her.

It’s only three weeks. That’s all you get.

“What did Chris say about this?” I ask, starting to hug myself. If he’s okay with it then I’m staying, if she hesitates for even a second on her answer it’s off to the Ritter Inn I go.

“Chris thinks it’s a fantastic idea,” she says fluidly as she lifts Caylen up in the air.

Fantastic idea…Well, it looks like I’m staying.

Chris

“You told her what?”

My mom smiles sheepishly. I should have known something was up when I saw her practically run out of the house as I pulled up.

“Well honey, when you think about it, it doesn’t make sense for them to stay over there all alone when they could be here with us,” she explains simply, and I let out a deep breath and grab my head. Jenna’s going to kill me. She’s going to kill me.

“You didn’t mention this to me when we finished Caylen’s room. You didn’t ask me at all, and you lied to her and told her it was my idea?” I say tightly, and she sighs.

“I didn’t say it was your idea. I said you thought it was a fantastic idea,” she clarifies, and I begin pacing.

“Mom, this isn’t good,” I say with a nervous laugh. “What did dad say?” I know he couldn’t have agreed to this.

“Your father doesn’t know yet but don’t worry about him. He will see the logic in this as well once I explain it to him.”

Oh, great. Dad doesn’t know. This is going to go so well.

“Chris, what is the issue with her staying here?” she asks as if she doesn’t get it. I really don’t have a problem with Lauren staying here, and it does make sense that she would stay, but I know for sure Jenna is definitely not going to see her staying here as a purely logical decision.

“Mom, have you forgotten about Jenna? Things are pretty rocky right now, and I’m just starting to get back on her good side. This isn’t going to help me with her at all,” I say, looking her directly in the eyes.

“Christopher, she’s not staying in the same room with you. She’ll be on an entirely different floor. Caylen is going to be your daughter a lot longer than this little visit. Jenna will have to be able to trust you around her mother alone,” she says, and I let out a groan. How can she not see Jenna’s side in this at all, or not care? It’s not my like my mom to be so one-sided…unless. I turn to look at her and survey her expression.

“Do you not like Jenna, Mom?” I ask her genuinely, and for a second her expression goes blank. “You don’t like her,” I state in disbelief, and she shakes her head.

“I didn’t say that, honey.” she states adamantly, but just from that look I can see it. Great. My mom doesn’t like the woman I want to marry and never bothered to say anything about it.

“Regardless if you like her or not, you have to admit this isn’t fair to her at all. How am I going to explain this?” I ask her, and she lets out a little huff.

“Blame me. Tell her it was all my idea. I will not allow my only grandchild to spend three weeks in a hotel when she could be here with me. I won’t allow it, Christopher,” she says sternly.

“She’ll think you don’t like her, and she can’t think that, especially now, Mom?” This is bad, really bad.

“Honey, I told Lauren you’d bring their bags in from the car, that was the reason I came out here,” she interrupts my thoughts and hands me Lauren’s keys. I’m going to have to think of something. I can’t tell Lauren she has to leave, and it does make sense that she stays here.

Jenna’s logical. It’ll be fine.

It’s all going to be fine. My mom’s right. After these three weeks, Lauren’s not going to disappear. There are going to be times when we’re together—alone, even—and it’ll be cool because during these three weeks, we’re going to become friends. I’ll honestly be able to say to anyone that asks that she’s just my friend. I take a deep breath and retrieve the two suitcases and duffle bag out of the back of Lauren’s car. I can’t ignore the excited feeling I have knowing they’re going to be here for almost a month. I’m nervous, and I know there’s going to be hard things we’ll need to deal with, but it won’t be all hard, bad, or uncomfortable.

Everything’s going to be good.

“Everything’s going to be good,” I mutter to myself as I enter the house through the kitchen. Things are looking up already. My mom has a plate of chocolate chip cookies waiting on me. I make my way to Caylen’s room and see her playing with the dollhouse my dad put together for her.

“Hey there,” I say as I put down the bags. She has a doll in one hand and a cookie in the other. She starts to laugh. I pick her up.

“Can we share your cookie?” I ask her, and she starts to put it in my mouth. Too bad it’s soaked with drool.

“Hey.” I turn around and see Lauren standing in the doorway. She’s wearing an oversized white sweater and jeans, her hair up in a ponytail, and I feel the same excitement I did when I first saw her, except this time she has a wide, warm smile on her face. My god, she’s beautiful. But so is Jenna.

Jenna is beautiful, and you love Jenna.

“How was your trip?” I ask her as I sit down on the rocking chair my mom picked out for the room.

“Good,” she nods, and her wide smiles changes. She quickly looks over her shoulder and closes the door behind her.

“I know your mom said you thought this was a fantastic idea, but I just wanted to make sure that this is really okay with you?” she asks hesitantly, her hand gripping her wrist. She looks nervous and even though she just met my mother, she clearly sees that this was a desperate grandmother’s scheme.

Still the moment she walked into the room while I was holding Caylen, my feelings changed.

“I can’t think of any other place I’d rather you guys be than here,” I tell her, and her eyes widen a little and she lets out a breath. Maybe I shouldn’t have used those exact, words but that’s what I was thinking, and it just came out.

“How do you like the room?” I say quickly, wanting to change the topic.

“I love it. It was really sweet of you all,” she says a shyly. I can’t believe I make her shy but I do. I wonder if I make her feel as nervous as she makes me.

“My mom picked everything out. My dad and I put it all together and everything.” I chuckle.

“Your dad’s okay with me staying here?” she asks quietly as if someone is going to walk into the closed room.

“No one asks him about anything around here,” I joke, and she laughs tilting her head back showcasing her big dimples. I try to command my heartbeat to stop speeding up. There’s a knock on the door that startles her. I guess she’s forgotten she closed it. She opens it, and my mom is standing there with a nervous smile.

“What’s up mom?” I ask. the expression on her face worrying me.

“Chris, can I steal you for a moment?” she asks. Lauren looks at me worriedly.

“Okay,” I say calmly and give Lauren a reassuring smile. I release Caylen to the teddy bear she’s beating up. When I’m out the room, she closes the door behind me.

“Jenna’s just pulled up outside,” she informs me nervously. Oh crap.

“Did you tell her to come today?” she asks timidly. I nod. I did tell her to come today but I didn’t think she’d come right now.

“Did you tell Lauren Jenna was coming today?” she asks tightly

Nope.

My mom lets out a nervous sigh.

“Chris, with this many women in your life, you’re going to have to learn to communicate a little better.” She sighs. It’s not a communication problem, more like a procrastination problem.

“I think you should let Lauren know that Jenna’s about to arrive,” she says, pointing me back to the room. I’ll go and let Jenna in the house. She shakes her head before leaving me standing next to the door looking like an idiot.

I am an idiot.

I should have talked to Lauren about this a while ago, but it can’t be that big a deal. She knows about Jenna and that eventually she’ll have to meet Caylen.

It’ll be fine.

I let out a deep sigh before going in. When I enter, she’s unpacking her suitcase. She glances up at me curiously.

“What’s up?” she asks knowingly. I must look how I feel.

“I wanted to have a chance to talk to you about this first but…well, Jenna’s here to meet Caylen,” I say and swallow the lump in my throat. She drops the shirt she was folding, and I can tell her breathing has changed. She doesn’t look at me. She keeps her eyes on the shirt she was folding. If I didn’t feel like an ass before, I definitely do now. Her face is flushed, and I know it’s not from embarrassment or maybe it is. The first time I saw her face flushed that color, Cal was the cause. This time I can’t blame on him. This is strictly because of me.

“She’s here now?” Her sentence is quick but choppy.

“Yeah,” I nod. The next few seconds are more than awkward. I have a feeling Lauren’s burning holes in the shirt she’s staring at to keep from burning holes in my face. There’s an eerie silence until Caylen starts hitting one of her books on the floor. This seems to snap Lauren from her trance.

“Just give me a few minutes to clean her up okay,” she replies picking up Caylen and taking the soggy chocolate chip cookie from her hand. Before I head back out the door I turn back around to face her.

“Thanks Lauren.” She glances up at me with tight smile as she starts to wipe Caylen’s mouth. When I close the door, I let out a deep breath and pray this goes as smooth as possible. It can’t be any worse than the last time they met.

Hopefully.

Chapter 6

Lauren

I’m an idiot. I can’t believe I’ve been so stupid. I don’t know why—probably because I am an idiot—but a part of me sort of thought things were about to change. Initially, I thought us staying here was a ploy his mom used to have more time with Caylen, but when he said that there was no place he’d rather us be, I thought there was a chance.

A chance that maybe Chris could see me the way Cal did. Now I know there is no chance of that. I couldn’t even unpack one bag before that little delusion crumbled down around me. I should have expected this, I really should have.

Like Raven said, I told him I was leaving the past behind, and he’s engaged to another woman, a woman that would eventually have to meet Caylen. His life hasn’t stopped moving forward.

I’m still the foolish girl Cal left waiting for him, and I’m still waiting, the only one waiting apparently. Jenna’s no longer going to be the strange woman I saw once, she’s going to be a part of all this. She’s not waiting on anything since she wants to meet Caylen already, and if she’s meeting Caylen, she has no intention of going anywhere. Somewhere in me, I was hoping the craziness of this situation would run her off in the other direction, but apparently she’s just as stupid as I am and is in this for the long haul. How am I supposed to face her? How do you make nice and pretend to be cordial with a woman who has the man you’re in love with? I’ve done a lot of fake smiling and pretending, but I’m not a good enough actress to pull this off. But I have to try because there’s no way they’re taking Caylen anywhere alone.

Call me selfish or overprotective, but until I get to know this woman, that’s not happening. Which means I’ll have to get to know this woman.

“Poo! Poo! Poo!” I mutter to myself. Caylen’s oblivious to all this, thank God. I’ve cleaned up her face that was smeared with chocolate and cookie crumbs and dress her in a cute little yellow romper. She looks adorable again. I’ve been done getting her ready at least five minutes, but I’m glued to the bed. How am I going to go out there and not let this woman see that I’m in love with this man? She’s going to see it. Chris is the only one oblivious to it, or he just doesn’t care. I pick up Caylen and remind myself why I’m here. I’m not here for me, I’m really not here for Chris or even Cal. I’m here so that my daughter can have a relationship with her dad that is as normal as possible, and if he wants this woman—the woman he plans on spending the rest of his life with—to meet her…

The more I try to talk myself into this, the more I’m being pushed deeper into a black hole. I smile down at Caylen and kiss her on the cheek before opening the door. I can hear them in the dining room. She’s talking about school. She says something about her law professor, and I swallow the lump in my throat and practice my fake smile that seems to morph into a feeble grin as I enter the room.

Chris looks relieved, like someone just lifted the weight of the world from his shoulders. Maybe he thought I wasn’t really coming out. Mrs. Scott gives me a reassuring smile, and then I see Jenna. There’s no smile on her face, but her eyes narrow in on mine and she sits up straighter in her chair. Her gaze is on me. She hasn’t even attempted to look at Caylen. She’s studying me, and she’s not even trying to hide it. The practiced smile I was wearing, has fallen completely. I’m really straining for it to not fall into a full-blown frown.

We’re complete opposites, she has platinum blonde hair falling neatly to her shoulders and piercing blue eyes. Her eye lashes are long and her eyebrows are the same color as her hair so she’s definitely a real blonde. She has on a taupe cashmere sweater with an elaborate a gold pin. When my eyes land on her hand there it is, the engagement ring. I don’t know if she notices where my eyes land, but I swear her lips curve into a smile and the chill that was on her disappears as she stands up.

“Can I hold her?” she says sweetness dripping from her voice. My eyes dart to Chris who seems a little surprised. My immediate response is “hell no” but thank God my filter is working. Unfortunately, I’m frozen. My mouth won’t open, and my limbs won’t move.

“Is that okay, Lauren?” Chris asks, clearing his throat. I finally manage to walk over to Chris and hand Caylen to him. He sits her on his lap, she immediately starts reaching for the cookies in the middle of the table. Chris looks at Caylen adoringly.

“She’s definitely yours,” Jenna says with a chuckle and I let out a very dry laugh. Is that supposed to be a joke?

“Hi, there. I’m Jenna” she says, leaning forward as she watches Caylen eat her cookie. I want to throw up.

“She’s beautiful, Chris,” she says, touching one of her pigtails, and I wonder how long I should stand here before she acknowledges I’m in the room.

“Lauren, you always dress her so adorably,” Mrs. Scott says, and I try to force a smile but none comes. “Don’t you think, Jenna?” she says, obviously attempting to give Jenna a hint.

“It’s very pretty,” she says flatly, keeping her eyes on Chris and Caylen, and I feel my cheeks start to burn. She’s doing this on purpose, not acknowledging me. The same way Mr. Scott did. Caylen’s a packaged deal with Chris that I’m not included in.

“You know Katie was saying our wedding colors should be yellow and white, but I thought it was too simple. I’m thinking of something more chic like taupe.” She glances up at me. Chris’s face flushes, and I feel my throat starting to burn.

“I think yellow is a beautiful color,” Mrs. Scott says, I try to ignore the mounting pressure in my head.

“We took Caylen to the zoo last time they were here. She loves animals just like I do,” Chris interrupts, trying to ease the tension in the room.

“Would a one year-old even know what’s going on at the zoo?” she asks in a playful tone, but it comes off condescending to me. Is she really trying to offend me?

“I think we all had a nice time,” I say. I don’t realize the edge in my voice until their heads jerk in my direction. Chris looks nervous, Mrs. Scott smiles at me warmly, while Jenna gives me a mirthless grin.

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” she says innocently, but her tone is far from apologetic.

“Jenna’s not really a kid person.” Chris chuckles nervously, and she gives him an offended look.

“What does that mean?” she asks sharply.

“I just meant you’re not really around kids much.” He throws up his hands in defense.

“Just because I don’t want to have a thousand of them doesn’t mean kids don’t like me,” she says, rolling her eyes at him, and at that moment it’s solidified; I don’t like Jenna. Her attitude makes me feel a whole better about the fact that I want my husband; her fiancé.

“I’m sure Caylen and I will get along just fine,” she says, reaching for Caylen, who goes to her pretty easily I hate to say.

“See,” she retorts to Chris, and her eyes dart to mine as if she knew about the secret bet I placed on Caylen not going to her.

“So, Lauren, you’re from Chicago?” she asks, finally acknowledging my presence in the room.

“Yeah.” I decide not to correct that I’m really from Michigan.

“She grew up in Saginaw,” Chris adds, and she doesn’t look pleased that he added the information.

“It’s such a small world, isn’t it?” Mrs. Scott adds.

“It must have been inconvenient to drop everything and come here, I imagine, and you’re staying for three weeks?” she asks as Caylen starts to wiggle in her arms. She’s going for the cookies.

“No, not really. I’m a free-lance editor so I can work from pretty much anywhere?” I answer as I see Caylen successfully grabbing a cookie.

“She’s an artist too,” Chris adds, and the glare she gives him makes him look down.

“I’m sure she can speak for herself, Christopher,” she says tightly. I make my way to the table and take a seat since it seems like I’m being interviewed. She’s the one who’s going to be around my daughter.

“What type of work do you do?” she asks as Caylen starts to suck on her cookie.

“I haven’t done any in a while,” I say shortly. “What is that you do?” I ask and see Chris starting to run his hands nervously through his hair.

“I’m in law school. My last semester,” she says proudly. That explains it.

“Congratulations,” I say, trying my best to seem friendly.

“Jenna comes from a family of lawyers,” Chris interrupts, and I smile pretending to be interested and wonder how long it’s going to take before Caylen’s cookie crumbs and chocolate are going to be all over that beautiful sweater Jenna’s wearing. The evil part of me wants to see how she reacts, but seeing how nervous Chris is, I decide to give him a break.

“You want me to take her?” I offer.

“She’s fine,” Jenna says adamantly.

Okay.

“One of my mother’s firms is based in Chicago. Klaron and Franklin?” she asks as if I’ve heard of it.

“I’ll keep that in mind if I ever need one,” I reply, and she opens her mouth to say something else, but Chris takes her hand and squeezes it. And I feel like my heart sink. Don’t look affected. Don’t look affected. It helps that Jenna seems more irritated by the gesture than pleased about it. Then she glances down at her cashmere sweater that now has a big chocolate stain accompanied by drool and she looks absolutely disgusted.

“Oh, Caylen. Look what you did,” I say in a faux-scolding tone.

“Oh, I have a towel.” Mrs. Scott comes over with a wet cloth.

“It’s just chocolate,” Chris says, and she cuts her eyes at him. I reach for Caylen, and this time she doesn’t hesitate to hand her to me.

“Here, let me help,” Mrs. Scott says.

“No, no. It’ll just smudge. It’s dry clean only,” she snaps. “She probably shouldn’t have been eating that anyway. Isn’t that be bad for her teeth?” she asks with derision.

“I think Lauren made an exception since I made them.” Mrs. Scott smiles at me.

“Her first batch of Grandma’s homemade cookies is a special occasion,” I say simply and return Mrs. Scott’s smile. Is she really giving me nutritional advice about my daughter?

“I’ll give you one of my shirts to wear for dinner,” Chris says.

“Actually, I’m not staying,” she replies, and I thank God. Chris looks surprised; I, on the other hand. am thrilled.

“We had my dad’s fundraising dinner,” she says quietly.

“Oh, I forgot about that,” Chris says guiltily. She sighs. “Of course you did.”

“Lauren, do you mind if we talk outside for a bit?” she asks and both Chris and Mrs. Scott look as shocked as I feel.

“Sure,” I say.

“I’ll take her,” Mrs. Scott offers, and I hand Caylen over to her. Chris eyes Jenna, and she smirks.

“We won’t be long,” she says before giving him a quick peck on the lips. She turns towards me.

“Ready?” she asks, and I restrain the disgusted sigh that is begging to be released. I don’t know Jenna, but from what I gather about her from the brief time I’ve been around her, is that she likes to be in control. I think about Chris and wonder if he’s easy to control. He and Cal are almost exact opposites. Since Cal was completely uncontrollable Chris must be completely controllable and what she does to Chris would never fucking fly with Cal.

“I’m just going to get to the point,” she says, looking me directly in the eye. I can tell already this is going to be a fun conversation.

“Chris is a simple man. That’s one of the things I love about him. He wants to do what’s best for everyone. If he’s doing that, he’s happy and that makes me happy,” she says wryly. Then she walks closer to me.

”Things can be easy between us or they can be hard. Chris wants things to be easy, so I’d like things to be easy too,” she says, and I can hear the authority in her voice, which is laughable because Chris is a grown man, and she definitely doesn’t have any authority over me.

“Well, whether they’re easy for you or not isn’t my concern, Jenna. I’m here for Caylen. That’s my main priority,” I say bluntly, and her eyes widen. I don’t think she’s used to someone being as blunt with her as she is with everyone else.

“It’s funny that you say that because I have a sneaking suspicion that isn’t the only reason you’re here,” she says, sliding down from her perch on the railing.

“I think you want my fiancé,” she says bluntly, and I let out a laugh. The grown up thing is to tell Jenna that this conversations over, but I’m not feeling very mature today.

“You mean my husband,” I reply back and the grin disappears.

“Look. I don’t know what your relationship with ‘Cal’ was like. I don’t really care. I’m going to be Chris’s wife very soon, and I’d really appreciate it if you wouldn’t try to use your daughter as a pawn,” she says. My cheeks warm and I bite my lip. She has to be baiting me, wanting me to flip out and be the crazy woman like last time. Then she can show Chris that I’m an overemotional lunatic. I’m not going to do that, though.

“I’m not going anywhere, Lauren. Chris is too nice to say this to you, but we were in love before we knew you existed. It’s not fair, but I’m here to stay. The sooner you come to terms with that, the better it will be for everyone. Including Caylen.”

“Well, until you are his wife, I think the parenting conversations will stay between Chris and me. Thank you, though,” I say, wearing my practiced smile like a champ. At that moment, Mr. Scott walks up. He looks between us, the tension obviously thick.

“Ladies,” he says, giving me a nod. I can’t help but notice that Jenna gets an actual smile.

“Mr. Scott, will you send Chris out? Lauren, I think we’re done.” She says the last part dismissively.

“I’ll do that,” he says. I follow Mr. Scott into the house, glancing behind me at her before closing the door.

“Is everything okay?” He sort of grunts, glancing up at me momentarily as he looks at his mail.

“Peachy,” I say tightly.

He smirks at me before heading off to pass on Jenna’s message and leaves me standing in the living room. He’s such a prick. I quickly head into the bathroom, avoiding Mrs. Scott and Chris, who I hear in the kitchen still talking. I try to stop myself from pacing the small space but I’m trying to bring my anger down ten notches. I cannot believe that Chris could care about somebody like that. She’s such an arrogant bitch! Then she had the audacity to speak to me like that after not having said a word to me when I walked in the room. And then she gloats about being Chris’s fiancée before we’re even divorced. To think that I’d have to deal with a woman like that for the rest of my life makes me want to scream. Even if Chris doesn’t want to be with me, he can find someone with a better attitude than her. I sit on the edge of the tub and adjust my ponytail. I chuckle at myself. Who the hell am I to tell Chris he can’t have feelings for a bitch? Cal could be a complete asshole most of the time.

I guess Chris and I have more in common than I thought.

Chris

When I walk out on the porch to meet Jenna, she immediately pulls me towards her and kisses me on the lips. It’s strange because she’s understandably been standoffish since Lauren arrived on my doorstep. I didn’t get a chance to see Lauren on my way out. I’m guessing the conversation went well for Jenna to be in such a good mood.

“So what was that about?” I ask, holding her waist as she smiles up at me.

“The kiss?” she purrs.

“Your private talk with Lauren.” I chuckle.

“I just thought we needed to clear up some things. Have a better understanding of one another,” she says sweetly, and I can feel my eyebrow arch. I know Jenna and even from the way she acted towards Lauren in the kitchen, I can only imagine what happened outside, especially with her being in such a good mood.

“What’d you say?” I ask her hesitantly.

“Nothing much. Just making sure she’s aware of the context of our relationship and where she fits.” She shrugs innocently. Oh no.

“Jenna,” I say, letting her go and she frowns.

“What did you say?” I ask her again, and she rolls her eyes.

“What’s more important is what she said,” she retorts, and I cover my face and sigh.

“I just want you guys to get along,” I say in frustration because I know whatever was said hasn’t made them any closer.

“Look, we’re both adults. We’re never going to be friends what’s important is she knows her place,” she says.

“Let me guess. You put her in her place?” I groan.

“I had to. You don’t like to do the hard stuff, Chris, which is fine. We balance each other out. That’s what makes us work,” she says innocently.

“Jenna, I told you I’d handle this!” I say angrily.

“There is still a lot more for you to handle, Chris, but we both know how you are, and I wanted it known as soon as possible where this is going to end,” she says stubbornly.

“That’s the thing, this doesn’t end! She’s in our lives permanently. It’d be a lot easier to deal with her amicably than have her upset and pissed off. Things don’t have to be like that,” I say.

“I can’t believe you’re mad at me for doing what you should have from the beginning!” she scoffs. “You need to get the notion of us all being best friends and having dinners and outings together, out of your head. That’s never going to happen. Do you remember how we met and why she’s here?” she spits at me.

“I’m not asking you to be her friend. What I am asking you to do is to be cordial, polite, to not treat her like, like…” I stumble to find the right word.

“Like she’s the bane of my existence.” She chuckles.

“Yeah, that’d be nice,” I say sarcastically.

“But she is,” she says bluntly, and I let out a sigh.

“She’s only going to be here for three weeks tops, Jenna. I really hope that you can start to try to not see her that way. When we’re married, there are most likely going to be times where you will have to speak with her or be around her while I’m not there…”

“You mean in town?” she asks, interrupting me.

“What?” I ask.

“You said she’ll only be here three weeks tops. You mean in town?” she asks suspiciously, and I look away from her knowing that this is about to take the conversation in the opposite direction than I wanted it to go in.

“She’s staying here?” Jenna spits my words back at me. I shouldn’t have said anything, but I didn’t know if Lauren had mentioned it. I’m trying to not add liar to my resume along with mentally unstable fiancé, but reactions like this, even if understandable, make me want to lie.

“You thought I’d be okay with this?” she asks me angrily.

“She’s going to be on an entirely different floor of the house. It doesn’t make sense for them to stay in a hotel and pay all that money and go back and forth,” I say, mimicking my mom’s argument. I can tell by the look on her face that she’s not buying into it at all.

“Why the hell does she need to stay with you, Chris?” she fires back angrily.

“She’s not just staying with just me. My parents are here!” This is not working at all.

“Caylen is your daughter too! She doesn’t need to be here? Don’t tell me she doesn’t trust you with her,” she states in disbelief.

“She’s only one, Jenna. Maybe she doesn’t feel comfortable leaving her with people she’s just met,” I say a little irritated.

“You are NOT a stranger to her,” she says angrily.

“You can’t be that oblivious. She’s in love with you, Christopher!” she says, jabbing her finger into my chest.

“It’s not me, Jenna! Cal’s, not who I am,” I say angrily. If I need anyone to get this, it’s her. If she doesn’t get it how can I expect anyone else to?

“Who do you think she sees when she looks at you?!” she says sharply.

“Exactly! She’s going to get to know me while she’s here and see that I’m not him,” I shout back at her, and she looks surprised. “Jenna I don’t want to argue about this every time I see you,” I plead, grabbing her hands, and she takes them away and puts them on her hips.

“There aren’t going to be anymore arguments,” she says calmly, and I’m a little caught off guard by her mood change. “I’m going to have my mom’s firm draw up papers for your divorce,” she says simply. My eyes widen.

“No, you’re not going to do that. I don’t want your parents to know about this!”

“Christopher, they already know. Apparently almost everyone in this town knows that you have a daughter now. I had to explain before they found out and came to a much worse conclusion,” she shrugs, and I scratch my head. What could get any worse than this?

“What did they say?” I ask reluctantly. She smirks.

“What do you think they said?” she says, letting out a sigh. That’s fantastic.

“Have you stopped to think about how this makes me look, Chris?” she asks, and I look down, guilty.

I haven’t.

I’ve been so busy trying to figure all of this out I didn’t think about what people may think of her.

“Look I don’t care what people think about me, especially here. I’d just like you to be considerate of me, the other woman involved in this,” she says, looking up at me with tears in her eyes. I tug her towards me, and she lets me hug her. I stroke her hair.

“I want this mess to be over with. I want us to start our life together and her waving your marriage in front of me makes this all a thousand times worse. I feel completely ridiculous wearing my ring while she has your last name,” she whimpers.

“Everything’s going to work out. I promise. Okay?” I step back and tilt her chin up to mine and she smiles at me. I hug her tightly. The past few conversations we’ve had end with her crying in my arms. I tell myself again everything’s going to work out but each time it feels like a lie. At the end of three weeks, someone’s going to be hurt.

How do you hurt someone in the best way possible?

HHH

After our fight, Jenna made me feel so bad about Lauren staying I agreed to go to her dad’s partner fundraising dinner I forgot about. Not one I’m looking forward to, but I’m hoping I can blend in with the back ground or bump into someone who might talk about last night’s game.

When I told Lauren I was going she didn’t say much. She just gave me a small smile and kept watching the TV show that was on. My mom reacted more into it than Lauren, asking how I could leave the first night Caylen’s home, but Lauren actually jumped to my defense, saying she’d be out in less than a half hour after I leave. My dad has disappeared into his man cave. I heard him and my mom arguing about Lauren staying with us.

I didn’t stick around to eavesdrop about the details. I’ve had enough arguments this week to last a lifetime.

I only have three suits. A grey one that makes me feel like I’m going to a funeral, a blue one Jenna bought me that makes me feel like a car salesman, and black that makes me feel like I’m in the mob. If I had to choose between them, the mob seems more exciting, but I grab the one Jenna bought. I shower and throw on the suit with a white shirt underneath and black tie. I look at myself in the mirror and feel like I’m playing dress up in someone else’s clothes. I don’t know anything about fashion or what’s in, but I can’t help but feel like something is off about my look. Jenna will have to give me a break on this one. I head towards my mom’s room and see her already sleeping. I was going to ask her to help me out, but she’s had a long day. She was up even earlier than she normally is to prepare for Caylen’s arrival. I head down stairs and its dark except for the light shining under Caylen’s new room’s door. I can hear music playing. I walk towards the door to knock, but I don’t. Lauren has been pretty quiet since the talk with Jenna, not that I blame her. She didn’t say much at dinner and looked a little dazed. I don’t know what they said to each other but whatever it was has caused her to be standoffish with me. I guess that’s a good thing. I know there’s a certain distance we should keep anyway. I turn from the door and head across the kitchen to leave out the back door.

“Chris,” she calls quietly. I turn around and see her standing there in an oversized t-shirt that swallows her tiny frame over grey sweat pants, she has on black reading glasses but she still looks amazing. I shake the thought from my head.

“Hey,” I answer. She looks at me curiously, her eyes scanning me, and I realize that I’m dressed like a cross between a penguin and a Valet parker.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses,” I say, taking the spotlight off me. She takes them off as soon as I say it. She looks embarrassed.

“Just to read,” she replies, closing the door behind her. “A little thirsty,” she says, gesturing towards the refrigerator.

“Oh sure,” I say as she walks past me towards the refrigerator. I watch her as she goes in and grabs the container of orange juice. I don’t know why my feet feel stuck, why I’m so fascinated with what she’s doing, and why I haven’t’ left yet. I’m about ten minutes late already. After she pours her drink, she closes the refrigerator and starts to head back to her room.

“Have a nice time, Chris,” she says. That’s it, she doesn’t even glance at me, and I don’t know why I care so much, but I do.

“Lauren,” I call out a little more urgently than I intended to. She turns around, a little surprised. Her eyes glance over me, and she smiles.

“I don’t know what Jenna said to you earlier, but I know—on her behalf, I apologize.”

She nods but doesn’t say anything else. We both stand there a little uncomfortably. Not because there’s nothing to be said. I guess there’s too much to be said. I wish she’d say something, anything. I wish we could talk like we did that night. But at least she’s still standing here. She hasn’t gone in her room and shut the door in my face. Our eyes meet and my heart speeds up.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” she says after a few minutes, her finger running over the glass in her hand.

“How did you meet her?” she asks, her eyes following her finger. I walk over to the small table and sit down. I’m supposed to be leaving, I’m already late, but how can I not answer her question. Maybe it’ll show Jenna in a better light than she showed herself in earlier.

“When my mom got sick,” I start and let out a sigh. It still is hard to talk about. She walks over to me and takes a seat beside me. “It was like life had crapped on me. After everything with me and my condition, the medical bills, the stress of all of it. And then my mom got sick.”

She nods as if she understands. I guess she’d have some idea.

“Our house was like a funeral. My mom, she’s the one that held our family together. The thought of not having her killed me and my dad,” I say honestly.

“He was stronger than me, but I can tell it hurt him, and I didn’t know how to deal with it. I couldn’t cry because I felt empty, lost, completely lost. No one could bring me out of what I can only describe as barely living.”

“The only time I left the house was to travel to see my mom at the University Hospital. Jenna goes to school there in town,” I explain hesitantly. She nods, encouraging me to go on. I sigh.

“We went to high school together but we didn’t really know each other, you know? She saw me and spoke to me, but I didn’t answer her. I guess I was in a daze or something and she thought I was being rude so she started yelling at me,” I explain. Lauren looks at me, a little confused.

“Before that, I stopped seeing people. I was in a fog that I couldn’t shake, and I started laughing at her. I hadn’t laughed in months at that point.”

Lauren nods, a small smile on her face.

“I’m glad you had someone there for you,” she says softly.

“We were friends for a whole year. I couldn’t be with anyone while my mom was sick.” I shrug.

“When did you start dating?” she asks curiously.

“About five months ago, once the doctors said my mom was in remission,” I say, still hating to even say the word ‘cancer’ aloud.

“Jenna pushed me to not sit around being miserable. I went back to school and finished my degree and started working again. If it wasn’t for her not letting me feel sorry for myself, believing the world was ending, I don’t know what would have happened,” I say honestly. Lauren’s gaze goes back on her glass.

“Jenna can come off different than how she really is. I don’t know what she said out there but. She just feels… threatened” I say with a sigh. She picks up her glass and finishes half of it.

“Are you excited about tonight?” she says, changing the subject.

“No. I hate these things,” I admit.

“Your tie,” she says quietly, gesturing to it. I laugh.

“I feel like a valet parker,”

There’s a grin, a small one but it’s there. I’ll take it.

“It’s too dark for your suit. Do you have any other colors?” she asks.

“Yeah, not a lot but I just picked one that matched,” I say honestly. She laughs, and my heart skips a beat.

“I can help you, if you want,” she says hesitantly.

“Please!” I beg.

She lets out a light laugh. “Okay,” she giggles. I head up the stairs, and she follows me. Once we make it to my room, I flip the light on and walk over to my drawer where I have about seven or eight ties my mom bought. I sense her behind me, and I move out of the way so she can look through them.

“Sorry you don’t have much to work with,” I say and she smiles up at me.

“Do you have any other suits?” she asks. She must really not like this one. I nod and walk to the closet and show her the other choices.

“I think the black,” she says with a shrug.

She goes back to my tie drawer and picks up a reddish color one. My mom bought it for me for Christmas last year.

“You’re sure?” I ask skeptically.

“Trust me,” she says with a grin.

“Okay. I’ll be right back,” I tell her. I head to the bathroom and change into the black suit and reappear. She’s sitting on my bed leaning on pillow. She looks so comfortable, like she belongs in it.

“Actually, do you have another shirt? The collar on this one looks a little weird,” she says with a grin. I laugh, walk over to my closet where my collared shirts are, and she stands beside me. She shuffles through them and then pulls one out and inspects it. “Can I see the tie again?”

I hand it to her. She puts it near the shirt and gives a nod of approval.

“Okay,” I say skeptically. I start to unbutton my shirt, and there’s a moment where I wonder if I should turn around or if she’ll leave the room.

She doesn’t. She actually folds her arms as if waiting for me to change.

So I do.

She glances around the room, so she’s not staring. I quickly remove the other shirt and throw the one she picked out on. She’s staring at her feet, but I catch her glancing up at me before she quickly looks away.

That makes me smile. I have to bite my tongue to stop it.

I don’t know how successful I am. After I button up my shirt, I throw the tie around the collar and fasten it.

“How about now?” I say, doing my best GQ pose, and she bursts into laughter.

“You tied it all wrong,” she says and stepping toward me. The closer she is to me, the more difficult it seems to breathe, like the temperature has suddenly gone up. She keeps her eyes on my tie. I want her to look up at me, but I’m praying she doesn’t.

That line between us, the one that’s supposed to be thick and wide is getting just a little thinner. She’s probably done this for him a thousand times, but that doesn’t explain why her cheeks are flushed. Each time her fingers brush against my chest I feel anxious, calm, nervous and excited all at once.

It’s taking everything in me to keep my arms at my sides. Every ounce of determination I have is being employed to stamp out the urge to wrap my arms around the small of her back, pull her against me and kiss her lips that are barely open, but begging me to taste them.

This isn’t good…

When she finishes, she steps away from me, and I let out a breath, hopefully not an obvious one. She grabs my jacket and hands it to me.

“For the full affect,” she says lightly. I laugh to release some nerves. She’s shifting her weight back and forth. Once I look in the mirror, I have to say I look much more put together, more comfortable, and for a minute, I wonder if I look like him.

“Much better,” she says as she looks at my reflection in the mirror.

“Thank you,” I say, and she nods as she heads out.

“Lauren.”

She turns on her heels back towards me.

“Did you do this for me a lot?” She looks surprised I’m surprised.

She pauses and a reminiscent smile spreads across her face. “He wouldn’t let me anywhere near his ties.” She snickers before leaving the room. I can’t help but smile to myself. That means that’s a first.

My first with Lauren, that Cal didn’t have.

HHH

The fund raiser is exactly how I thought it would be. Boring, long speeches, bad food, dull conversation, stale jokes. I want to crawl out of my suit and hang myself with my tie. The suit was a hit at least; Jenna even complimented me on it. My stomach’s growling, my mom didn’t let me get seconds of her meatloaf since I was coming here. And tonight’s main course is Salmon. Fish is the one thing I don’t like, especially when it looks undercooked.

“You can try to look a little interested,” Jenna whispers in my ear. I give her a guilty smile. This is the second, maybe third, long-winded speech that’s been given in the last twenty minutes, and I’m doing my best not to fall asleep.

“Go get some air,” she says, giving me a squeeze on the shoulder before pecking me on the cheek. I avoid looking at her dad’s best friend. He’s been giving me dirty looks all night. Her dad probably gave him the task of making sure I feel unwelcome since he couldn’t be here to do it himself. I get up and make my way across the midsized ball room they’ve rented out. I glance at my phone to check the time.

9:20 p.m.

I’ve only been here forty minutes, but it feels like hours. This thing is probably going to last until at least 11:00 p.m. I’m almost at the door when one of the servers nearly bumps into me.

“Excuse me,” she says quickly before dodging me with a tray full of champagne glasses. Suddenly, my vision is blurry, and there’s a ringing in my ears.

When things come into focus I’m not in the same midsized ballroom at a medical fundraiser. There are still people everywhere, but there’s a live band on stage and a huge banner that says “Crestfield Cares” with silver and black balloons everywhere. It’s happening again. I’m remembering and I see him. He makes his way inside of a private room. It’s a large office, looking out over the downstairs ballroom. Dexter’s there, a drink in hand.

“What’d you want to talk about, Dex?” he asks, amused, walking over to the window where you can see down over the entire floor.

“I never thought I’d see you like this, Cal. So enamored,” Dexter says smug a grin on his face.

“I’m not really an ‘enamored’ type of guy,” Cal jokes as he looks downstairs over the party. His gaze immediately finds Lauren. She’s in a short grey dress that fits her like a glove, her long hair is pulled over her shoulder.

“Like the dress? I picked it out,” he replies, his eyes roving over her as she makes small talk with a group of women. She glances up at him and he winks at her, she blows him a kiss.

“I’ve never argued that fact.” He laughs. “You have excellent taste,” Dexter adds.

“However, I’m starting to worry that she’s not just an infatuation of yours anymore,” he says tightly.

“That’s because she’s not. I told you that, Dex,” he says, his irritation apparent.

“I didn’t think you meant it.” He chuckles.

“You’ve run through more women than you have red lights.” Dexter’s tone is playful, but his expression is stern. Cal turns away from the window and leans against it, his arms folded across his chest.

“I’m asking her to marry me,” he states bluntly. Dexter’s face is blank. He’s quiet as he walks over to the large desk in the office and sits behind it. He folds his hands and lets out a deep breath.

“I can’t allow you to do that, Cal,” he says quietly, and I begin to laugh.

Cal’s reply is sharp. “I think you need to remind yourself who you’re talking to before saying bullshit like that to me.”

“Cal, marriage is an entirely different animal. It’s not something you’ll be able to hide or take back,” he says, looking me in the eye.

“I’m not stupid. I know how marriage works. I’m doing it. I love her,” he says simply. Dexter shakes his head and takes a long sip of his drink. “I’m going to need you to back me up on this. I want it to be legitimate,” he says seriously and Dexter laughs. He walks closer to him, looking him directly in the eye.

“I’m serious, Dexter” he says pointedly.

“So you’re planning on telling her the truth?” Dexter counters. Cal scowls at him.

“Of course you’re not.” He laughs mockingly.

“You’ve been able to pull off some version of a serious relationship. I’m quite impressed. I must give you that. But a marriage, to be able to pull that off with your condition, and without telling her the truth, you would have to be Houdini,” he spits bitterly, standing from his desk and pouring himself another drink. Cal walks towards him.

“You’re right,” he says and pats him on the back.

“She’s just my play thing. I’m going to go play with her now,” he says sarcastically.

“Let’s not worry about any of this now. It’s a party. Eat, drink, and be merry!”

He says boisterously. Dexter frowns.

“Maybe I won’t marry her. You know me, always kidding around, since my life is a big fucking joke!”

“Cal, you know I didn’t mean it like that. I’m trying to keep things fair,” Dexter says tightly.

“Why don’t you stop playing fucking referee for a minute and know that I need this!” he shouts at him. “I need her,” and I can hardly believe it, but Dexter’s expressions shows a hint of sympathy. Cal turns away, and heads out of the office. He starts to open the door but turns around before he does.

“Let’s not forget, between the two of us, I’m the one keeping secrets for you. Not him. Don’t get on my bad side, Dex. It’s not a good place to be,” he warns him before slamming the door. He heads down a long corridor where people are drinking and dancing. It seems like forever before he gets to Lauren, who’s walking around the party trying to look interested, an almost empty champagne glass in her hand. He slips his arms around her waist. She looks up at him, a seductive smile on her face.

“Let’s go,” he says, and she giggles and slinks her arm around his neck. “How many glasses of champagne did you have? He asks her and she looks up as if she’s thinking.

“Guess,” she says, pouting her lips at him.

“I’m going to have fun with you tonight,” he says, leading her towards the exit.

“You have fun with me every night,” she teases back, her hands running up his back.

They exit the party where a dozen other people are waiting for their car to be pulled around.

“We’ll have your car in just a moment, Mr. Scott,” one of the valets says with a glance their way. A moment later a black Porsche pulls around, and he leads Lauren towards it.

Lauren thanks the valet as he opens the door for her. They drive for about 15 minutes with Lauren singing along to the radio.

“Babe, I’m going to have to pay for you to have voice lessons or something. This singing off key thing isn’t sexy,” he jokes and she swats him on the chest. A few minutes later, they’ve pulled up in front of a huge body of water. He gets out of the car and walks around to Lauren’s side of the car to open the door for her. He takes her hand and helps her out of the car.

“The lake front. Look at you, being all romantic,” she kids, and he laughs. The music is playing from the car just loud enough for them to hear it. He lets out a deep breath, and I feel my heart speeding up.

“Have you ever wanted a different life?” he asks her solemnly.

“Sometimes. Doesn’t everyone?” she says, snuggling closer to him.

“If you could have the exact life that you always wanted, what would you do to get it?” he asks her, and she looks puzzled.

“You mean like rob a bank or something?” she jokes.

“No not like that.” He laughs. “What if other people didn’t like the life you chose,” he asks.

“Since when do you care what other people think?” she asks, looking up at him curiously.

“It’s not about me. It’s about you,” he says quietly.

“It’s hard to answer that question. I like my life. I’m not rich or famous or anything, but I’m happy,” she says seriously. She stares off over the lake and his gaze follow hers.

“You make me happy,” she says quietly taking his hand. I feel a smile spread across my face.

“If things ever got hard, would just being with me make you happy?” he asks her and she frowns.

“I’m not here for the expensive restaurants and to ride in your fancy cars,” she jokes before kissing him on the cheek, and he laughs.

“If you lost your job and became a hobo that had to ask for money on the corner, I’d still love you,” she says, squeezing his hand.

He laughs. “You’d live in a cardboard box with me?”

“No, but I’m sure after I graduate I could afford a two bedroom place for us,” she jokes.

“What if I was sick? Would you take care of me?” he asks her.

“Are you sick, Cal?” She asks seriously.

“No. These are just rhetorical questions,” he tells her, and the relief washes over her.

“I’d be the best nurse you ever had,” she says.

“You wouldn’t bail on me if things got rough or hard,” he asks her, and she starts to giggle.

“Is this your way of telling me we’re going to have rough hard sex on the hood of your car?” She giggles.

“Is that all you want from me, Ms. Brooks? I’m deeply offended.” He chuckles and realizes she’s a little too drunk to have a conversation like this.

She slides off the hood of the car and stands in front of him. It’s warm out, the breeze from over the water blows her hair. She steps out of her shoes and kicks them away from her, then reaches underneath her dress an slips off her underwear. She saunters back over to the car and climbs up on top of his lap, takes his handkerchief out of his pocket and replaces it with her underwear.

“I’m going to have to find out what champagne that was,” he says as she undoes his pants…

“Christopher,” Jenna’s voice jolts me back to reality. This one at least.

“Are you okay?” she asks, her hand on my cheek.

I nod. “Was I out here long?” I ask, worried that I’d been standing here like a zombie for I don’t know how long.

“Like ten minutes,” she says. “What’s wrong?” she asks nervously.

“Do I look like something’s wrong?” I respond.

“I wouldn’t have asked if you seemed fine,” she says, taking my hand and leading me towards the car. I feel guilty about holding her hand, the same hands that were just all over Lauren, not literally, but I swear I can still feel the heat of her skin.

We get into the car. I know I’m quiet. There are so many thoughts running through my head. What Cal said to Dex about keeping secrets for him, I wish I knew what those secrets were. With Dexter, it could range from something small to something big. I try to forget the emotions that coursed through me when he was with Lauren. I felt how genuine he was when he said he needed her.

I think back to when my mom was sick and the slump I was in, how I felt dead inside, like I was in mourning. Now, I can’t help but think part of that was because he lost Lauren. We were both in mourning, lost and dying inside. I shake that thought, though, because that makes him too real. That makes me see him as a person and not a selfish asshole, something other than the villain.

I glance over at Jenna, who I see is watching me through the rearview mirror.

“You look tired,” she says quietly and I nod.

“Did she help you pick out what you wore tonight?” Her words hang awkwardly in the air.

“Yeah,” I admit, and she lets out a deep breath, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

“My mom was asleep...” I start to explain.

“It looked nice, but it’s not you,” she interrupts me. I loosen the tie and take it off.

We don’t say much else for the rest of the ride. When she pulls in front of my house, I lean over to kiss her, and she gives me a quick peck on the lips before pulling away.

“FYI, I don’t want her picking out your ties, or your shirt, what you eat or the name of our future children!” she says, her anger increasing with each syllable.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, Jenna,” I say, and she looks away from me.

“God, how could you be so insensitive?”

“I didn’t think it was a big deal. I wanted to look nice at the party for you!” My excuse sounds pathetic, even to me.

“You’re not my arm candy! I wouldn’t have cared if you showed up wearing stripes and polka dots. Nothing that you do with her is ever going to me happy unless you’re telling me she’s signing the divorce papers.” She hits the button to unlock the doors, cueing me to make my exit.

“This is the last argument I want to have about her, Chris. I am so serious,” she says as I get out of the car. I don’t say I’m sorry because that’ll make things worse, the best thing I can do is give her time.

I know I was wrong. What makes me feel worse is that I wanted Lauren’s help.

I planned on talking to Jenna about what I remember, but that’s a really bad idea now. I can’t talk to my parents, and I don’t trust any of the doctors I’ve ever seen. I want to talk to Lauren about it, but that doesn’t seem like the best idea.

I decide to text Lisa instead and ask her to meet me tomorrow. I make my way into the house. My dad’s at the table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.

“How was the fundraiser?” he asks, and I let out a groan. I decide to check the fridge to see if there’s any leftovers I can take upstairs to finish off before bed.

“You want to have a seat, son?” he says in a tone that implies I’m not about to enjoy this conversation. I begrudgingly take a seat.

“I’m sure you’re aware your mother and I have disagreed on the issue of Lauren staying here,” he says quietly, and I nod. I heard them earlier; it was a lot more than just a disagreement.

“I think it’s best if you established some type of boundaries between the two of you,” he says genuinely, and I have to stop myself from laughing. Sometimes I swear he thinks I’m a kid.

“You’re not serious are you?” I am not having this conversation with him tonight.

“I’m very serious, Chris. When you first started therapy, your doctors told us about certain things that could possibly cause…” He sighs.

“Cause what?” I ask him more forcefully.

“Cal to come back,” he says bluntly. “The official word is trigger.” He sighs, and I feel my face harden.

“Certain things that, for whatever reason, cause him to resurface.” He lets out a deep sigh. I shake my head. I really need to find a doctor ASAP because there’s so much I don’t know about this. Triggers. I think of the instances where I’ve started to remember things when he was in control, and wondered what caused them. The good thing is, it didn’t trigger him to come back. Just the memory. I look at my dad and try to bury my anger and frustration with him. It’s getting harder and harder to do and I don’t know why. I’ve forgiven him for everything that has happened, but whenever he starts to speak to me I instantly feel bitter and I hate it. My dad is my best friend, or he was. Now it’s hard to tolerate him being in my presence for longer than a couple of minutes.

“Dad, if Lauren was a trigger for Cal to come back, he would’ve already.” I get up from the table and head towards the stairs.

“Chris, I don’t think you’re taking this as seriously as you need to,” he says sternly. I stop and turn around.

“I think you’re taking this serious enough for the both of us,” I say, and he’s shocked.

I’m shocked.

It’s what I wanted to say but usually there’s a filter between the things I want to say and the things I say. I walk up the stairs. I should feel bad, or guilty, but I don’t.

I feel good.

Chapter 7

Lauren

Before I came here, I thought Chris was simple, understated, and transparent, a ‘what you see is what you get,’ kind of guy. No motives or hidden agendas, and since he doesn’t have all of that, he’d be easy to read. I thought that up until yesterday. Not only is he hard to read, but his signals are all over the place. One minute, I think he wants me to stay as far away from him as possible. The next it’s like he doesn’t even want me to leave the room. The difference with Cal was, he only let me see what he wanted me to see, which was frustrating, but easier to deal with. I only had two directions to go in: his or mine. Chris isn’t good at hiding any of his emotions; they’re all over the place, sending out multiple signals in various directions all at once.

It’s so confusing. One minute when I’m ready to give up on him, on Cal, he does something that makes me want to hold on to what could be. It gives me hope. But the heavy reality is that he doesn’t know what he wants. Which is good and bad, and I’m confused enough for ten people already. His confusion is something that I really can’t deal with. It’s too easy to see, and too difficult to figure out. After the disaster of an introduction to Jenna, I was ready to give up. Not because of what she said really affected me, but that little truth in her words keeps creeping into my thoughts.

I had almost convinced myself that everyone was right, but then he let me fix his tie. It seems stilly and stupid that such a small moment could change my way of thinking but it did. It gave me a small sliver of hope. He let me in, Chris did, and that’s really all I needed. I could learn to love Chris. I already love Cal. Jenna could never love Cal. If he came back, she’d be running for the hills. That control she likes to wield, talking to Chris like he’s her six year-old would never fly with Cal. Last night I started doing more research into DID, and integration is the goal for someone with his condition. That means Cal and Chris will have to be one, and if Cal is anywhere in there I’m not giving him up, especially to someone like Jenna. What has been weighing on me is the promise I made to Chris, about giving Cal up and leaving the past behind me, but what about my promise to Cal?

Through sickness and health, til’ death do us part, and even more than that, the last night I spent with him he said ‘don’t give up on me.’ It didn’t make sense then but it does now. I wish I knew Cal was fighting for us too. That he was somewhere inside of Chris, helping me, and keeping his promise he made to me. Maybe he is. Maybe that’s why Chris is so freakin’ confusing. I wonder if it’s like a battlefield in his mind, with Cal fighting to get out. I don’t know if Chris has scheduled to see anyone. I plan on talking to him about it today, because I’m thinking of seeing someone myself. There’s so much more I want to know about this condition. I need to talk to someone impartial about what I’m feeling, that has an understanding of all this. I’ve never seen a therapist or psychiatrist before, but I can’t think of a better time than now.

I’ve been trying to think of the best way to approach Chris about this. Last night was my first night here, and I don’t want to come off as nagging him but he’s had about three weeks to come up with something. Maybe he has, but he hasn’t mentioned anything to me.

It’s 6:00 a.m., and I’ve been hearing movement in the kitchen for the past 30 minutes. Now the smell of bacon and eggs is coaxing me out of my room. Caylen’s still asleep. I grab my toothbrush and make a beeline to the bathroom. I brush my teeth and splash water on my face before going into the kitchen. Breakfast smells delicious, there’s music playing and the house seems alive for it to be so early.

Back at home I’m used to coming into a quiet kitchen and the smell of Febreeze. I walk into the Scott’s kitchen and see Chris. Oh my god, he’s shirtless!

“Morning” he says, his tone upbeat as he sets two plates on the table with bacon, eggs and potatoes next to two glasses.

“Good morning” I say covering a laugh, seeing him do a little dance to the music he’s listening to. He blushes as he pulls a container of juice out of the refrigerator. Where are his parents? He should definitely not be in the kitchen with me alone without a shirt.

“You don’t mind do you?” he asks, genuinely concerned. Is he kidding? Is he talking about not having a shirt on?

“Uh,” I say dumbly.

“The music. I don’t get to play it when my parents are here.” He takes the seat across from me. Of course he’s not talking about the shirt, he’s not bothered by it. I’m the one bothered by him not having it on, very bothered by it. Yesterday, I was able to sneak a quick peek when he changed his shirt, but I wasn’t able to get a good look then. Now I’m front row at the show. I’m not going to be able to eat, or think. God, farm work must do a body good. Cal always had a great body, chiseled and defined but I guess tossing those hay bales and teaching gym has pushed it to the max because he’s more sculpted than I’ve ever seen him. I spot a white t-shirt with a big stain thrown across one of the chairs that explains the lack of his shirt.

“I like it actually.” I take a sip of my juice, there’s no way I can swallow food right now. His plate has about three times more food on it than mine. How does he eat that much and keep his stomach looking that good? I have to stop thinking this much about his stomach.

“Where are you parents?” I ask, my brain finally coming out of its hormone- and pheromone-induced haze.

“They had to go get some supplies this morning. They’ll be back this afternoon,” he replies in between bites. I finally pick up a sausage and take a bite. It’s pretty good.

“Does Caylen usually sleep around this time?” he asks.

“We’re an hour behind in Chicago. She’ll be up in the next hour or so,” I say, diving into the eggs on my plate.

They’re over easy. Cal liked scrambled…

“Do you cook a lot?” I ask curiously, thinking back to the day Cal first made me breakfast. It was as good as this, but he just shrugged it off before getting me off. Too bad that’s not going to happen today.

“My mom cooks most of the time,” he answers with an amused grin.

It’s adorable; he’s adorable

I wonder if Jenna cooks for him. He clears his throat.

“When my mom was sick, I started cooking more since she really wasn’t able to. It kind of became therapeutic,” he says solemnly.

It’s still surreal that his mom was sick so recently and doing so much better. Even though our introduction was terrible, I’ve come to think of her as such a sweet woman. I can’t see anyone not liking her once they got to know her. I think Cal even cared for her or he wouldn’t have stepped aside for Chris to return.

I think back to the conversation that we had about Jenna. The conversation I asked for. It had been bugging me so much, wondering how she got in, how she was able to get to his heart. Now I know he was vulnerable. That’s how, and she attacked. I’m sure it didn’t happen exactly that way. After all, she’s not a wolf and Chris definitely isn’t a little sheep, but it makes me feel better to look at things that way. I can’t believe they’ve only been dating for a couple of months though. Even if they were friends before that, I couldn’t’ see myself marrying Steven that soon if I had dated him.

“Do you cook?” he asks, and I sigh with a laugh.

“Not so much,” I say embarrassed. I still haven’t learned how to cook. After Cal left, I didn’t eat much, and after I was a few months with Caylen, nothing really stayed down so cooking was the last thing I thought about. Once Caylen was born, the last thing I cared about was learning.

“You don’t like it?” he asks genuinely. I wonder if he has ever met a woman that just didn’t know how. Well Jenna doesn’t seem like she’d be interested in anything other than interrogating and intimidating people.

“I don’t really know how,” I admit. He tilts his head to the side like he’s trying to see if I’m joking or not.

“I could teach you,” he says with a shrug, as if it’s not a big deal and will be the easiest thing in the world. I try to read him like I have a hundred other times, and I’m stuck. Sometimes when he looks at me, I can see something there. Other times, I wonder if those deep down feelings are all in my head, and he really just wants to be my friend. How depressing is that?

“It’d be too much. You don’t have to,” I say modestly, shaking my head.

“I kind of do if I want Caylen to eat more than take out, or fast food.” His tone is jovial, and the smile he gives me awakens the band of sleeping butterflies in my stomach. I try not to be excited about having him all to myself, but I am. I imagine him in nothing but an apron and scold myself.

“I’m warning you, when I say I can’t cook, I really can’t cook. I’ve burnt water before, literally,” I tell him, and he covers his face to hide his laughter and disbelief.

“We can start with easy stuff,” he assures me.

“Okay, I’m game.” I say a little excited as I finish my eggs.

“This is really good,” I say.

“Eggs aren’t hard. Breakfast is the easiest to start with.”

“We can start tonight,” he suggests, finishing the last of the food on his plate.

“What would we start with?” I ask curiously.

“Maybe boiling water,” he jokes and I laugh.

“By the end of the three weeks, you’ll be tossing out your take out menus” he says confidently.

I don’t know about that.

I finish the rest of my food as he starts to clean up the kitchen. I can’t help watching him, as he moves around it. Every so often, the thought will creep into my mind that he’s playing me. That all of this Chris business is shit, but those thoughts don’t stay long. They do give me the courage to ask him what I intended to.

“I’ve been thinking of seeing someone.” I clear my throat, and he turns around to face me, his eyes wide and his mouth set in a fine line. He nods and clears his throat.

“Oh, that’s—that’s good for you,” he says hesitantly. “That’d be good for everyone,” he mutters quietly as he starts to wash a skillet that was left on the stove.

I didn’t really expect that reaction.

He seems a little angry in his own way. I’ve never seen Chris angry before, and it’s really hard to tell. When Cal was angry, there was no guessing about it.

“I thought it would be a good thing. No one really understands how this is for us,” I say, playing with the last piece of toast on my plate.

“What do you mean?” He turns around towards me. He looks confused.

“Well, I was just thinking it would be good for me to talk to a professional about all of…this.” I’m almost afraid to say the name of the disorder aloud. I expect for him to look irritated or confused, but he smiles and lets out a breath like he’s relieved.

“Oh yeah, if you think you need to talk someone you should,” he says encouragingly. Well that was easy.

“What about you? I know you didn’t leave on the best terms with your doctors. Have you looked into seeing anyone else?” I ask, and he sits back at the table with me.

“Aidan. My friend you met the last time you came... A friend of his saw someone who treats some of the soldiers with problems from his unit. He gave me the number. I haven’t called yet,” he admits.

“It’s a little scary all of this, isn’t it?” I ask him, and he chuckles. “I know Cal is a part of me,” he says quietly.

It’s still weird for me to hear him to say his name. When I was in high school, it became popular to refer to yourself in third person. I hated it, but I know this isn’t a fad for Chris.

“But I’m having a hard time really understanding how he’s a part of me. The scarier part is why.” He looks up at me, and his eyes reveal his fear. I want to reach across the table and hold his hand and let him know everything will be okay, but I don’t know if that’d be appropriate. I spend most of my time these days wondering what’s appropriate for us.

“If there’s ever anything you need to talk to me about. Even if it’s…uncomfortable or you think it wouldn’t be easy for me,” I let out a sigh, “I’m here. We’re in this together.” I hope he can see that I’m genuine. I do mean it. His eyes lock on to mine for the first time since I’ve met him. They don’t dart around or glance at me momentarily. They’re deep, clear, green oceans that show me his soul. He’s vulnerable and afraid. I never stopped to think how terrifying this could be for him. To have a part of yourself take control that you’re not aware of, afraid of, and have absolutely no idea why….or when it could happen again. He smiles, and I hope what I said has helped him. I can’t tell if he’s smiling because he feels better or to make me feel better.

“Sometimes I feel like this guy is the boogeyman or something,” he chuckles.

“Well, I’m not afraid of him,” I tell him lightheartedly.

HHH

The rest of the day goes by smoothly and uneventfully. Caylen and Chris watched cartoons together while I showered and cleaned up our room. Chris was called in to teach today so for the past three hours it’s been Caylen and me at the house alone. It takes a little getting used to, being in this house without anyone who actually lives here. Chris and Mrs. Scott have told me to make myself at home so many times I’ve lost count. When I first arrived, it reminded me of Raven’s but in actuality it’s a lot bigger. There are four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and an attic. I haven’t seen a basement I haven’t snooped in. It’s still comforting to be in the house Cal grew up in. It’s a place I always longed to know about. I’m not sure when the Scotts will be back home. I start to get a little stir crazy after I put Caylen down for her nap. I’ve just finished editing the last manuscript I had in my queue. I called Raven who gave me a bit of the cold shoulder on the call mostly cooing to Caylen. She’s still not thrilled that I’ve decided to stay here a few weeks. She’d probably drive straight here if I told her I was staying at their house. I’ve tried calling Angela, but she hasn’t called me back since I tried a few hours ago. She’s knee-deep in the middle of writing her thesis, and I don’t want to keep burdening her with my ever-growing list of dramas.

Hillary pops into my thoughts a few times, but I push her out. I still feel terrible the way our last conversation ended. She was right. I didn’t tell her what I did for her own good or because she needed to hear it. I did it to be a bitch. Well, not intentionally to be a bitch, but I was so tired of her telling me what’s best for my life or how stupid the decisions I made are when her own decisions seem completely irrational. I end up on the couch in the Scott’s living room, watching a marathon of Property Brothers like I do most days at home when I hear a knock at the door. It’s a little faint, and I realize it’s coming from the kitchen. I’m not really sure what to do. I don’t know who would be here for the Scotts, and I’m really not sure who they’ve informed about the nature of my stay. It wouldn’t be fun to explain everything to someone I don’t even know. I attempt to inconspicuously pull the curtain back and see a young woman in navy slacks and a pink sweater. When I see her face, I realize it’s Lisa and open the door for her to come in.

“Hey! It’s so good to see you,” she says, giving me a hug. After a few seconds I hug her back. I have to get use to her being a hugger. I’m definitely not used to her looking like this. She’s dressed more conservatively than I ever imagined, the piercing in her nose removed, and the eye makeup toned down drastically.

“I look like a real school teacher now, don’t I? It was open house today.” She chuckles, reading my mind. She walks over to the kitchen table and plops down in one of the chairs.

“How are you?” she asks as she searches through her bag and pulls out a pair of red Chuck Taylors and a pair of socks.

“I’m good. Just here watching TV until everyone gets home” I say.

“Coolness,” she says after she slips out of her old lady shoes and puts on her socks, she lets out a relieved breath.

“They’re over in Denton still, right?” She gets up from the table and grabs an apple juice out of the refrigerator. She feels much more at home than I probably ever will.

“For supplies, and Chris got called in to work today,” I tell her.

“Caylen’s sleeping?” she asks, pulling her sweater over her head. Right there in the kitchen. She pulls out a black t-shirt with some type of emblem on it and throws it on.

“Yup,” I say, trying to avoid looking at her as she changes. Out the corner of my eye, I see her pull out a pair of white skinny jeans. If she slides off her pants I’m going to faint.

And she does, right in the middle of the Scotts’ kitchen in front of me—a practical stranger—she’s changed her entire outfit.

This is Chris’ best friend.

“So how’s everything going?” she asks once she’s fully dressed

“Good.” I nod, not elaborating any further. I’m not sure what all Chris has shared with her about everything, but I’m not going into any details. She seems cool and laid back, but the stunt she pulled at the last dinner we had makes me think twice. Still, she keeps looking at me as if she expects me to say more.

“The Scotts are really nice.” Well that’s partially true. Mrs. Scott is really nice.

“Yeah they’re cool. They’re like my second family. They’re used to me as you probably can tell. You’ll get used to me too,” she jokes, taking a swig of her apple juice.

“What’s that name on your shirt?” I ask, hoping to change the subject.

“Ardeby’s. It’s the bar I work at. It’s pretty popular. Well for Madison, it’s pretty popular. I’m headed there after I leave here. You should come before you leave. How long are you staying?” she asks excitedly.

“The plan is to stay for three weeks.”

“It’s the most exciting thing going here, but the food sucks! I’ve been trying to get Chris to come down and play a set for the past year,” she says, pulling out her makeup bag. I forgot that Chris said he played the guitar.

“Is he good?” I ask curiously, and she smirks at me.

“You’ve never heard him play...Well, Cal play?” she corrects herself.

“No. Never,” I say, and for some reason, I feel embarrassed. I know I shouldn’t, but knowing there’s this huge part of his life I know nothing about, still feels like a kick in the butt to me.

“Follow me to the bathroom, Sweets. I need to fix this real quick,” she says as she heads out of the kitchen.

“Chris is really good, and I’m not just saying that because he’s my bestie. If he sucked, I’d tell you,” she jokes as I follow her into the bathroom. I lean in the doorway.

“That’s pretty cool.”

“He was in a band for a while until he started acting all bat shit and what not. Well, we thought he was just being an asshole then, but now I guess that was his condition” she says as she says applies a ruby-red lip stick over her thin pink lips.

“Hey what’s Cal like?” she asks as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. I’m a little caught off guard by her question. I shouldn’t be, since she pretty much displayed her naked body in front of me as if we’ve been friends for years.

“I—I don’t really feel comfortable talking about Cal,” I say honestly. I don’t know why, but it seems weird. She turns and frowns at me, then waves her hand.

“Come on. I’m going to be your new best friend and all. I’m sure you need someone to talk to about all of this. I don’t judge. Let it out, Sweets.” She laughs, and it makes me laugh.

“I think I’ve met him before, “she says casually, but it shocks the hell out of me.

“I’ve never said anything to Chris. I just kind of thought it was a joke, him going through a phase or something,” she says off handedly.

“When?” I ask, trying to contain my interest.

“It was years ago. We were in high school,” she says simply. “You know. His condition, they say, or I mean when I googled it, they say it can come from something really bad happening to the person,” she says, and her carefree jovial expression drops, her tone more solemn.

“Yeah.” I sigh as well. I’ve read about most conditions stemming from terrible abuse.

“Or a traumatic event,” I add and she nods.

“If Chris starts therapy, he’ll start to remember things, right? He’ll remember whatever caused this to happen?” she asks, looking up at me tentatively.

“I think that’s the goal.” I really haven’t stopped to think about what caused all this to happen. “Do you really think that’s best, if he’s fine and doing well? Who would want to remember something that terrible,” she says with a shrug.

“What if it does more harm than good?” Her eyes are set on mine now.

“Well, it’s not exactly up to me. I just. I want him to be whole. For Caylen,” I state to her, and she smiles tightly, her expression cheering up. She goes back to finishing her eyeliner.

“You said you met Cal before,” I say, bringing the topic back to the forefront. She chuckles.

“Yeah. It was the summer before our senior year,” she says shortly. It’s funny because this girl seems to elaborate on everything but with this subject, she’s short.

“You know him a lot better than I do. What was he like with you?” she asks. I twirl the ends of my hair and think long and hard before I answer. I don’t know if I should trust Lisa. Trusting people hasn’t been going that great for me, maybe if I tell her more about Cal she’ll tell me what she knows.

“I’ll tell if you do first,” I reason with her.

She turns toward me and rests her hand against the vanity and nods.

“Ok, it was only once. Well at least, that I know of for sure. He called himself Cal. He tried to sleep with me.” She chuckles, and my smile immediately drops. “Oh, no. Trust me, it wasn’t a thing. Chris and I are like siblings. Which was why it was so out of character for him, but he wasn’t like Chris. I mean, he was, but he wasn’t. He was this cocky and aggressive “I don’t give a fuck” version of Chris. Which was sexy, but he had Chris’s face. Don’t get me wrong, I know Chris is hot, but it was just too weird. And when he started telling me he wasn’t Chris, that his name was Cal, I thought he was high or something.” I can’t help but laugh at the last part. “If he had stuck around a little longer, I think we could’ve had some fun though.” She laughs and I smile nervously.

“Not that type of fun,” she assures me quickly. “We would’ve caused a lot of trouble. A bad ass Chris, me, and Aidan. This town wouldn’t have been ready for us,” she says, putting the last touches on her makeup. She definitely went from demure pre-k teacher to rock star bartender in less than 10 minutes.

“Chris has always been the moral anchor between Aidan and me,” she adds, closing her make-up bag. She puts it under one arm and then links her other with mine, pulling me from the bathroom as she leads way to the living room, but she stops when Caylen’s room catches her attention.

“Oh my gosh! This is so freakin’ adorable,” she whispers, her eyes scanning it, and she must notice my bags.

“Are you staying here?” she asks in disbelief. I nod. A guilty and wide smile spreads across her face before she bursts into laughter. I shush her as best I can and push her past my sleeping baby’s room.

“No shit. I bet Jenna blew a gasket about that.”

“She and I didn’t get off to the best start,” I mutter.

“Did the witch try to hit you with her broom?” She chuckles, and I try to hide my smile. “Don’t put up pretenses for me. I can’t stand her, and the feeling is mutual,” she says, walking into the living room and sitting on the couch.

“Why doesn’t Jenna like you?” I ask, but I think I know the answer to that. Lisa is just as blunt as she is and the opposite of being conservative. She’s a really attractive girl. I can’t blame her for being uncomfortable about their friendship.

“She thinks I’m secretly in love with Chris. Or that I want to screw him which is completely ridiculous. She tried to stop us from being friends. Complaining and whining to Christ after they became official. I’m glad Chris kept his balls that time and stood up to her, or I would have had to kick both of their asses,” she huffs. “If she only knew… me and Chris, we would be like a bad Jerry Springer episode,” she mutters. Aren’t all those episodes bad? “So your turn,” she says, squealing. Her excitement is contagious. She pulls me down onto the living room sofa next to her. I let out a sigh. I can feel myself blushing.

“Cal. I’ve been trying not to think about him.” I sigh, and she pats me on the knee. I don’t understand how you do it. I mean, I kind of can because the guy I met acted so differently it’s hard to think of them as the same person. “Why did you never tell Chris about Cal? Or mention it?” I ask her, and she shrugs.

“It was just one of those things, not to add super embarrassing. I was only seventeen and at the time I didn’t know he really didn’t know what the hell he was doing. The whole almost sex thing made everything awkward to bring up, and the next day he was back to himself like nothing had ever happened. I thought he was just embarrassed about me turning him down.” She laughs at the last part.

“And now?” I ask her, and her eyes widen.

“You can’t tell him Lauren!” she says urgently, and I’m a little caught off guard.

“I—I won’t,” I tell her. I don’t think it’s my place, but I can’t help but wonder why she wouldn’t want to know after everything has happened.

“Good,” she says in a relieved tone. Just then Mr. and Mrs. Scott come in through the door with bags in hand. We both get up to help them. Lisa and I never get to finish our conversation, and she seems not to be bothered by it at all…It’s just me that it bothers more than it should.

Chris

Work flew by fast. I hated leaving Lauren and Caylen at the house alone, but she promised me they’d be fine. I guess it’s really been just them up until now. I asked Lisa to stop by when she was off work to check up on them. Jenna and Lisa hate each other, but I can see Lauren getting along with her better. Lauren’s pretty laid back and didn’t flip a gasket when Lisa blurted out all the stuff about how she and Cal met. Aside from checking on them, I wanted to talk to Lisa about everything that’s been going on with me. It was a tossup between her an Aidan but Lisa’s been more understanding. When it comes to my condition, Aidan thinks making fun of it like it’s a big joke helps.

It doesn’t.

Lisa would be more adult about everything than he would, hopefully. When I drive up to the house, I see my parents have made it back, and Lisa’s car is parked next to theirs. I walk into the kitchen and see Caylen in her high chair while my mom’s chopping up vegetables.

“Hey, honey, how was work?” she asks cheerfully. I haven’t seen her this happy in such a long time, and I know Caylen is the reason.

“Good,” I say cheerfully. I go over to Caylen and kiss her on the cheek.

“How’s she been,” I ask, stealing one of Caylen’s carrots. My mom gives me a disapproving looks.

“Like a perfect little angel of course,” she says, replacing the carrot I took off Caylen’s plate even though she has at least five more pieces on her plate.

“Lauren and Lisa are in the living room,” she says as I head in there. Lauren’s sitting upright in the brown chair. Ironically, it’s my dad’s favorite. She smiles when she sees me and my heart speeds up.

“What’s up,” Lisa says, her tone in between singing and raping.

Lauren giggles. “Hey.”

“How’d things go today? Lisa hasn’t dragged you into any trouble, has she?” I ask, sitting on the couch next to Lisa and across from Lauren.

“Oh please. If I was looking for trouble, we’d be gone,” Lisa says, hitting me with a small couch cushion.

“So…Lauren and I have been talking,” she starts, and Lauren nods her head innocently.

Maybe sending Lisa over was a bad idea.

“Lauren would really like to hear you play and since you’ve been promising to play at Ardeby’s since forever, we could all make a night of it. Saturday is open mic night,” she says excitedly, and I frown at her.

“I’ve never promised you I would play at Aredebys, and this Saturday? I haven’t picked up a guitar in almost a year. It’s not happening,” I say adamantly. Lisa threw Lauren’s name in this but I know this is all her from the awkward look on Lauren’s face.

“Quit being such a baby. It’d be great, and Aredebys is the only place in this town that’s any fun. Lauren hasn’t been out since she’s been stuck in Mommyville. She could let loose a little,” she continues. I see Lauren shift uncomfortably in her seat.

“Aren’t you going to be late for work?” I remind her. She lets out a defeated huff.

“This conversation isn’t over, mister,” she says, getting up with her bag on her shoulder and heading out the door. She’s turns back around.

“Didn’t you need to talk to me about something?” she says, remembering her other reason for being here.

“Yeah. I’ll walk you to your car,” I say begrudgingly. Lauren smiles at us, amused. She probably thinks we’re six year olds.

“Be right back,” I say, pushing my weight off the sofa and following Lisa out.

“Later, Mrs. Scott,” she says to my mom as we pass through the kitchen and out the door.

“Goodbye, Lisa,” my mom says before we’re out the door.

“So what’s up, Chuck?” Lisa says as we walk around to her car.

“Why’d you do that in there, Lisa?” I ask her, irritated. She rolls her eyes.

“What did I do?” she asks as if she has no clue.

“Putting me on the spot in front of Lauren. You know I don’t play anymore.”

She waves me off nonchalantly. “Grow up, Chris. Really, what are you a twelve year old with a crush?” she says, mocking me.

“Forget it. I’ll talk to you later,” I say angrily, walking away from her.

“Ugh, Chris, come on. I didn’t think it was that big a deal. You used to love to play. She wants to hear you play. We get to have a few drinks and a night out in the process. Most people at Ardeby’s are so drunk on Saturdays you could play a dying cat, and they’d clap to the music,” she says, blocking my path.

I frown at her.

“Come on. You wanted to talk to me about something. What is it?” she says sincerely.

“Can you be normal Lisa and not over-the-top Lisa,” I warn her, and she grins.

“Normal Lisa it is,” she says, rolling her eyes.

“Okay. Let’s get in your car.”

Once we’re in there, she looks over at me expectantly. I’m not nervous. Lisa doesn’t make me nervous. She’s one of the least judgmental people I know, but to admit out loud what’s been going on with me is still scary. It’s the same reason why I haven’t called the doctor Aidan suggested. I have to do it eventually. If Lauren starts talking to a therapist before me, that’s really going to make it look like I’m not taking this seriously, and I am.

It’s just seems like a big step, trusting someone with my mental wellness. It didn’t go so well the last time, but this is Lisa, my best friend since preschool. We don’t have any secrets.

“I’ve started to remember things,” I say. I look over at her and instead of her normal reassuring smile, her expression is tense.

“Remember what, exactly?” she asks quietly and I feel myself grimace.

“What do you look so nervous for? You’re making me nervous.” I laugh, and she shakes her head, covering her face.

“Sorry. OK, go ahead,” she says, and her reassuring smile is there.

“Things about Cal and Lauren,” I admit, and her smile widens.

“Anything good?” she says suggestively.

I frown at her.

“I mean like how you guys met, when you got married. Get your mind out of the gutter, Chris,” she says the last part teasingly.

“No. They don’t seem like milestones or anything. Well, I think one is the first time he told her he loved her,”

“Awww,” Lisa swoons, and I try to ignore her. I tell her about the bits and pieces I’ve seen and about the memory I had last night. She listens attentively and doesn’t interrupt. She’s quiet until I look over her and wait for her reaction.

“How do you know what you’re seeing is real?” she asks. That’s the million dollar question. It feels real. So real that when I’m awake, it’s hard to tell the difference, but I don’t really know.

“There’s only one way to know,” she says, and I know what she’s going to say before she even says it.

“You have to ask Lauren,” she says it anyway.

“I don’ think it’s a good idea,” I say with a sigh.

“I don’t want to confuse her or send her mixed signals,” I admit.

“Oh, but giving her cooking lessons and talking on the phone with her for hours definitely isn’t doing that.” She laughs sarcastically.

“She told you that?” I ask, surprised.

“She told me about the cooking thing. Your other best friend told me about the hour-long conversations,” she chuckles.

Aidan’s like a freakin’ girl.

“You don’t think I should teach her how to cook?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “Chris, you’re missing the point. I think you should do what you feel. If these things are making you feel right, do them,” she says enthusiastically. It would be great advice, but when it comes to acting on things, Lisa is definitely not the person to ask for advice. She does whatever she wants and rarely thinks about the consequences

“I don’t want to send her the wrong message,” I say firmly.

“What message are you trying to send, Chris? Because to be honest, I don’t think you know,” she laughs. “Now get out of my car before I really am late,” she says.

“That’s it. No sage advice, no words of encouragement?” I ask, disappointed. She pauses for a moment and looks up as if she’s in deep thought.

“Bacon cheeseburgers,” she says, and I look at her confused.

“What?”

“You knock two meals out in one, bacon’s in the breakfast group and burgers in the lunch group.”

I shake my head at her and get out of her car.

HHH

Lisa says I’m confused, and I am. I’ve never been this confused in my whole life. It’s like I’m being pulled in two different directions, my thoughts fighting against one another. My mind is constantly changing. I spend the rest of the day unloading the supplies my parents picked up from Denton with my dad. We end up working through dinner, silently frustrated with each other. By the time we’re finished, my mom and Lauren have already eaten dinner. My mom is in her room, tired from the day, and Laruen and Caylen in theirs. I shower and come down to eat dinner and my dad’s finishing up his food. We both sit, eating quietly, not much conversation happening between us at all.

I wonder if this is going to be our new normal. I hope not. I love my dad, and at one time, he was my best friend. But more and more, I feel this deep seed of resentment and contempt growing towards him. I thought I was over the fact that he kept the secret from me about my condition, but I still haven’t been able to shake it. I’ve forgiven my mom, but it’s like a barrier is keeping me from doing the same with him, and the suggestions and advice he keeps trying to give about Lauren just make things worse.

He gets up from the table and washes out his plate. He looks over me as if he’s going to say something, but he doesn’t. I want to talk to him but I don’t because what I’m about to do I know he wouldn’t approve of. After he’s left the room, I clean up my area and look in the fridge. There’s ground beef, eggs and bacon, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. I take all the items out and set them up on the counter. The one piece of advice I did take from Lisa is the dish for our first cooking lesson, and if things go okay, I’m going to tell Lauren that I’ve started to remember things.

At least I think I’m starting to remember things. I am going to try to downplay the romantic aspect of what I remember as much as I can. I want to be her friend, being her friend is okay. If I’m her friend, I can be there in the way she needs me to be. Being her friend won’t hurt Jenna, and if I’m her friend, the urges I have to be around her, to see her, hear her voice don’t make me feel so guilty.

Lauren and I will be friends.

Just like Lisa and I are friends.

Jenna doesn’t like the fact that Lisa and I are friends, but it’s something she’s dealt with. I pull out my phone and text her to see if she’s up. I hope she is or I’m going to feel like an idiot with all of this stuff laid out. If she’s not, I’ll make a burger and take it for lunch tomorrow. I turn on the radio in the kitchen but low enough so it doesn’t disturb anyone else in the house or wake up Caylen. My phone alert goes off it’s her saying she is. I text her to see if she’s ready for her cooking lesson. A few minutes go by and she walks into the kitchen, a curious smile on her face. Her hair is up in a messy bun, and she has on a pink tank top and pink and black flannel pajama pants. She looks almost like she’s a teenager. Her face still youthful and vibrant. She could easily pass for a senior at my school, and she’s…I don’t know how old she is.

“Hey,” she says, walking over towards me. She eyes the ingredients on the table and lets out a laugh.

“Meatloaf?” she asks excitedly, and I scratch my head. Okay, this is going to be harder than I thought.

“No. Bacon cheeseburgers,” I say nervously.

“I was just kidding,” she says, flashing me a wide smile that makes my heart speed up.

Lisa’s smile doesn’t make your heart speed up like this.

“You, almost gave me a heart attack,” I say, giving her a playful nudge with my elbow. I ignore the warm sensation that shoots through my body the moment I touch of her. I notice her face flushes, but her expression doesn’t change.

“Okay, we’ll start by washing our hands” I say, quickly distracting myself from the moment. I turn on the water and hand her the soap after squeezing some out for myself. We both scrub fairly quickly and head to the counter where the ingredients are at.

“Now this may sound stupid, but remember I’m a novice,” she says nervously.

I lean on the counter. “No stupid questions,” I assure and she lets out a nervous laugh.

“What are the eggs for?” she asks timidly, and I try to hide my smile.

“It makes the meat stick together,” I tell her, putting half the ground beef in her bowl and the other half in mine.

“Do we have to use eggs in it?”

“Uhm. You don’t have to, unless you’re adding like bread crumbs,” I explain, and she frowns.

“Okay. No eggs.” I laugh. I take the carton of eggs and put them back in the fridge.

“This is going to be your simple, on-the-go, less-than-twenty-minutes burger, okay?” I tell her playfully, and she nods.

“As you get better you can add more things, once you’re familiar with different seasonings and all of that, but try to keep it simple.”

“I like simple,” she interjects.

“Salt, pepper. I like onions, and you’re good to go.”

“Sounds good,” she says, seemingly interested. I take a half of an onion I’d already cut and pour some in my bowl of meat.

“Onions?” I ask.

She nods giving me the okay.

“So, you’re basically going to take the meat and pat it into a circle, like what a burger looks like. I’ll show you with mine,” I tell her, and I start to shape the meat as he watches my hands intently.

“Now you try,” I tell her. She picks up the meat and starts to shape it.

“Mine doesn’t look as neat is yours.” She pouts. Her patty is cracked on all of the sides.

“Instead of just smashing it, press down in the middle and in from the sides,” I tell her. She takes another handful of beef and starts to mold it and it looks exactly the same as her last one did.

“I told you, I suck at this,” she says disappointed. I take a hunk of my ground beef and show her how I did it again more slowly. She tilts her head watching me again, and after a minute she picks up her oddly-shaped hamburger, adding more meat with it and tries again.

It’s way too much. I finally take her hands and show her. She pauses when I do, we both do, but her laugh breaks the tension that’s mounting between us.

That’s definitely a friend laugh.

She manages to finally make two pretty perfect patties.

“Spectacular,” I say, and she takes a small bow.

“So the only thing next is to season them,” I tell her, and she nods. “It really only takes a few pinches of salt and pepper on each side.” I demonstrate on mine and then she grabs the bowl of salt and pepper I measured out earlier and does the same, mimicking the number of pinches I used. I can’t help but grin.

“Now you can fry these on the stove or cook them in the oven. I think to start off baking’s probably easier for you,” I tell her, grabbing the baking pan.

“You put foil down on the pan.” I grab a can of cooking spray. “Spray it so it doesn’t stick, you could use butter if you don’t have this.” She nods, and I put the burgers on the sheet and in the oven. “You set it for 350 degrees, and you’re done,”

“What’s the second pan for?” she asks. I hand her the pan and foil.

“Do that just the way I did.” She lines the pan with the foil and then I hand her the block of bacon. You can tear off eight pieces and lay them on the pan,” I tell her. When she starts to tear off the bacon she makes a grossed-out face, and I laugh.

“Okay,” she says when she’s done. I take the tray and pop it in the oven.

“Depending on how thin the bacon is you buy you’d have to keep a closer eye on it so it doesn’t burn but since this bacon’s pretty thick it can cook for about the same amount of time as the burgers, I tell her. She nods and then smiles.

“That wasn’t bad,” she says excitedly.

“You’re a natural,” I say jokingly.

“I wouldn’t go that far, and I had your help,” she says modestly.

“We’re not done yet. You have to actually taste it,” I remind her. We both sit down at the kitchen table and wait for the food to finish cooking.

“I appreciate this. I know you work with your dad early in the mornings. You should be asleep now,” she says, fidgeting with the strings on her pajama pants.

“I’m used to getting up early. I don’t mind” I tell her as my eyes gradually drift down to her chest. I immediately look away. She’s not dressed in anything revealing, but this is the least amount of clothes I’ve seen her in. Well, right in front of me. I’m reminded of the memories I’ve been having. I’m try to think of the best way to bring it up, which one to start with, and how much to leave out.

“I wanted to ask you something,” I say, trying to hide the nervousness in my voice. Her focus shifts from her pajama pants to me.

“Actually I wanted to tell you something and ask you something,” I say, clearing my throat, my nerves winning out.

“I—I think I might have remembered something—one of Cal’s memories.” Her eyes widen, she immediately seems more vibrant and alert.

The sound of his name does that to her. I rethink the idea of telling her. At first it was that I didn’t want her to hold on to something that’s long gone. To fan flames that need to be put out, but this time I feel, well I think I’m irritated, but that wouldn’t make sense. I have no reason to be irritated…unless I’m jealous.

“What did you remember?” she asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. I look in her eyes, and I see the hope in them. There’s a difference in her.

“Not a lot. Just me or Cal talking to Dexter,” I say, and I see the hope drain from her expression. She looks down at her lap and back up at me, apparently trying to hide her disappointment. A part of me feels like a jerk, the other part of me is relieved.

“That’s great,” she says, a small smile on her face.

“What happened?” she asks.

“They had an argument.” I know her next question is going to make me tell the truth. Should I give her a little of her hope back or leave things out and possibly ruin her night?

I don’t want to ruin her night but I don’t want to see her eyes light up like that again.

Well, I do, just not for him.

Now there’s no question about it. I’m jealous, and that is one of the worst things I’ve ever felt.

“About what?”

Do I tell the truth or a white lie? I try to weigh out the benefits of both, but it’s hard to think clearly when her hazel eyes are looking into mine, trying to read them, possibly searching, still looking for him.

“About you.” The truth wins out. I can’t lie to her when she’s looking at me like that. I’m already hiding things. If she asks me something directly, I’ll tell her the truth. I wouldn’t want her to lie to me so I won’t to her. Lying and omission is what got us into this, and it’s scary how easy it’s becoming for me to want to do the same.

She looks taken aback.

“What were they arguing about me for?” she asks, a little puzzled. I might as well just get it out.

“Dexter didn’t want him to marry you.” She’s quiet after I say that. She laughs to herself and rests her head in her hand.

“That’s not surprising. It seems most people didn’t,” she says sadly.

“Well Cal was pretty adamant he didn’t give a shit about what Dexter thought.” The words come out of my mouth so fast I don’t even realize what I said until afterwards, but they make Lauren smile. She looks like she feels better.

“He didn’t give a shit what most people thought,” she mutters.

She likes that about him. I sort of envy that. Envy that she likes that about him and that I’ve never been able to feel that way. I do care what people think, especially the people I love and care about, sometimes to a fault.

“The thing is I still don’t know if what I saw was real or a dream,” I say, reminding myself of why I even brought this up to her in the first place.

“Of course, I mean, how could you?” she says, matter-of-factly.

“There argument was at some type of event. I remember seeing a banner in the background. It said “Crestfield Cares.” There were grey and black balloons,” I say hesitantly.

She sits up and starts to think and shakes her head. “I don’t know, it could’ve been. We went to so many events for their company. Some I didn’t even go to,” she says apologetically. I guess I’m going to have to be more specific. I let out a sigh.

“You were there,” I admit, and she perks up a bit.

“The rest of everything was kind of hazy.” I smudge the truth. “But I remember you had on a grey dress, and he drove you somewhere near water after the party.” After a few seconds her eyes light up in recognition, and she grins. I can tell she’s fighting a wide smile.

“Yeah. I remember that night,” she says with a smirk. “It was a company party he took me to a couple of weeks before he proposed.” Her smirk turns into a full-on smile then she starts to blush.

Yup, she remembers that night.

“You don’t remember anything else?” she asks, looking at me, her expression a cross between suspicion and glee.

“It was all pretty hazy,” I say with a shrug. I get up from the table to check on the burgers. I open the oven and lean down so the heat can reach my face, an excuse for my own face changing color. The burgers and bacon are almost done. I motion her over to come look. She stands beside me, an accomplished smile on her face.

“It smells really good,” she says cheerfully. “High five,” she says lifting her hand, and I chuckle and slap hands with her.

Lauren and I are friends. There’s nothing friendlier than a high five.

Even after knowing that, I’m starting to remember, and I’m sure she has a suspicion that I remember more than I’m telling. She’s okay. She still knows our line. She doesn’t look at me longingly like she wishes I’d tell her I love her, or I want to be with her.

I was wrong.

She doesn’t want to hear that from me at all.

I’m happy.

I should be happy.

I tell myself I’m happy.

It doesn’t bother me at all that maybe she’s starting to distinguish that Cal and I are different. It’s what I wanted after all.

It’s a good thing.

That’s what I tell myself.

Even though I feel like crap.

HHH

I don’t know why I’m at Jenna’s house. It seemed like a good idea at the time. After cooking with Lauren, I felt like I needed to see her. I knew it was late, and she has to drive back to school in the morning. I need something to remind me why I shouldn’t be feeling how I am now. Why I feel off-balance, empty, and confused. Jenna is the woman I’ve known for the past two years, who’s been there for me through some of the toughest time in my life, the woman who I want to marry. Since all this happened, all we’ve done is argue or her toss ultimatums at me. I need to feel what I know we have. To remember because so many thoughts are being pushed in my head, it’s like our memories are being pushed behind everything else. I need them to come back to the forefront.

“I can go if you want me to. I know you have a lot to do tomorrow.” I’m sitting on the white and brown leather sofa in her living room. Jenna’s house was decorated right out of a home magazine, literally. The walls are beige with brown leather furniture. It’s modern/chic. That’s what Jenna tells me. It’s clean, just her books, notebooks, and laptops on the coffee table.

“No, I’m glad you’re here.” She covers the yawn trying to escape her mouth.

“You’re tired, it’s almost 11:00 I can come back” I tell her, getting off the couch and kissing her on the fore head.

She frowns. “No, it’s fine,” she says, pulling me back down on the couch. “What’s wrong?” She adjusts her sitting position so that she can look directly at me.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just miss you,” I say, pulling her on my lap. She smells good like she always does. Her hair’s down, but not perfectly straight and in place how it usually is.

I like it like this.

I run my hand through her hair, and she lets out a soft murmur.

“That feels good,” she says as my fingers drag down her back.

“I’m really glad you’re here,” she purrs before shifting her position. She has on a light blue robe she starts to take off revealing an oversized school t-shirt and boy shorts underneath.

“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something,” she says, her lips kissing my neck.

“What,” I ask while my hands creep under her shirt to take of her bra.

“I think you should move in here,” she whispers, and I go stiff. She leans back to see my face.

“I thought we’d agreed on waiting until after we were married and find a house,” I remind her.

“I know, but after everything that’s happened, it seems a little silly. I thought you coming over here showed you agreed with me about all of this waiting,” she says defensively.

“I don’t think this is the right time,” I say, and she slides off my lap.

“Why are we still waiting now, Chris?” she asks me, angrily tying up her robe.

“Because that’s what we agreed to do.”

“Before all of this came out, that’s what we agreed to do. It makes no sense now!” she says sharply. I should have known this was going to come up.

“What Cal and Lauren did has nothing to do with me.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, Jenna shoots daggers at me with her eyes.

“I can’t believe you just said that,” she says in a low growl.

“We can’t even get married until you get divorced!” She starts to full-on shout. “We’ve been waiting for everything. Waiting to move in together, waiting to have sex, waiting, waiting and waiting! And now you’re waiting to ask your wife for a fucking divorce.”

I get up off the couch and start to head to the door. “I want us to do things the right way, Jenna. We’ve waited this long. Waiting until we’re official is important to me. That’s how my parents did it. That’s how I want to do it,” I tell her sternly.

“You know when we first talked about it, I thought it was cute. I thought it made sense that it would be special, us doing everything the traditional way even if it was a little old school, but now it’s just stupid. You’ve been married already, you have a baby! This waiting is bull shit!” she roars.

“No one waits to have sex and move in together anymore,” she continues.

“You’re right, they don’t. And most people don’t even make it three years before they’re divorced,” I fire back at her. Her eyes narrow in on mine. I feel my head starting to hurt. I start to rub my temples.

“I’m not taking no for an answer. Either you move in here by the end of the week or we’re done!”

“Then we’re done,” I say simply.

Jenna’s eyes widen and her mouth falls agape. “What?” she asks surprised.

“I said I’m not moving in with you. I’m not fucking you, and we’re going to do what we agreed on or… we’re done.” My voice is a low and stern. I don’t recognize it, but the words are exactly what I wanted to say, but they were NOT supposed to come out. Jenna’s face is red and she looks speechless. Since I’ve known her, she’s never been speechless. I walk over put my finger on her chin, and lift it up so she can look directly at me.

“The rules are about to change,’ I say and he looks confused her mouth parted open. I bring her mouth to mine kissing her roughly on the lips. I think she’s going to snatch away but she doesn’t.

“Sweet dreams, Jenna,” I say as I turn and walk out the door.

When I’m in my truck, it finally hits me what just happened. I expect Jenna to run out on the porch screaming or blowing up my phone with obscenities, but nothing. I can’t believe that just happened, that I just said those things to Jenna and she didn’t say anything.

I’m embarrassed.

I should feel embarrassed.

It was terrifying but exhilarating.

The worst part is...

It felt good.

Chapter 8

Lauren

I want to be happy.

That’s all I’ve ever really wanted. I think that’s really all anyone ever wants out of life is to be happy. What makes us happy? Well, that’s different for everyone. For some of us it’s money, others it’s fame, some need a child, while others find satisfaction in their careers. In the end, we’re all searching for what will make us sleep well at night, give us peace even when everything isn’t perfect. When I was younger, I dreamed about some of those things. Who doesn’t want to be rich or famous until you realize all the problems that come with it?

I never realized the problems that would come with Cal. Now when I look at Chris, I wonder if he’s happy. I can’t tell. The more I get to know Chris, the harder he is to read. At first, I thought he was an open book, but that makes no sense at all. He’s far more complicated than he appears. His turmoil and frustration has a name, and a life of its own.

The more time I spend with Chris, the more I genuinely start to like him and not just because he looks like Cal and sounds like him, which is what I thought it was originally. I actually like the person he is, the one I’m getting to know. When I was with Cal I always saw something kind and warm in him—when he’d let me in, that is. I’m starting to think that was Chris. I want to let my guard down with him, I really do, but I’m afraid. It sounds silly and childish, but being in love with Cal seems so much different than letting myself have feelings for Chris. As wild and unpredictable as Cal was, I knew Cal. At least I thought I did. I was comfortable in the whirlwind that was our life together. Chris is a totally different story. Falling for him is dangerous, and pursuing him comes with a whole lot of risk. Rejection from him is more than that because if he can’t love me or want to there’s no hope for Cal and I, they’re one in the same.

Sometimes I’ll catch him looking at me in a way that makes me think he could feel something for me, but I think he doesn’t want to. He wants to be my friend, and the thought makes me cringe. I can’t ever really be his friend. How can you be friends with someone you want to love you? How do you pretend your feelings don’t exist or matter? I’m not that strong. If it turns out that Cal never comes back and he’s floating in some type of mental prison…How can Chris let me in if he shuts Cal out? If he can’t ever let me in, I will be cordial, I will be friendly, I will be the best co-parent I can, but I cannot be his friend, at least not now.

By the time I leave, I’ll know if Chris will let me in. That’s our timetable. I’m going to do my best to keep my armor on and my guard up while trying to get as close as I can. It’s scary, terrifying really, but it’s a risk I have to take. That’s what I keep telling myself. That’s what my heart is telling me, at least. My mind is telling me to move the fuck on and fast. My heart and mind have never agreed on anything, but it seem like what used to be frequent bickering has become a full on battle since my arrival here.

I look over at the clock. It’s 5:30am, but in Chicago it’d be 6:30 am. I already smell the breakfast Mrs. Scott is cooking up. Caylen’s still sleeping and will be for at least another hour. It usually gives me enough time to eat breakfast and shower. I slip on my robe and grab my toothbrush to freshen up. Mrs. Scott told me I can leave one in the extra holder space, but I don’t feel comfortable doing that so I go back and forth with it.

I open my door and head towards the bathroom but stop when I hear hushed whispering. I peep in the living room and see Jenna and Mr. Scott talking. I start to turn around and go back to my room but something tells me to stay right where I am.

“He said that to you last night?” Mr. Scott asks, his tone quiet and concerned.

“Chris has never talked to me that way,” Jenna says her tone louder than Mr. Scott’s. “I was worried this would happen with Lauren staying here,” he says bitterly, and I feel my heart speed up. What happened?

“I can’t say for sure that he’s Cal because I’ve never encountered him, but from the way you described him…Chris isn’t like who he was yesterday,” she says, and my heart is now beating a thousand miles a minute.

“If Cal is back the one good thing is that Lauren is here,” he says timidly. “He won’t leave with her here. I’ll have to talk to her,” he continues, and I tiptoe back to my room and close the door. My thoughts are all over the place. Cal can’t be back. He wouldn’t be back and not come to me. What the hell is going on, and what would Mr. Scott have to say to me if he is? I’m not going to talk to him, and if Cal is back why the hell would he go to Jenna’s house?

I feel so many different emotions right now, anxious, overwhelmed angry and… well no, no I won’t let myself be excited. I’m not able to think long before there’s a knock at the door. I try to fix my demeanor and calm my racing heart down. They don’t even know if Cal is here. He knocks again. I know it’s Mr. Scott. I crack the door so that he can barely see in.

“Good morning,” I say faking a yawn.

He nods, a grimace still on his face. “Good morning,” he replies, and there’s an awkward pause.

“Is everything okay?” I ask him quickly.

“I was hoping I could speak with you,” he says, trying to change his tone from disdainful to pleasant.

His attempt is lousy.

“Now?”

“If that’s not a problem,” he says, a bit of sarcasm in his voice.

“Well, Caylen’s asleep now,” I reply.

“Gwen has started breakfast. She ran upstairs for a bit. Can we talk when she’s back down?” he asks, and I let out a little sigh.

I don’t want to talk to Mr. Scott, especially about Cal. I don’t want to talk to him about anything. I don’t even know why he’d want to talk to me. He’s barely said ten words to me since I’ve arrived. I’d feel better if Mrs. Scott was involved, but it would be rude if I say no while I’m a guest in their home.

“Is it important?”

“Yes,” he answers immediately, and I nod.

“Sure,” I say shortly.

“Thank you,” he says, leaving my doorway. I know one thing, Jenna better be gone. They’ve both lost their minds if they think I’m talking to the both of them about Cal. That’d be like jumping in a shark tank with raw fish taped to my back. I wait a second before heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth and throw water on my face. Why does he want to talk to me all of a sudden, why hasn’t he talked to Chris…If he is Cal, I’m sure he doesn’t want—correction, he’s not going to talk to him—but if he was Cal, he wouldn’t hide it. He has absolutely no reason to now. I take a deep breath and head out and see Mrs. Scott coming down the stairs.

“Morning, Lauren,” she says cheerfully. She doesn’t have a care in the world right now. No sign of worry or anxiety on her face, unlike Mr. Scott’s.

“Good Morning,” I reply.

“Is Caylen up yet?” she asks, heading towards the room. She gestures to it before going in, a wide smile on her face. She still looks like a kid on Christmas morning when she talks about Caylen.

“I don’t think so. You can look in on her, though.” As she enters the room, I follow her.

“She’s such a little angel,” she says to me as she looks over her. Her excitement is barely contained. “But don’t worry, I’ll let her sleep,” she finishes. “How you are this morning, want some coffee or tea?” she asks as we leave the room together.

“No I’m fine,” I say, following her. Once we reach the kitchen, Mr. Scott is nowhere in sight. Judging by her cheerful mood, Mrs. Scott must have no idea what is going on. “They’re having a children’s reading hour down at the library today—Dr. Seuss, fairytales, that sort of thing. Would you mind if I took Caylen?” she asks tentatively. It only takes me a second to think about it. Mrs. Scott absolutely adores Caylen, and I feel pretty safe with leaving the two of them alone together.

“Sure,” I reply with a smile.

“Great! It’ll only be an hour and a half, and we’ll come straight back,” she assures me as she checks on something in the oven. It smells delicious. Mr. Scott comes back in the house through the kitchen entrance and kisses Mrs. Scott on the cheek.

“Honey,” she replies sweetly. He gives her a smile that makes me remember he’s not a mean bastard to everyone, just me…and Cal, apparently.

“Lauren, could you step outside with me for a moment?” he asks. Mrs. Scott looks at him oddly. This is the first time he’s spoken to me directly since I’ve been here.

“Is everything okay, William?” She asks a little suspiciously.

“Everything’s fine. Lauren’s been here a little while, and she and I haven’t really had a chance to get to know one another. I thought I’d show her around the farm,” he reassures his wife. She glances back at me, and I muster up as much of a smile as I can.

“I’ll go get a jacket,” I say, turning to leave the room. I didn’t know he was going to want to talk to me by myself. I assumed he was waiting on Mrs. Scott. I peak over at Caylen, who’s still sleeping and grab my jacket. As I approach the kitchen, I can hear Mrs. Scott saying something to him. I’m not quite sure what. She stops as soon as I approach.

“Shall we, Lauren?” He opens the door for me to step out. I try to act as if I’m not about to walk into the lion’s den. Depending on how this conversation goes this may very well be the last day I stay in this house because if he says anything inappropriate or disrespectful to me, I’m letting him have it. I smile at Mrs. Scott before leaving, and she gives me a nervous smile.

There’s an awkward tension in the air as Mr. Scott walks behind me. Once we’re off the porch I begin to wonder where we’re going. My eyes quickly skim the lot. No extra cars, so that means Jenna is gone. Chris’ car is gone too. If he picked up an early class that would make sense, nothing really out of the ordinary.

“So are you really giving me a tour or do you want to talk to me about Cal?” I ask him. He stops walking and lets out an exasperated sigh.

“Let’s head over here,” he says, pointing to the horse yard before answering my question. We start to walk towards it, the tension mounting with each step. When we reach the gate, he turns towards me and chuckles.

“I take it you heard Jenna and me talking this morning,” he asks and I nod.

“How much did you hear?” he asks

“Enough to know you think Cal is back.”

“I don’t think Cal is back. Jenna does, and she’s not entirely sure,” he says, letting out a shallow breath.

“I think if Cal was back that all of you would be gone by now,” he states boldly. I shake my head. I don’t really know what this man thinks of me, but it can’t be much for him to believe that if Cal resurfaced, I’d take off with him no questions asked, knowing about his condition. I feel my eyes roll.

“I told Gwen and Chris that I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to stay here,” he says.

Well that’s the news of the century.

“Ever since you showed up on this doorstep everything that was in place that was good for our family has started to unravel.” He’s speaking to me, but not bothering to look in my direction.

“That’s because you chose to let your son live a lie,” I interject.

“I want what’s best for my son,” he says, now turning his attention to me.

“I think you want what’s best for yourself,” I state plainly and he laughs, as if I’m joking.

“Cal coming back, existing, resurfacing whatever you want to call it, will destroy our family.” I’ve heard all of this before. Mr. Scott considers Cal the anti-Christ.

“That might not matter to you, but eventually, he will destroy your family,” he says, stepping towards me. I keep my eyes on his. I want him to know his little speech only serves to piss me off. His words don’t affect me, scare me, or intimidate me.

“You do understand in that in order for Chris to be well, he and Cal have to integrate. There is a reason he exists, and he’s not going away!” I say boldly even though I’m not entirely sure myself.

Mr. Scott scoffs. “Cal won’t integrate, he wants to take over! I’d have thought you could have figured that out. You were married to him after all! That’s the real problem. He’s Christopher’s rage, his impulsiveness, his bitterness and anger,” he states with derision.

I shake my head furiously “That’s not all Cal is!” I spit back.

“Oh, little girl, wake up! The goodness that you saw in Cal was Christopher. I thought you’d recognize that by now. If Cal comes back, it will be to take over, and the kindness and self-control he managed to exhibit, everything that was Chris will be gone! He’s going to be like a tornado, destroying everyone and everything in his path. He can’t help it, that’s his reason for existing,” he continues bitterly, and I start to think that Mr. Anti-psychology has talked with Chris’ doctor more than he has.

“How do you know what his reason for existing is? Why do you hate him so much?” The suspicion and bitterness in my tone is wildly apparent. There has to be more than what he’s saying. Why would he think Cal would destroy his family? I know Cal stepped aside for Chris to come back when his mom was sick.

“Or, maybe the better question is why does Cal hate you?” I ask him angrily, and for a moment he looks taken aback.

“Things are never black and white. Cal only see’s in black and white he doesn’t understand any grey areas,” he responds, and I look at him strangely. I didn’t expect that type of answer from him

“What is that supposed to mean?” Now I’m confused.

“If Cal’s not back, and Chris is starting to have those outbursts,” he says quickly.

“What do you mean, ‘outbursts’?” I interrupt him.

“Where he starts saying things that are completely out of character,” he says, talking over me.

“Just because he said something that might have pissed Jenna off doesn’t mean it’s Cal,” I say, laughing at the ridiculousness of their hypothesis.

“If he’s still Chris. I think it would be best for you to go stay at the Ritter Inn. I’ll pay for it,” he says, his tone a little less sharp but his words still cut. I shake my head.

“No,” I say as coldly as I can. He groans and folds his arms, as if he’s thinking for a minute. He must not be able to come up with anything to say because he begins to walk away but stops and turns back toward me.

“You’re not good for him, Lauren,” he says, his tone low, almost a growl before he starts to walk away again. I’m so angry. I want to hit something.

“Good for who?” I ask him sarcastically. The only person it seems I’m not good for is him and his delusion he wants his family to live in. He turns back around and gives me a stare that sends a chill down my spine.

“Either of them,” he declares before stomping angrily to his truck. He drives away, leaving me standing outside alone. I walk back to the house, replaying everything he said. Something isn’t right. I’m starting to think there’s another reason he doesn’t want Cal back. If he knows as much about this condition as I believe he does based on this conversation, he has to know integration is the goal. Why doesn’t he want that? I try to shake the adrenaline, anger and confusion from me before going back in the house. We were far enough away that no one should know that we were yelling at each other. He didn’t bring Mrs. Scott out, and I don’t know what his reasoning I, but I don’t want to worry her. She’s such a sweet woman, and if she knew what just happened I know it would, and there’s no need to because regardless of what her husband seems to think, he won’t intimidate me or push me away.

I’m not going anywhere.

Chris

I haven’t slept this good in weeks. For the first time in a long time, I’m not up before my alarm. When it starts to ring I slam the snooze button down, I know I was up late last night. After cooking with Lauren I went to Jenna’s and... I really don’t remember what happened after that. I should feel nervous or worried about it, but I don’t. I know I didn’t blackout because I remember kissing her and driving home and going to bed. I sit up in my bed and think, I remember going to her house, on the verge of makeing, and we started arguing about something, but I’m not sure what. Everything else is almost a blur. I don’t know how the argument ended, but I feel good about it. We must have made up because I feel good. No, I feel great. Not tired, or stressed. Just good.

I reach for my phone and pull up Jenna’s name and text her.

Good morning, beautiful.

I grab my clothes, head to the bathroom, and jump in the shower. I only have one class today. The good thing about subbing is even if you have one class or four you still get paid the same daily rate. After I change clothes, I head to the kitchen. I can already smell ham and eggs. I head down to the kitchen where I see Lauren and my mom at the table and Caylen in her high chair.

“Good morning, destructor,” I say, planting a kiss on Caylen’s forehead. It’s the nickname I’ve given her since she wrecks everything around the house, but she’s cute enough to get away with it. My mom sets a pitcher of orange juice on the table, and I grab her and give her a hug and kiss.

“Someone is in a good mood,” she says happily.

“What’s up, Lauren? Did you help mom with breakfast this morning?” I say playfully before sitting down in the chair across from her. I smile at her, looking at those big hazel eyes. I grab a plate and start to load it up with eggs. I’m starving.

Lauren is still looking at me, and not the way she usually does when other people are around. No quick glances or shy smiles. Today it’s like she’s examining me. It makes me shift in my seat because it’s kind of awkward and she hasn’t answered my question. Do I have shampoo still in my hair or something? Nah, my mom would have said something. Maybe I look exceptionally good today since I feel exceptionally good.

“Lauren told me you were a great teacher,” my mom teases me as she joins us at the table. She bows her head and Lauren finally stops looking at me and does the same while my mom says her standard prayer. When she’s done, Lauren starts examining me again. Two can play that game so I start to look at her directly in the eyes. I expect her to look away, but she doesn’t. If she wants to keep those beautiful eyes on me, she’s more than welcome to. My mom is talking about something, but I don’t really listen to what. Lauren isn’t listening either. I think we’re having a full-on staring contest.

“Is anyone listening?” My mom chuckles, I guess she’s noticed what’s going on. I laugh, but Lauren doesn’t. Her eyes narrow in on mine again before she turns to my mom and smiles. Is she mad at me or something?

“I said I was taking Caylen to the library for story time today,” my mom says.

“Oh, cool. I remember how much I loved story time,” I say in between chewing a mouthful of eggs.

“I do too. I know she’s a little young, but I thought it’d be nice for the two of us to do something together,” my mom says cheerfully. I swear she’s fallen in love with Caylen.

“That’s cool, Mom,” I say, and she smiles proudly.

“So what are you doing today, Lauren?” I ask her, hoping whatever mood she’s in is going to change. I haven’t seen her like this since we met.

“I’m not sure,” she says hesitantly.

“Did you want to do something later on?” I ask, and her eyes widen in surprise. “Not like a date or anything. Just hang out,” I say with a chuckle.

“I think it’d be great for you to get out of the house, Lauren, and get to see some of Madison,” my mom says chipperly.

I love my mom.

“Uh, I. Yeah,” she finally manages to get out. I laugh. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was nervous. Nothing like she was yesterday.

I like that I make her nervous.

“Cool. Lisa’s working tonight at Ardeby’s. I’ll call Aidan up, even drag Jenna out of her studying cave,” I say, downing a glass of my orange juice.

“Are you going to play?” she asks, her gaze back on me. That catches me off guard. I shrug. Who knows?

“Maybe I’ll surprise you.” I wink and her voice catches. Maybe the wink was too much. Kind of flirty. Crossing the friend line. I’ve never been much of a winker anyway. I’m not even sure why I just did it.

“Lauren, are you okay?” my mom asks her. I notice her face is kind of devoid of all color.

“Yeah, you kind of look pale,” I say a little worried, and my phone alert goes off. It’s a text message from Jenna.

Are you fucking serious?

I start to text her back, asking what she means or what her problem is, but I don’t. I’m not letting anyone ruin my mood today. I’ll swing by her house after work and see what’s wrong with her. Maybe our fight didn’t end as well as I thought it did.

“I’m going to head out, ladies,” I tell them, standing up from the table. For some reason, Lauren stands up with me. I glance at my mom who glances between us. Then my dad walks in. He gives me the same strange look that Lauren has been giving me all morning.

“Why are you guys looking at me like that?” I ask, unable to ignore their cryptic stares.

“Like what?” My dad asks hesitantly.

“Like I’m a science project.” Now I’m irritated.

“No one’s looking like that, son,” my mom interjects.

“You aren’t but dad is. Lauren is too,” I say, glancing over at her.

“Do you see something you want to share, Lauren?” my dad asks her, and I wonder, since when did Lauren and my dad start talking?

“What’s going on?” I ask, exasperated.

“It’s nothing. I thought it was but, it’s nothing. I’m sorry, Chris,” Lauren says before getting up from the table, but not before she shoots my dad an angry glare. He sighs before sitting at the table. I look over at my mom, who seems as clueless as I am.

“Twilight Zone,” I mutter to myself before leaving the house. When I’m outside I look around and something’s missing.

Where’s my car?

HHH

They were so weird today. Lauren and my dad. And my car. It was parked down the road instead of behind the house. I remember parking it where I always do. I woke up in a really good mood and that sucked it right out of me, too eerily familiar.

“I don’t even feel like going out any more to be honest,” I say to Aidan who’s sitting on my bed tossing an old football up and down.

“Well suck it up because we’re going out. I’ve got on my good shirt, and I’m ready to get drunk. We’re doing this. Tonight!” he says adamantly.

I can’t back out anyway. Lauren’s getting dressed down stairs. I haven’t talked to her since breakfast, except through text. I still haven’t talked to Jenna, but I know she’s in studying and she’s going to be pissed. I still don’t know what her text was about this morning, I’m sure I’ll get an earful about that when I do talk to her.

“Your mood sucks, dude. What happened to the Chris this morning? You were pumped. Now you’re like a chick that just got dumped,” he says irritated.

“Okay, bad news,” Lisa says barging into my room.

“What are you? Snookie?” Aidan says, snickering at the how high her hair is stuffed on her head.

“You can screw yourself,” she says wryly, turning her attention to me.

“I got suspended from Aderby’s.” She sighs.

“What?” I ask her, not in disbelief but in irritation. This isn’t the first time it’s happened.

“So we can’t go tonight,” she says with a shrug.

“Ugh fuck that. You can’t go, but we’re still going!” Aidan bellows.

“I didn’t even feel like going anyway,” I admit.

“Just because we can’t go there doesn’t mean we can’t go somewhere else,” she adds cheerfully.

“No, we’re not going anywhere else. We’re going to Aderby’s,” Aidan interjects.

“You know we haven’t been to the rink in ages. It’d be super fun!” she says enthusiastically, ignoring Aidan.

“They only have stale beer at the rink.” Aidan groans.

“I’m going to need you to attend alcoholics anonymous,” Lisa spits at Aidan.

“Maybe we should just postpone this. I haven’t even talked to Jenna today.” I sigh.

“Chris, get the mopey stick out of your butt. This was all your idea. You can stay here if you want but Lauren and Mr. Need a drink here, and I are going out,” Lisa says, folding her arms across her chest.

“Yeah, man, we haven’t even celebrated since I got…”Aidan sentence trails off, and there’s a little knock. It’s Lauren, standing in the doorway. She has on a black off-the-shoulder sweater. Her hair isn’t straight like it usually is, instead falling down in long waves. From the moment I saw her, I thought she was beautiful, but this is the first time I thought she was sexy.

“Hey,” she says, pushing her hair behind her ear.

“You look hot!” Lisa says excitedly.

“I think you should stay if you’re tired, Chris,” Aidan says enthusiastically. “I can handle the ladies tonight,” hey says, getting up off my bed. Lauren’s smile drops.

“You’re not going?” She sounds disappointed.

“No, I’m going,” I say quickly.

“I’m sure you are now,” Aidan mutters, and I nudge him.

“It’s just it’s a change of plans. We’re going to go skating.” Lisa’s excited, but Lauren looks pretty skeptical.

“Oh. I’ll go change then,” she says, wrapping her arms around herself like she suddenly feels uncomfortable.

“NO, no you’re fine. I’m not changing” Lisa says, who’s sort of dressed up herself.

“Besides if were’ going to pick up Jenna we need to be heading out now. The rink isn’t going to be open as late as the bar would’ve,” Lisa says glancing at her watch.

“Who’s driving?” Lisa asks.

“I vote Lauren. I haven’t been in the new Audi!” Aidan says quickly.

“We’re not all going to fit in an Audi,” I remind him.

“Well I could drive Lauren and me, and you guys can go pick up Jenna and meet us there,” Lisa says simply.

“I’m not riding with them,” Aidan interjects, and I frown at him.

“Fine ride with us then.” Lisa rolls her eyes.

“We can all just take my truck,” I suggest, but Lauren doesn’t look all that excited about my suggestion either.

“No it’s okay. I can drive and you can go get Jenna. It’ll probably work out better that way,” she says quietly.

“Great it’s settled. Let’s go,” Lisa links arm with Lauren, pulling her out of the room. Aidan quickly follows them with a wide smile.

Of course Lauren isn’t going to want to ride with Jenna.

I grab my keys and wallet and text Jenna I’m on my way to her house. I want to think this night is going to be tons of fun, but I have a feeling it could potentially be a disaster. What the hell was I thinking this morning?

HHH

I’ve rang the bell almost five times before Jenna comes to the window and peeps at me from behind the curtain. I can see she’s already scowling.

Oh this is going to be great.

A second later, she snatches the door open. She’s standing there, her and folded across her chest.

“What’s wrong?” I ask with a sigh.

“Are you serious? You can’t be serious right now?” she says condescendingly. I tilt my head back and take a deep breath.

“Can I come in?” I gesture towards the door.

“So you can insult me and be a complete fucking asshole like yesterday? Who are you, Chris?” she spouts off quickly.

“What? What are you talking about?” I am completely confused.

“Oh, let me guess. You don’t remember,” she says sarcastically.

“No, I remember…. I remember being here yesterday. Things were going good, and we argued about something, then I left. I remember us kissing, everything was fine right?” I ask hopefully. Apparently, things weren’t fine at all.

She begins to laugh. “No. No, things weren’t fine. Things aren’t fine at all, Chris. You were mean and extremely disrespectful. I didn’t even think you were yourself at all. You need help, Chris, and you need it fast,” she says sharply, going back into the house and attempting to shut the door. I stick my foot in it to stop her.

“Back up. What’s going on? What happened?” I ask, and she rolls her eyes.

“Your dad hasn’t talked to you today?” she asks, and I shake my head. “Of course not. Your parents are enablers, complete and utter enablers,” she says to herself.

“What are you talking about?”

“I think I met Cal yesterday,” she says pointedly.

“What?!” I ask in disbelief. “That’s not possible.” He’s gone.

“It’s very possible! I saw you change right in front of my eyes,” she says adamantly.

“No. I remember being here, talking to you. We were on the couch, and we argued about something,” I say, trying to connect my thoughts together.

“Well, either he told me that he wasn’t moving in and basically to go fuck myself or you did. You tell me. Who was it?” she asks angrily and my mouth falls open. There’s no way I would tell Jenna to go fuck herself. I’ve never told anyone to go fuck them self.

“Wait. Move in together?” I realize what she just said. “Where’d that come from?” I ask.

“We are not having that conversation again,” she says, going into her house. She leaves the door open so I follow her in. I sit down on the couch and rest my head in my hands.

“I felt different this morning. I felt off, but good. I’ve never felt like that before,” I say aloud, but I don’t even know if Jenna is listening.

“You talked to my dad about this?” I ask her, looking up. She’s standing across from me, hands on her hips, anger still radiating off her. She doesn’t look sympathetic or worried. She looks angry. I can’t blame her, really.

“I came over this morning before I drove out to school. I couldn’t even sleep. I was so mad, it didn’t resonate with me until after you left that it was probably him. I was just so shocked,” she says tensely. I can imagine. Then it clicks. That’s why my dad and Lauren were looking at me like I had horns growing out of my head this morning. My dad must have talked to Lauren. I let out a groan. I can’t imagine how hard it was for her thinking I was Cal then realizing I wasn’t.

“I didn’t have a blackout. I wouldn’t call it that because I don’t remember what happens when I black out. I remember being here yesterday and talking to you and going home, it’s just…everything is hazy,” I admit to her. She comes and sits beside me.

“You’ve got to get some help, Chris. No more putting this off. I know that you have a condition and all of this happened, but it’s different when it’s right in your face. That guys a fucking asshole. If I knew it was him, I would have kneed him the in groin,” she says, and I let out a laugh. The only thing is that I’m not sure if it was him. It’s likely it was, but yesterday was different than what’s happened in the past.

“I’m going to set up an appointment tomorrow. I promise,” I tell her, sensing her anger starting to slowly subside.

“You have to. This is just too stressful for us to deal with without any professional help. You have to learn how to control him and keep him away. Screw integrating or whatever the experts say you’re supposed to do. He needs to go,” she says adamantly.

I nod, it’s not something I haven’t heard from my dad a thousand times.

“Thanks for not kicking me in the groin,” I joke, taking her hand in mine. She squeezes it back. She doesn’t smile, but her frown isn’t there either. I suddenly remember the reason I’m supposed to be here in the first place.

“Let’s do something fun tonight,” I tell her excitedly. All that’s been happening between us is arguing, fighting, and stress or a combination of all three in the past month. We haven’t had fun in forever.

“Like what?” she asks curiously.

“Skating. When’s the last time you’ve been?” I ask her, and she shrugs a small smile on her face.

“Probably since I was fourteen,” she chuckles.

“Go get dressed. Let’s go,” I say enthusiastically.

“Now? It’s almost nine,” she says hesitantly.

“Come on Jenna. It doesn’t have to be long. An hour, hour and a half tops,” I urge.

She’s thinking.

“As long as we’re back before 11.” She laughs, getting up and heading to her room.

“Give me ten minutes to change,” she admits with a grin. As she changes, I try to push the fact that Cal told my fiancé to go fuck herself out of my mind.

If it was Cal.

Lauren

I thought it was him. I swear to God I did.

He seemed different. I really did think it was him. When he winked at me, I nearly passed out, but then it was gone. He’s lucky he was gone because the moment he mentioned Jenna, I had to keep myself from jumping over the table and slapping the shit out of him.

I’m glad I didn’t do that because a minute or two later, I realized it wasn’t Cal. This was the closest Chris had ever seemed to Cal. If I wasn’t confused before, I sure as hell am now. I was really hoping we were going to a bar but since Lisa’s gotten suspended we’ve ended up at a skating rink instead. I’m not looking forward to this AT ALL. When I see Jenna and Chris walk in hand and hand, I want to throw up. When she sees us at the checkout counter waiting for our skates, her smile quickly disappears and is replaced with a full blown scowl.

This is going to be loads of fun.

The worst part of this, I have no clue how to skate. So I’m going to end up at a table eating corn dogs, popcorn and drinking cheap beer because let’s face it, I definitely need a drink. I could really use a stiff drink, but I have a feeling they’re not going to have liquor as strong as I need tonight.

“Did you guys order our skates already?” Chris asks, a nervous smile on his face as he notices Jenna grimace.

“We ordered yours. I didn’t know Jenna’ size,” Aidan says with a shrug. “What’s up, Jenna?” Aidan’s acknowledgement is barely a mutter.

“Hey, Jenna, glad you can come out tonight.” Lisa sounds more enthusiastic, but it comes off more like sarcasm. How did Chris end up engaged to someone neither of his best friends can stand?

“Chris didn’t tell me you guys would be here,” she says, a tense smile on her face before shooting daggers at Chris.

“Oh, he didn’t, huh?” Lisa asks knowingly as she hands Chris his skates.

“Well you girls look awfully dressed up to be at a skating rink,” Jenna says to Lisa, but turns to look at me with disdain. “We all can’t dress like someone’s gran…”

“We were originally going to Ardeby’s,” Chris quickly interrupts.

“Why don’t you guys go grab a table?” Chris says, gesturing towards me and Lisa.

“That’s a great idea,” Lisa says, and she and I make our way to find a table large enough for us to all to sit in.

“Don’t you just want to hit her in the face?” Lisa jokes, and I let out a frustrated breath. I glance over at them. She looks like she’s giving him an earful.

“I take it he didn’t tell her they were meeting up with us,” Lisa jokes, looking in their direction as well. That just makes all of this even more awkward. I feel silly. I haven’t dressed up in such a long time. Really, this isn’t even how I used to dress up with Cal, but I still feel overdressed. Half of the people in here seem to be high-schoolers, and I can’t even skate.

“This is going to be fun, Lauren. We’re going to have a blast.” Lisa’s obviously reading my mood.

I try to plaster on a fake smile. “Well let’s get to it then,” she sings, putting on her skates. I loosen mine up before sliding my feet in. Aidan already put his on and skates over to us like a pro.

“I’ve still got it,” he says, leaning on the table.

“So who wants to go first?” he says, sticking his hand out to both Lisa and me. Lisa huffs.

“You know I roll solo,” she says, sticking out her tongue at him before making her way to the floor. I can’t help but frown. I planned on her being my crutch to baby skate along with tonight, the little skating I planned on doing. The way she’s moving around the floor, I don’t think that’s happening.

“Okay, it’s just me and you, Lauren.” He reaches out a hand towards me.

I shake my head. “No, I’m just going to sit here and order something to eat,” I say timidly.

“Eating at a skating rink. Nah, trust me you don’t want to do that.” His face scrunches up before flashing me a Colgate smile.

“The food’s bad?” I guess, and he nods.

“Come on, let’s break a leg,” he says, gesturing his head to the main skate floor. I let out a little laugh.

“I might actually break my leg out there,” I say timidly. He looks at me skeptically, his clear, ocean-blue eyes narrowing in on mine as realization dawns on his face.

“You can’t skate?” he asks, covering up a laugh. I look away embarrassed.

“Why didn’t you say anything? We could have gone somewhere else?” he asks in earnestness, and I shrug.

“I’m sort of the tag along. I didn’t want to want throw a wrench in things.” I shrug.

“You’re not a tag along,’ he says, sitting across from me. I glance over at Chris and Jenna who still seem to be having some type of disagreement.

“If anything, Lisa’s the tag along.” He playfully nudges my arm, and I laugh. He’s different than I originally thought he was. I don’t know if he had been drinking that night I first met him, but he seemed like a complete horn dog the way he was eyeing me that night. It’s not that he hasn’t glanced at my cleavage tonight, but no more than most guys have.

“Come on. I’ll show you how,” he says, taking my hand and helping me up from the table.

“I don’t know. Everyone out there looks like they know what they’re doing. I’m just going to be in the way,” I say hesitantly, scooting my way back to the table.

“Everyone has to learn at some point. Granted, most people learn when they’re a kid, but we’ll make an exception since you’re hot,” he says playfully, but I feel myself blush at the compliment, even though I roll my eyes. I stand up and steady my balance. I attempt to walk in the skates, but end up grabbing his arm to not fall flat on my butt.

“I’ve got you,” he says, wrapping one of his arms behind my back so it won’t take us a year to get to the floor. It takes us a minute, but we finally make it. There’s a nice amount of people skating. No one else looks like they’ve never done this before. Aidan lets go of my back and stands in front of me and puts out his hands.

“Hold my hands, and act like you’re walking…on wheels,” he adds, and I take a baby step towards him. I immediately almost fall again, and he grabs me. He laughs.

“Kind of go side to side while you’re walking,” he says, and we try again. I get a little further before busting my butt.

“Oor you could just hold on to me,” he says after I grab his arm and hold on for dear life.

Chris

I shouldn’t have come. I definitely shouldn’t have brought Jenna tonight. She was not happy at all when she realized Aidan and Lisa were here.

She was furious when she saw Lauren.

Granted, I should have told her, said something or mentioned that this was something already planned for all of us, but if I did she wouldn’t have come. I wanted her to come so that we could have fun, forget about all the issues we’re having, and just enjoy each other. Neither one of us is doing that, but apparently everyone else is having a fantastic time. Lisa always loved skating so she could be the only one in the rink, and she’d have fun. She’s actually a really good skater and kind of a show off, but what’s bothering me is how much fun Aidan and Lauren are having.

Together.

It started out as just annoying. Apparently, Lauren doesn’t know how to skate, and Aidan sucks as a teacher because for the past half hour or so she’s had to cling on to him all around the rink. They’re talking and they’re laughing so much that Lisa ditched her solo performance to join in on the fun. It’s nice they’re having fun. It’s irritating to watch them together, but I can’t seem to stop watching either.

“Whoa!” Lisa says as I almost slam into her. Luckily we’re both pretty good and manage to not face plant.

“Chris! What the hell,” she says angrily once we she’s stable on her skates again.

“Sorry, Lisa. I didn’t really see you,” I apologize. I really wasn’t paying attention.

“I’m sure you didn’t, seeing how hard you’ve been staring at Aidan and Lauren since you’ve been on the floor,” she says knowingly. “Come on. Let’s have a little chat, buddy.” She links arms with me, and we skate off to the table. Jenna stormed off into the arcade room after she finished blowing up on me.

“I haven’t been staring.” It’s not that much of a lie. “But they’ve been skating almost an hour and he hasn’t even gotten her to where she can skate without holding on to him,” I say defensively, and Lisa shakes her head.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were jealous.” She chuckles.

“Jealous? Why would I be jealous?”

“Of course, it would be completely ridiculous if you were jealous. It’s not like deep down inside, you have feelings for this woman,” she says sarcastically, and I stop. She does the same. I frown at her. She leans forward and sighs.

“Chris, it’s okay if you have feelings for her. I think it’d be strange if you didn’t. Yes ‘Cal’ is the one who met her and loved her, but at the end of the day, Cal is part of you,” she says, looking me directly in the eye.

“You need to be honest with yourself. His feelings are your feelings,” she says sincerely.

“It’s not exactly like that,” I say confidently, but these days it’s starting to feel like she could be right.

“Oh please, Chris. She hasn’t been here two weeks, but the way you look at this girl, it’s not like you just met. It’s something deeper than that,” she says adamantly.

“I love Jenna,” I state plainly.

“And Lauren?” she asks bluntly.

“I—I’m not going to lie and say I don’t feel anything,” I say honestly. I look over at her with Aidan, how she laughs, and the dimple in her cheek when she smiles, the way my heart speeds up when she’s near me, but it’s confusing. I don’t really know her, but…

“I can’t believe no one has suggested this. That you haven’t even considered it, but maybe you should put things on hold with Jenna until you figure all this out.”

“I—I can’t do that. Jenna, she’s been with me through the thing with my mom. She knows me. She loves me,” I say to her and myself.

“I know Cal loves Lauren. It wasn’t just a physical thing like I thought, but Cal loves her. Those are his feelings,” I say, avoiding Lisa’s knowing gaze.

“Well, Cal hasn’t been the one staring at Lauren all night.” she says sarcastically.

“I know you want to be fair to Jenna, but this, how you’re feeling now. That isn’t fair to you, to her, or Lauren for the matter.”

I drop my head.

“Trust me, it’s not fun being in love with a man whose in love with someone else,” she says solemnly. I’m about to ask her what she means when I see Jenna walking towards the table. She’s long abandoned her skates. She sits down not glancing at either of us or saying anything. After a moment of awkward silence, she huffs.

“How much longer are we going to be here? It’s almost 10:30. I have class tomorrow.”

I sigh.

“I’ll go and see if Lauren and Aidan are ready to go,” Lisa says. “Well, actually, they look like they’re having fun,” she says lightly. Lisa glances over at me as I turn around and watch them. They are having fun…too much fun.

Lisa sighs and stands up.

“Well, Chris and I drove together. There’s really no reason for them to leave just because of me,” Jenna says innocently. “Come on, Chris, let’s leave them to it,” she says, standing, taking my hand. Lisa looks at us awkwardly.

“I’m not really ready to go.” The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.

“You’re not ready to go?” she asks sharply. “Right. Because you’re having so much fun,” she says sarcastically.

“I think they’re ready too,” Lisa interrupts. “I’m going to go get them,” she says, and she skates away.

Jenna lets out a deep breath and puts her head in her hands. “Do you think I’m stupid, Chris?” she says quietly.

“No I don’t think you’re stupid,” I say honestly.

“You are really, really pushing it,” she says tightly. “Why did you bring me here if you were just going to stare at them all night,” she says angrily.

“I wanted to come here to have a good time with you, and ever since we got here you’ve acted like you don’t want to be here,” I protest.

“I didn’t want to be here with them! I thought this was going give us a chance to spend time together. You didn’t tell me this was going to be a big field trip with your wife in tow,” she spits at me.

“They’re heading over can you please be nice?”

When they make it to the table, Lisa’s wearing a sort of nervous frown. Lauren and Aidan are all smiles, and are laughing as they plop into their seats.

“You guys ready to go already?” Aidan asks, catching his breath.

“They’re going to close in a little while anyway,” I reply shortly. I’m not sure why I’m irritated with Aidan. Well, no, I know why I am, but I don’t mean to sound like it.

“I told Chris that if you guys weren’t ready to go, you didn’t have to. For some reason Chris has Caylen confused with Lauren and thinks she needs to be babysat,” Jenna says, adding a laugh. The awkwardness sets in as soon as she says it. I see Lauren’s eyes narrow in on Jenna.

“Well I’m a great babysitter, I think,” Aidan jokes, throwing his arm around Lauren’s shoulder. She smiles at him. She smiles at him! She doesn’t inch away uncomfortably or shoot me a glance for help. She just smiles. I can feel my face heating up.

“I’m starving. You guys want to get something to eat?” Lisa interrupts.

“Is the food that bad here?” Lauren giggles.

“Terrible,” Aidan says, turning his body towards her.

“I didn’t know you couldn’t skate, Lauren,” I ask. She shrugs.

He gets a wide smile but I get an indifferent shrug?

“Yeah, I didn’t want to ruin anyone’s night by saying anything.” She laughs. I can feel Jenna shift in her seat.

“Chris, are we leaving or do I need to need to call a cab?” she asks me sharply. I see Lauren let out a deep breath. I’m trying to hold in my own.

“Oh, Chris, I meant to ask you. Could you take a look at my car? It was making this weird ticking sound while I drove to your house,” Lisa asks abruptly.

“Yeah. Sure Lisa,” I say wondering why she’d pick now of all times to ask me.

“Great. How about I just drive your car home? I can drop Jenna off and come back tomorrow and get it,” she says and I can help but feel myself smirk.

“Yeah that’d be cool,” I say trying to contain my smile. Lisa’s definitely wins best friend of the night award.

“Come on, Lauren. I’ll walk you up to turn in your skates,” Aidan says, getting up and Lauren takes his hand to get up. I think my eye literally twitches as they go to the counter together.

“See, everything works out,” Lisa says cheerfully. I can see Jenna glaring at me like she wants to rip my head off. “I’m going to go turn in my skates.” Lisa leaves me at the table alone with Jenna.

“I don’t even know why I’m here, Chris,” she says quietly. I expect her tone to be deadly and spiteful, but it’s just quiet, and it makes me feel ashamed.

“Because I wanted you to come out and have fun. Things just don’t seem to be going my way. Nothing has been working out how I’ve wanted it to, Jenna. I’m trying. If you could just meet me half way.” I take her hand in mine, and she snatches it away.

“Goodnight, Chris,” she says, scooting her way to the other side of the table and leaving me alone to think about what a disaster this night has turned out to be.

HHH

I never imagined things would have happened like this, this morning. I was optimistic, a little confident that today was going to be a great day. It turned out to be anything but great. Lauren and I have barely said five words to each other. That’s thanks to Aidan who has been acting like a five year-old and Lauren’s his favorite toy, asking her questions, joking around with her, looking her in the eyes and not at her chest like he normally does with girls. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he actually liked her, but it’s Aidan. He doesn’t like girls. He likes what he can do to them, and I’d kill him before he gets Lauren to do what he likes.

I’ve been trying to keep my composure because he’s my best friend, and he likes to play mind games. He’s probably doing this just to screw with me, and if he’s doing it just for that reason it pisses me off even more. He can’t involve Lauren in his little pissing contests.

We went to a burger joint after the rink, and I may as well not even be here the way he’s been going on and on like he’s trying to impress her. She’s being polite, smiling, nodding, and laughing when he cracks jokes, but every so often I’ll see her glance at me. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was trying to make me jealous. Then again, I could be over reacting. It’s like my emotions are on edge. I wonder if this is how girls with PMS feel?

“Okay, I gotta go to the bathroom, but when I get back, I’ll tell you how this loser broke my wrist when we were kids,” Aidan says enthusiastically as he bounces out of his seat and heads to the bathroom, leaving Lauren and I alone at the table.

I’m picking at my food. I still have half a chicken sandwich and a handful of fries on my plate. I don’t want any of it.

“Aidan’s quite the character.” She giggles, and I do my must to muster up a smile. An awkward silence sets in, the first since the day we took Caylen to the zoo. Actually, this is different. It’s more like tension.

“He’s something alright,” I say, sounding bitterer than I wanted to.

“Are you okay?” she asks, tearing a French fry in half.

“Yeah, why do you ask?” I say dryly. It’s the first time she’s asked me anything since we got here.

“Well, you’ve barely eaten any of your food…” she says, gesturing to my plate. I shrug. I know I’m acting like a six year-old, but I can’t help it.

“It’s the first time we’ve ever eaten together that my plate has less food on it than yours.” She laughs, and I ignore how her grin makes me not want to be mad at her anymore.

“Not in the eating mood, really,” I mutter, pushing my plate back from me and leaning back in my seat.

“Is Aidan single?”

I feel a wave of anger rush through me. Is she kidding? She seriously didn’t just ask me that.

“Why?” I snap at her. She looks shocked. I’ve shocked myself. “I just thought he and my best friend Hillary would get along really well,” she says apprehensively. As soon as she says it, my stomach unclenches, and my chest feels lighter.

“Oh,” I say dumbly. She smirks at me, and it turns into a full-fledged smile, and just like that, the tension’s gone. Well that tension is gone. I take advantage of the chance to look at her, the shape of her lips, how her big brown eyes smile at me, and it’s like something in the air has changed.

“You know. Cal and I had our first date at a place like this one,” she says, her eyes still on mine. I can feel my heart speed up.

“We had just went bungee jumping, believe it or not.” She chuckles, looking around the restaurant.

“You know at the time, I thought it was out of character for him to like places like that, when I first met him.” Her smirk turns into a grin. “He seemed all five-star restaurants and private chefs, which he was, but every now and then, we’d go to places just like this,” she says, her eyes not leaving mine. “I remember it like it was yesterday. He sat across from me, sort of how you are now, and he smiled at me like he could read my every thought. It seems like forever ago,” she says, shaking her head and then her eyes find mine again.

“We were at a table just like this.” She lets out a light breath, and she lightly bites down on her lower lip. She stands up, and now she’s sitting next to me, only a few inches between us, so close I can smell the hint of perfume she’s wearing. I can hear her unsteady breathing, and my heart starts to race a thousand miles minute. It’s like everything around us has disappeared and it’s just us.

Me and her.

“I wanted him to kiss me,” she says almost breathless, like it took every ounce of air in her to say what she just did. Her eyes are on mine, big and bright, her lips slightly parted. She wants me to kiss her. It’s like she’s silently begging me to. She hasn’t said it, but she doesn’t have to, because I can feel it. I want to kiss her more than I have ever wanted to kiss anyone.

I need to kiss her.

I’ve never felt like I needed to do anything more in my life…but does she want me to kiss her? Is the urge I’m feeling mine, my own, or his. If I do this, there will be no going back. That line we have between us will be gone. It’ll change everything. After everything that happened with Cal possibly being out yesterday, everything is too murky. I can’t make a decision like this now. It’ll have too many consequences.

“Aidan will be back any minute,” I say, breaking our trance. I see her expression fall, the disappointment is palpable. Her face flushes scarlet like she’s embarrassed. She looks away from me and quickly gets up and goes back to her seat.

I feel like an idiot.

I probably am an idiot.

A fucking loser. A confused jerk-off.

Aidan’s back at the table soon. He goes into one of his crazy stories but notices no one is laughing. He frowns looking at both of us.

“Did I miss something?” he asks, puzzled. Lauren’s not talking anymore, no more smiling, or laughing she looks like she’s not even in there.

This is what I wanted right?

“You didn’t miss anything. I’m just tired,” she says, mustering as much of a smile as she can.

We leave. The car ride is quiet and awkward, even Aidan can’t lighten the mood. When we pull in front of my house she smiles at Aidan.

“Thanks for everything tonight. I had fun,” she trying her best to appear cheerful, it looks like she’s on the verge of tears but none show.

She’s strong.

You’re so fucking weak.

“No problem,” Aidan says. She doesn’t even glance at me.

“Here are the keys, Lauren,” I say to her. She’s in the backseat of her own car. I’m begging her to look at me, to let me know that she’s okay, that we’ll be okay. Whatever it is that we are.

But she doesn’t look at me, not once, and she hasn’t since the restaurant. She grabs the keys from my hand, keeping her eyes on her lap, and quickly exits the car. When she gets out of the car and is in the house, Aidan looks at me with an angry glare.

“What the fuck did you do to her?”

“I don’t know,” I mutter. That’s a lie.

I think I just broke her.

Chapter 9

Lauren

I’ve never been more embarrassed in my entire life. I thought I was reading him right, but that was obviously wrong. I thought he just needed the right push, for me to give him the right sign. I feel so stupid, desperate, and completely confused. The entire night at the skating rink, he watched me. I saw him not just glancing, but full-on staring at Aidan and me.

I thought he was jealous. When he ended up riding with me and Aidan instead of Jenna, I thought it was a sign. To take my chance. It was so nerve-wracking at the diner. Aidan was great, telling jokes and old stories about him and Chris. He turned out to not be a total horn dog jerk like I first thought. I was flattered with all the attention he gave me and a little surprised that he ignored Chris’s scowl. While I watched Aiden laugh and joke and have a great time, Chris sat there angry, brooding, and irritated…I thought he was, but I was completely wrong. When Aidan left the table, I couldn’t just sit there anymore. He was sitting there slouched in his seat, frowned up, his hair messy but incredibly sexy, his green eyes a little darker than I’d seen. I try not to look at Chris. I’ve been trying to not look at him in that way, but he’s so freakin’ handsome, and he was once mine. I couldn’t help it. I tried to stop myself, but I couldn’t, and for a moment, I thought he wouldn’t stop himself either.

I believed he just needed a push. It took everything in me to sit next to him and not climb on top of him, right there in the restaurant, but I didn’t. I did everything I could to get him to kiss me. Maybe I did everything wrong, or I did everything right, and it doesn’t matter. He just didn’t want to.

I thought he was giving me signs, but maybe I’m imagining all of this, and I just saw what I so desperately wanted to see. I feel like I’m losing my mind. Now I’m too embarrassed to even look at him. I barely want to look at myself in the mirror. He just confirmed he doesn’t want me. I was strictly Cal’s. Chris just doesn’t see me that way, and it hurts so much more than I thought it would. I only have two weeks left. That’s all I have to get through. Last night, I felt a piece of me breaking, and I can’t let that happen. I can’t go through what I did with Cal for two years again. I’m a mom now. If Cal didn’t break me I won’t let Chris.

I think it’s time to let go. The most important thing is for Caylen to have a family as normal as the dysfunctional unit that we have can be. There won’t be any more complications on my end. I won’t let there be. If Chris wants to be confused, he can do that on his own, or maybe he isn’t confused and I’m just not what he wants, and he doesn’t want to hurt my feelings. Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter now.

I’m letting go of Chris and Cal, along with whoever else is in there.

Chris

Things are great.

Caylen’s taken to my family like she’s been around forever. My dad and I are back on good terms. The anger and bitterness that came over me whenever I looked at him is gone, and the most surprising thing is that Jenna and I are on good terms too. No more angry glares or condescending comments. I can touch her without her snatching away from me, and we’ve been able to spend time together without a fight. The constant tug of war going on inside of me is over. Whatever was happening, the outbursts that came without me being able to stop them are gone. The mood swings haven’t come back anymore, and I feel like myself again. Everything is great, I should be elated. I should be happy.

I’m not.

Lauren’s changed. Things have changed between us. Ever since that stupid night at the diner, nothing has been the same. I shouldn’t want them to be different. We’re cordial that’s all I should want, but I want more. It’s not like we’re bad. When I see her in the morning, she speaks. At dinner, she’s cordial to me like she is with everyone else. When I go and get Caylen from her to give her a break, she manages to smile, but it seems forced. She’s different. Almost like a shell of herself.

Our cooking lessons have stopped. The first night I knocked on her door after the diner, she said she was tired, and we’d postpone. The second night I knocked on her door, she said she didn’t feel well. The third night, she answered the door and avoided my eyes. She avoided looking at me altogether. She barely glances at me now. She said she talked to my mom about giving her lessons so she won’t be a bother to me.

She’s never been a bother. I wanted to teach her because I wanted to spend time with her, to get to know her, and for her to get to know me. It seemed like a lost cause to argue, and how can I argue? I know why she’s pulled back. I just hate that it’s so easy for her. It hasn’t been easy at all for me. I understand it’s what she needs to do. I made it clear there’s a line one not to be crossed, and she obviously won’t even come near it now. It’s selfish of me to want to walk the line, and want her walk it too, but I can’t help it. I look for excuses to be around her, but it doesn’t last long. She usually finds a reason to leave the room quickly after I enter. I’m jealous of the time she spends with my mom, where she genuinely smiles and looks like the weight of the world isn’t on her shoulders. She’s different with everyone else. It’s only with me that it looks like a part of her is missing.

I should leave things as they are, but I feel off-balance, like something is lost in me. I finally scheduled an appointment with the doctor Aidan’s friend sees. She’s booked out for the next month, but I’m on the waiting list if a cancelation occurs. Too bad the doctor’s all the way in Chicago so if something does open up, it’s not going to be easy to get there. Jenna’s glad I made an appointment. I haven’t talked to Lauren about it. I’m pretty sure she’s washed her hands of me, but I know it was something that she wanted me to do.

I know it’s something I need to do because I really need someone to tell me why I steal glances at a girl I haven’t known long. Why these feelings are here, and when they will go away. Why, deep down, I don’t think I want them to go away. I haven’t had any more memories in the past week. My dad might have been right. Lauren could possibly be a trigger, the reason Cal shows me glimpses into my other life. It was weird. It was scary, but I’d never felt better.

“Honey, is everything okay?” my mom asks as we sit in the living room, watching her favorite show on the Food Network while Caylen plays with her toys. We’ve had dinner, and Lauren’s gone to back to her room. I’m not sure what she does in there. There isn’t a TV or anything. I guess she could be on her laptop. I wonder if I wasn’t here, would she be in here with my mom and Caylen. I know the answer to that, though.

She would be here if I wasn’t.

“Yeah, it’s just been a long day,” I say with a sigh.

“I think Lauren and I are going to try this recipe,” she says, recording the show and turning towards me.

“How is she?” I ask her casually.

“She’s doing really well. She’s not as bad a cook as she made herself seem.” My mom chuckles.

“I didn’t really mean the cooking, Mom? “I say hesitantly.

“Maybe you should ask her, Chris,” she says simply.

“It’s not that easy. She doesn’t really want to be around me,” I admit.

“Why is that?” my mom asks genuinely.

Because you suck at life. You’re an oblivious jerk. A giant pussy.

“She probably thinks things are better this way,” I say quietly. My mom turns the TV to Nick Jr. and comes and sits next to me on the couch.

“How do you feel about that?” Her green eyes seem to see through me. She puts her hand on mine, and I say what I’ve wanted to say since that night I pushed her away.

“Terrible,” I admit.

“Son, I know you are in a very difficult situation. Are you sure you don’t want to talk to Dr. Lyce? I know you’re not fond of her keeping your condition from you, but she is a very good doctor,” my mom says, and I roll my eyes.

“No. I’m not dealing with her anymore,” I say adamantly, and she nods.

“I don’t have the answers that you need. I can’t explain what you’re feeling or why.” She sighs. “But I don’t think it would be wise to make a life changing decision that you’re feeling so conflicted about,” my mom says quietly.

“What do you mean?” I ask her. Is she saying what I think she’s saying?

“Maybe you and Jenna should take a break,” my mom says, looking at me cautiously.

“I—I can’t do that. Jenna won’t take it as a break, especially after I proposed to her.”

“Christopher, when you marry someone, there should be no doubt or second guessing,” my mom says, her soft tone stern.

“When I married your father, I knew that I could spend the rest of my life with him and not think twice. There was no other person that I wanted or imagined myself being with,” she says, a warm smile spreading across her face. After all these years, she still loves him.

“If you can’t say that, there’s a big problem,” she says adamantly. “I know that Jenna was there for you, that she was a great friend to you while I was sick. I love her for that and was glad you had someone that was able to pull you out of your depression and help you face things.”

I can hear the “but” coming.

“…But there was so much going on at that time, and you were just settling back into your life that had been interrupted so frequently. I know that you love her.” She takes my hand.

“Are you in love with her, honey? Are you with Jenna at this moment because you love her and can’t imagine not having her in your life?”

I start to think about what she’s just said. I love Jenna, I do. Am I in love with her…I can feel my heart beating with each word she says. I never really thought about being in love with a person. Movies romanticize everything. They make being in love seem sugar-coated, a roller coaster, surreal. I think love is sacrifice. True love is being with someone through the hard times, through sickness, through poverty. My parents faced all of that. I know that they love each other. I know that I could do that for Jenna. I know that Jenna would do that for me. Still there’s moments like now when my mom talks about my dad and her eyes light up. The moments they’re together when no one is watching ,when they’re actions aren’t for show, that I think maybe being in love isn’t a fairy tale…and when Cal looked at Lauren—when I looked at Lauren. Suddenly, my heart starts beating in my ears. I feel nervous, my skin is hot, and it becomes harder to breath. Like my body has forgotten how. My chest is getting tighter and tighter.

“Christopher, are you okay?” My vision is getting blurry.

“I—I can’t breathe,” I choke out. “My chest,” I say, standing up trying to catch my breath but it’s not working. I see my mom’s eyes widen in horror.

“William! William!”

Her yells turn to screams as I hear footsteps leaving the room. My whole body is shaking. It’s harder and harder to breath.

“I’m calling 911,” I hear someone say, but everything is starting to sound muffled.

I don’t know who says what.

Then.

I feel a warm hand on my arm and I’m pushed back on the couch.

“I think he’s having a heart attack,” a voice says.

“He’s not having a heart attack,” says another voice.

A moment later, someone is sitting on top of me, warm hands grip my chin and lift my head up.

It’s Lauren, sitting on top of me, on my lap. Her hands are shaking she’s holding my head in them and making me look at her.

“Chris, you have to breathe,” she says, her voice is shaky but stern. “Everything is okay. You just have to breath,” she’s says again, I nod as I try to do as she says. My mom has Caylen in her arms, but is still on the phone.

“Deep breaths, Chris. Everything is fine,” she says, stroking my head, holding my cheek close to her chest. My chest untightens and air is starting to fill my lungs again. I feel my temperature cooling, my heart not racing as fast.

“It’s going to be okay. Breathe through your nose now,” she says, continuing to stroking my head. Her voice isn’t shaky anymore and instead calm, sweet like a lullaby, all of my senses slowly return to normal.

“What just happened?” mom say frantically. I glance up at her, her color almost gone from her face. She’s shaking with Caylen in one hand and a phone in the other.

“Oh, yes ma’am, never mind. Everything’s fine. He’s going to be okay,” she says into the phone.

“He just had a panic attack,” Lauren says, still holding me close to her. I notice my arms are around her back. I don’t even remember putting them there, but it feels natural, and I’m still not letting her go.

“My friend used to have them,” she says quietly. I feel her leaning back from me. I loosen my grip around her waist. I’m too embarrassed to look up at her. She lifts my chin up so that I have to look at her, and she smiles. The sweetest smile I’ve ever seen from her, the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen in my life. She’s like an Angel.

“You saved me,” I tell her, looking up into those big hazel eyes. I didn’t know how much I missed seeing them until now.

She shakes her head. “You weren’t dying.” She giggles.

“I almost died!” my mom says, letting out a breath of relief. She holds a hand to her chest.

“What’s going on?” My dad’s voice is sharp and angry, and everyone’s attention in the room goes to him. Lauren immediately slips off my lap.

“Chris, he had some sort of panic attack” my mom explains.

“I thought I was having a heart attack,” I explain, missing the warmth of Lauren’s body. My dad frowns.

Lauren’s back with a glass of water. I take it from her.

“Thank you,” I say gratefully.

“No problem,” she says simply, a small smile on her face.

She’s looking at me again.

“I really thought he was dying,” my mom says, her voice choking out. Lauren takes Caylen from my mom’s arms, and as soon as she does, she rushes over and hugs me.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” I say. She looks more afraid than I was.

“Don’t do that again,” she says sternly, and I laugh after she kisses me on the head like I’m five.

“Thank you, Lauren,” she says, then goes over to her and squeezes her tight.

“I was so scared, William,” she says, relived then swats my dad on the shoulder.

“What took you so long?” she asks him angrily.

“I came as fast as I could,” he says defensively.

First DID, and now panic attacks? What a great catch I am, but at least it was better than a blackout.

“What happened?” my dad asks gruffly.

“It just came out of nowhere. We were talking, and he went pale. He was shaking and then saying he couldn’t breathe,” my mom answers for me.

Lauren looks at me a little suspiciously.

“What were you talking about?” my dad asks.

“Nothing in particular,” my mom answers again.

“Thank God Lauren was here. That would have been another medical bill that we don’t need,” I say, standing from the couch and stretching my limbs.

“Yeah, thank God,” my dad mumbles before leaving the room. Now I feel heat on my face and everything starts to blur out around me, and I’m no longer in my parents’ house but in a small apartment with boxes all stacked up.

“Thank God that’s the last box. I didn’t think that many clothes could fit in this apartment,” Lauren says, flopping onto a small white couch in a little apartment. Her hair’s up in a ponytail, and she’s wearing a tiny white t-shirt, revealing her stomach as her sweatpants sit low on her waist.

“Well everyone’s closet can’t be big as a freakin’ living room, Mr. Scott,” she quips, walking towards me. He pull her by the hand to sit on his lap.

“Yours will now,” he retorts as his lips find her neck.

“It will.” She giggles, wiggling on his lap.

“Don’t wake up the monster unless you want him to come out to play,” he says in her ear.

“Maybe I want him to come out to play,” she says seductively, her hands rubbing against his crotch, in a second he’s rolled on top her on the couch.

“I was kidding!” She laughs in his face, and he tickles her until she turns red.

“Stop. Cal. Please,” she says in between fits of laughter. He stop and kisses her on the neck, and she wraps her arms around his neck.

“Is it always going to be this great?” she asks sincerely.

“It’ll be even better,” he says confidently, and she bites her lip and sighs.

“I can’t believe next month we’ll be married,” she squeals, and then her expression falls. “Are you sure you really want to marry me? To be with me and just me for the rest of your entire life? When I’m old wrinkly, gray, and my boobs sag down to the floor?” she asks, her eyes sparkling.

“I didn’t sign up for saggy boobs,” he says with a grimace, shaking his head. She frowns at him, and then he cracks a smile. She pushes him away.

“I haven’t second guessed us since the moment you said yes,” he says with certainty.

“You see something good in me. You look at me like I’m not a problem or a villain,” he says, rubbing the skin on her back, and she looks troubled.

“Who would look at you like that? The people who work for you?” she guesses.

“No, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is you don’t,” he says with a shrug.

“I could never look at you like that,” she promises with a smile so wide both her dimples are showcased by it. “What do you see when you look at me?” she asks quietly.

“Someone kind, loyal, affectionate, who wants to give as much love as she gets,” he says looking her in the eye.

“So my looks don’t matter at all?” she jokes.

“Oh no, they do. You’re hot has hell,” he replies, giving her butt a squeeze, and she laughs.

“I’ll never look at you like that,” she says quietly. “You’ll never be my villain. You’ll always be my prince charming,” she says reassuringly, exactly how she just did, sitting on my lap in the midst of a panic attack.

“You promise?” he asks her, his tone almost vulnerable.

“I promise,” she says before kissing him.

HHH

They say near-death experiences tend to wake you up and make you see things in a different light. I wouldn’t necessarily call a panic attack as a near-death experience, but it woke me up. I felt like I was sleepwalking for the past week and a half, breathing but not living, hearing but not listening, and now I want to see, I want to listen, I want to feel.

I never would willingly want a panic attack, but I’ll take that over a blackout any day. I wonder where he is, if Cal has given up. I’d think a panic attack would be his opening to slip through at the sign of trouble, but he didn’t…and my body nearly shut down because he didn’t, but I’m ignoring that fact. I came back from it. I came back from it because of Lauren. Her smile woke me up out of the emotional dessert I was in. Her touch brought me back, her calming voice let me know everything would be okay. She was what was missing, not the shell of her, but the real her.

I missed her and missing her made me feel like a part of me was missing. The thing is the part of me that was missing could be the part of me that I want gone… The moment after I felt her open up to me again, not even minutes later, I had another memory come full force. I know now she’s a trigger. That’s one thing my dad is right about, but I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing. What I need to know now is what to do about it.

She’s strong, but fragile. She puts up a hard shell around herself but she’s vulnerable, and I know my actions affect her more than anyone. Well almost anyone, and that’s the problem. What scares me more than anything is that the memories that make me feel closer to her makes me seem closer to him. This bond that I see between them is between her and him. Cal.

She loves him, and I think besides Caylen, more than anyone. How can I compete with that? How could she ever look at me and not wish that I was him, but today, I’m not going to worry about that. If they had memories, then we need to make our own. That’s what I’ve been telling myself as I stand outside her door with this box in my hand. I feel like a creep. I set the box down, my nerves getting the best of me. If she shoots me down, it’s going to take me a few days to recover, but then again maybe I need to be shot down. I haven’t talked to Jenna today, and I know that I need to, but right now I’m trying to take one thing at a time. I decide to just do it. I knock on her door, then I think why I didn’t just send her a text. It’s quiet in her room, no sound of music or talking. It’s 9:30 so she could be sleep. Before I can overanalyze any further, she opens the door and looks at me curiously. The funny thing is, she has on a white tank and sweats just like in the last memory I had of her, but this time a white sweater is covering it.

“How are you feeling?” she asks, looking at me and not staring past me. I can’t explain how good that feels.

“I’m good, really good actually,” I say honestly, and a smile spreads across her face. “I—I got you something to say thanks,” I say, and she looks at me curiously.

“Really?” she asks, excitement creeping into her voice. She’s excited.

“Yeah,” I say, my own excitement growing.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she says, almost reminding herself she shouldn’t be.

“I wanted to,” I say sincerely.

“If you want to throw on a jacket. I want to show you outside. I’ll tell my mom to listen in on Caylen,” I explain. She looks at me suspiciously, a glint in her eye.

“Uhm. Okay. Just give me a minute.” She says, and I nod. I head upstairs and tell my mom to listen in on Caylen, and she agrees. I grab the box and meet Lauren back at her room.

“For me?” she guesses, her eyes gleaming, and I nod. I gesture for her to come with me. Once we make it outside, I can tell she’s anxious. The box is pretty big so I hold it for her.

“Can I open it now?” she asks enthusiastically. I nod, and she quickly lifts the top off revealing a pair of brand new white roller skates and she starts to laugh.

“You shouldn’t have,” she says, picking one up and examining it closely.

“You don’t like them?” I say, trying to hide my disappointment, and she quickly shakes her head.

“No, they’re beautiful. It’s just, well, you saw me back at the rink. The only thing I’m worse at is cooking.” She chuckles.

“My mom says you’re getting better at it,” I assure her, and she shrugs.

“Are you going to try them on?” I ask her, and she looks a little skeptical.

“I was just so bad at it last time,” she says nervously, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear.

“Aidan just sucked as a teacher,” I tease her.

She looks at me skeptically, but then concedes. She sits down on the porch, takes off her shoes, and carefully puts on both skates.

“Okay, give me your hands,” I say, and she slowly puts them out. I take them and pull her towards me. Except it’s a little too fast, and her chest crashes into mine. She looks up at me apologetically.

“Sorry, I told you I suck,” she says quietly. Looking down at her, I have to fight the urge to kiss her. It’s hard, but I do. I show her how to stop with the break on the skates, and how it’s better if she tries to slide her feet than walk choppily how she was with Aidan. After about a half an hour she’s confident enough to try without holding my hand, and when she skates a few feet by herself, you’d think she won the lottery.

“I can’t believe it!” she squeals as she carefully turns around and starts to skate towards me. She doesn’t go that fast, but her movements are much more fluid than before.

“You’re a much better teacher than Aidan was,” she quips once she makes her way to me.

“In his defense, I think he liked you falling all over him,” I tell her, and she looks away from me bashfully. She clears her throat and runs her hand through her hair.

“Can you help me over to the stairs.” She giggles, sticking out her hand. I laugh and take it. Her hand feels so small in mine but we fit. She sits on the stairs and starts to untie her skates.

“About that night,” she says quietly, and I feel my stomach drop. “I’m sorry that I did that,” she says glancing at her skates.

“You don’t owe me an apology,” I tell her.

“No. I should. I wasn’t thinking,” she says quietly. “I was but not with my brain.” She giggles.

“It’s just this is a lot harder for me than I thought it would be,” she continues. “I think I’m doing pretty well. God, if this would have been three years ago.” She laughs, shaking her head. “It still wasn’t an excuse for the position I put you in. I know that you want us to be friends and I didn’t think at first I could be okay with that,” she says, glancing up at me. “But today, when you had your panic attack, it occurred to me how much I need you. And, even though it was not life-threatening, I realized that I need you in my life,” she says, her eyes on mine, the sincerity in her voice sends a chill up my spine. “And not just for Caylen,” she says quickly. “So if it has to be as a friend. I can learn to do that. There may be times here and there where I’ll need a little space to remind myself that I’m your friend.” She chuckles. “But I can do that. I don’t want to lose this. I like getting to know you. It’s just hard sometimes for me because the more I get to know you, the more I…” She stops herself and gives me a weak smile.

“What?” I ask her, walking closer to her. I just need her to say it. I look her in the eye, my heart beating rapidly, and she looks up at me like she’s contemplating. If she would just say it.

“Chris.” We turn to see my dad approaching us.

“Thank you for the skates it was really nice of you,” Lauren says quietly before glancing at my Dad.

“Mr. Scott,” she says, acknowledging him before going into the house. Once she’s inside, my dad’s hard glare turns to me.

“What was that about?” he asks and shrugs.

“We went skating, and Lauren didn’t know how so I thought I’d show her,” I say simply.

“You think that’s a smart idea?” he asks sarcastically.

“I don’t see anything wrong with it, and that’s what matters,” I say before heading up the stairs.

“Chris….” My vision starts to blur again, and I see myself storming down the stairs of my house. My face is red, there are tears in my eyes, and I look furious. My dad flies out of the house behind me.

“Chris. Just let me explain. Please,” he yells trying to catch up with me.

“Don’t fucking talk to me. You stay the hell away from me!” I shout back at him.

“All of these years, all lies. Your moral code, your rules and lectures, and you’re a liar. A fucking hypocrite,” I continue to shout at him. My dad looks like he’s seen a ghost as I look at him.

“I hate you!” I growl at him.

“You don’t mean that, son. You’re angry. You’re upset,” my dad stutters, and I turn to walk away but stop and turn around. In a split second my anger dissipates and a smug grin spreads across my face.

“I should thank you. Dad. You’ve just created the biggest problem of your life,” I say with a wicked grin on my face. It’s him.

My dad stares back at me, slack-jawed. He’s frozen in place. I don’t think he realizes I’ve jumped in his truck until I’ve pulled off. He’s calling after me, running behind the truck, and I flip him off outside the window.

“Christopher!” my dad says, and I realize I’m back to the present. I try to shake what just happened from my thoughts. That had to have been years ago from the hair cut I had, and the way my dad looked, I was still in high school. I think at the beginning of the memory, I was me but by the end, it was Cal.

“What’s wrong, son?” he asks, looking at me carefully.

“I—I think I just remembered something about us. Do you remember us having a big fight out here?” I ask him, and he flinches a bit then frowns.

“We’ve had a few disagreements,” he says flatly.

“This one was really bad, and I took your truck,” I say, my tone sharpening.

“Was that it?” he asks, eyeing me suspiciously.

“I don’t know. I just remembered it. Standing right here. Do you remember that happening?” I ask him again.

“I don’t remember anything like that,” he says stoically.

“You don’t?” I ask him again.

“No. Nothing like that with you,” he says again.

“I think we both need to get some sleep,” he says, patting me on the shoulder before turning to go in the house.

This is the first memory I had that didn’t involve Lauren, and the one person I can confirm it with, who I used to trust, has just flat out lied to me.

Why?

Secret one. Think, think, think dumb ass. Don’t take too long. There’s so much more to come…

I try to ignore the snide voice in my head and the condescending laugh that accompanies it.

I think things have just gotten a whole lot worse and a hell of a lot more complicated.

Chapter 10

Lauren

I wanted to tell him that I like him, as juvenile as it sounds. I felt like it needed to be said. If there was a time to do so, it was then, but obviously me gauging when the right time with Chris has been completely off. His signals are so mixed, it drives me crazy. I think he’s just as confused as I am. Then other times it’s as if he knows exactly what he wants.

The way he looks at me has changed, and I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not. When he used to look at me, he seemed curious, confused, and nervous. Now when he looks at me, the nervousness is pretty much gone, the confusion is still there, but there’s an interest, and something else I can’t put my finger on.

I’m only going to be here another week, and time has seemed to go by so fast. Caylen has grown so close to Chris and his family I’m almost wondering how she’s going to do when she doesn’t wake up and see him and Mrs. Scott every day. Even Mr. Scott, although he still hasn’t grown any warmer towards me. In fact, I think he may even be colder. I don’t know why he hates me so much. At first, I thought he was just irritated and annoyed by me. My presence reminded him that his family wasn’t perfect. But sometimes when I catch him glaring at me, I think he hates me. The thing is, he’s not like that with anyone else. Not Aiden, not Lisa, or even the telemarketers that call the house, and if he hates me just because of my association with Cal, I can imagine how he treated him.

He’s one of the only reservations I’ve had about what I’ve been planning—or contemplating. Contemplating is probably the better word. Actually that’s a misstatement. Jenna’s the other. I haven’t had to deal with her since the disastrous skating rink night but she’s like a dormant virus you know will pop up at any time. I remind myself that my decisions can’t focus on what Jenna will think or how it will affect her, but what’s best for Caylen because that’s my job, to see to the health and wellbeing of my child. Jenna isn’t worried about that.

The thing is, if the shoe was on the other foot, and I was engaged to Cal all those years ago and she popped up saying she was in love with Chris and had a daughter with him, I would have stepped aside. I wouldn’t hold on and ask him to abandon his child and keep the life we had, but without having a child, maybe I wouldn’t have understood, and play the game she’s playing. Well none of this is a game, but sometimes I feel like everyone is on a chess board, moving pieces with their own agenda. We all have them, even Chris. I just can’t quite figure out what his is.

If this is a chess game, I guess the move I’m about to make would be big. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. That’s all I’ve really had time to do here is think, which is good but can also drive a person crazy. It started just as a thought, how nice it would be to not have to drive back and forth every other weekend or month to bring Caylen to see her family. Especially with rent being so cheap here. Then I actually checked out a cute little two bedroom house for rent. Lisa’s parents are renting it out for less than 600 dollars a month, and its only ten minutes from the Scotts. Turns out that the cute little two bedroom house could come with the option to buy and for less than 70k. Which would make it way cheaper to buy. It just wouldn’t make sense not to. Especially with Lisa telling me that the school she works at would be looking to hire an art teacher next year.

The pay wouldn’t be extraordinary but the stock dividends from when Cal worked at Crestfield Corp keeps my bank account padded. All I would need to do is complete a few teaching prerequisites and I could apply for my teaching license. Since I’ve had Caylen, the thought of teaching elementary students isn’t as scary as I thought it would be. But, I’m jumping the gun. I haven’t signed anything or made a serious verbal offer, I’ve just expressed interest. I want to talk to Chris about it before going any further. Though, I can’t see him being against the idea. I know Mrs. Scott would love it because anything that gives her more access to Caylen she’d be ecstatic about, even Raven wouldn’t be too upset. She couldn’t be since I’d only be about an hour and a half away from her versus the four to five hour drives we do now. Who won’t be happy? My friends, Hillary and Angela. But Hillary isn’t even talking to me now anyway, and Angela’s about to complete her Masters. She’s going to have so much going on and at the end of the day, I have to think about what’s best for Caylen, which is being closer to her dad. Besides, I’d still keep the apartment in Chicago. It’s paid for and I love it.

Or I could possibly rent it out. Space in our building is coveted, and I could reach out to Helen to have her realtor put it on the market…even though she hasn’t answered any of my calls since this whole thing happened. There I am jumping the gun again. Tonight, though, I plan on talking to Chris about all of this and hopefully he’ll think it’s a great idea.

Everything is going to be great.

Oh shit!

I very nearly faint when I see the blue Kia parked next to Mr. Scott’s truck. I try to tell myself it can’t be hers until I get out and see the license plate reading meb4u, and I know its Hillary’s. What the hell is she doing here? I feel my stomach knot up as I walk up the back porch to the kitchen entrance and hear chatter.

I walk in to see Hillary and Raven sitting next to each other right there at the Scotts’ kitchen table with Mrs. Scott pouring them lemonade

“Look who’s here!” my aunt Raven exclaims, her eyes narrowed in on mine. Okay a few things. Since I’ve been here, I haven’t really been talking to Raven. After the first few days, she was just so negative about everything, I resorted to sending her daily text updates so the look she’s giving me isn’t one of a loving aunt, and Hillary, well, that needs no explanation.

“What are you guys doing here?” I ask, trying to sound enthusiastic and not shocked out of my mind.

“Well you wouldn’t answer my phone calls, darling niece, and after so many texts, I had to come here and make sure you weren’t chopped up into a thousand little pieces,” she says playfully, but knowing Raven, that’s probably what she thought. She watches way too much Lifetime and Forensic Files.

“I told her you were in one piece,” Mrs. Scott smiles tightly.

“I’m just here to see Caylen,” Hillary says flatly. She’s still mad. Great.

This is going to be fun.

“Uhm. Is Chris here?” I ask Mrs. Scott. God, please don’t let him have been here to walk into this disaster without a warning.

“No, not yet,” Mrs. Scott says, giving me an assuring smile and guiding me over to the table to sit down.

“It’s so nice meet your family, Lauren. We’ve been getting along wonderfully,” she assures me, possibly reading my deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on my face especially when Lisa waltzes into the room.

“So how did it go?” she asks me excitedly. Oh God. No, Lisa do not say anything.

“What go?” I say tightly trying to give her the hint this is NOT a subject I want brought up with Hillary and Raven sitting here.

“Oh. Don’t worry. Lisa brought us all up to speed about the house you were looking to rent from her parents and your idea of possibly going back to school,” Hillary says with fake enthusiasm.

“I think it’s such a wonderful idea,” Mrs. Scott chimes in genuinely.

“I would have loved to know when that decision was made,” Raven says, folding her arms across her chest.

God, Lisa! What the fuck!

“Nothing’s set in stone. It was just something I was thinking about. I was hoping to have a chance to talk to Chris about it. I haven’t made any decisions yet,” I say, reaching for the glass in front of me and downing it. I don’t even care whose it is.

“Where’s Caylen?” I’m looking for any excuse to get away from the pointed stares that are burning into me from my lovely surprise guests.

“She just fell asleep. We’ve really missed her. We missed both of you,” Raven says, her expression concerned. I hear the hurt in her voice, and my guilt causes me to look away.

“I’ve missed you guys too,” I say sincerely. I have, it’s just I haven’t wanted to talk to them until I had things figured out because God knows they will try to figure them out for me.

“Lisa why don’t we give them some privacy,” Mrs. Scott can sense that this encounter is about to come to a head. When we hear the door quietly shut, the tight smile on Raven’s face disappears.

“I can’t believe you guys showed up here like that without even asking me,” I say in a hushed tone.

“Oh, please, Lauren. You’re the one in the wrong on this!” Hillary states defensively.

“How could you consider moving here without even talking to me?” Raven adds.

“Since when did you let strangers help you make life-altering decisions? It’s like that Lisa chick is your new best friend,” Hillary continues.

“Stop it! No one is helping me make a decision here. Not Lisa, not the Scotts, no one but me. This is my life,” I tell them angrily.

“I don’t even know myself if I’m actually going to do it,” I tell them, lowering my voice, noticing how it’s raised over the course of this short conversation.

“Everything is moving so fast, Lauren. You haven’t even been here a month and you’re thinking about relocating,” Raven says in a hushed tone of her own.

“Chris’s bedroom game must seriously be off the fucking charts.” Hillary’s laugh mocks me.

“Oh my God,” I say, covering my face out of embarrassment and anger.

“Hi.” When I hear his voice, I want to crawl under the table. How much did he hear? He picked the absolute worst time to show up.

“Are we interrupting?” When I hear her voice I want to vomit. Not now. Not now. I turn around to see Chris looking on awkwardly as Jenna stands next to him the same scowl on her face I’ve become accustomed to.

“Uhm. This is my aunt Raven, and my best friend Hillary. They came to check on me.” I smile weakly. I look over at Raven who seems to be scrutinizing Chris. They are both watching him, probably trying to see if he’s really Cal. It’s the same thing I did the first few times I was around him. Chris walks over to them hesitantly and sticks out his hand. Hillary only stares at him before giving him a small grin. He figures out his handshake isn’t welcome over there and moves over to Raven, who after a few seconds hesitantly takes it.

“Nice to meet you,” Raven says, awkwardly shaking his hand.

“I’m Jenna, Chris’s fiancée...” and at that I want die right here. I cover my face with my hands. There’s an awkward silence, and I hear Hillary laugh.

“Oh, Lauren,” I hear Raven mutter under her breath.

That’s right.

Oh, Lauren.

HHH

Think of the most awkward day in your life. Now let’s multiply that by 100. Still you’re not likely to reach the level of discomfort I experienced today. As if it weren’t bad enough for Chris to walk in amidst the talk of how good he is in bed, of all the days, Jenna decides to visit. To top off this ridiculous evening, here I sit, surrounded by all my loving and not-so-loving family and friends.

The whole gang’s here in fact. Hillary, Raven, Chris, Jenna, Mrs. Scott, Lisa, and Aidan. The good thing is Mrs. Scott hasn’t brought out any wine. As much as I’d love a glass, I don’t think drinking will make this situation any better for anyone once it really sets in. Everyone has been pretty quiet so far. The only awkward moment was when both Raven and Mrs. Scott reached for Caylen, and she reached for Mrs. Scott. Raven’s had a pretty pissed to shit expression on her face since that happened, even when Mrs. Scott tried to give Caylen back to Raven. She refused at that point, her feelings hurt, and of course, I’m to blame for that. Oh, and then the glorious moment when Mrs. Scott started to pray over the food, and Hillary announced her preference to not participate instead of just keeping her mouth shut. Other than those two little moments, everything has been awkwardly wonderful. The good thing in all of this is that Mrs. Scott’s food is so delicious that once everyone starts eating, the mood lightens up a bit. Jenna still throws angry glares my way, but I’ve become accustomed to that.

“What the hell is her problem?” Hillary whispers in my ear. She is not accustomed to it.

“Just let it go,” I mutter quietly.

“This casserole is absolutely delicious,” Raven says enthusiastically. She’s almost finished with her food.

“Oh, thank you. I can give you the recipe,” Mrs. Scott says cheerfully.

“Raven’s not much of a cook.” I laugh, and she nudges me in the stomach.

“I cook. I cook just fine,” she says defensively, and I look at her like she has a horn growing out of her head. Maybe this is a new development.

“Thank you for being so accommodating to us at the last minute,” she says, glancing at both the Scotts.

“Not at all. We’re like family now,” Mrs. Scott says warmly. I can’t help but notice Jenna roll her eyes.

“So. How have you been adjusting to fatherhood Ca—Christopher,” she says, quickly correcting herself. Aidan snickers, and I see Lisa nudge him.

“It’s different, but thankfully, Lauren and my family have made it easier than I thought it would be. Everyone’s been great helping out, and of course she’s pretty easy to fall in love with.” When Chris’s eyes find mine, my heart almost jumps out of my chest.

I have to be reading that wrong.

“I’ve adjusted pretty quickly to being an uncle,” Aidan interjects, prompting laughter from around the table. I even smile at that. He’s even bought her a toddler-sized jersey of his favorite football team and had me put it on her, which just so happens to be the rival to Chris’s favorite team.

“We’ve all taken to her. I don’t know what we’re going to do when she’s gone,” Mrs. Scott says sadly.

“I completely understand. I miss her to pieces,” Raven says, eyeing me.

“How do you plan on working out the visiting schedule if Lauren decides moving here isn’t the best idea?” Raven blurts out, and I shoot her shocked glare.

“You’re thinking of moving here, Lauren?” Chris asks, the excitement in his voice apparent. Jenna’s eyes look like they’re about to jump right out of her head and roll across the table.

“It’s just an idea I’ve thinking about. I wanted to talk to you about it,” I say quietly.

“Don’t you think you should take more time to think about making a move like that?’ Mr. Scott interjects.

“I agree,” Jenna says sharply. Chris shoots her a warning glare. I feel my patience wearing thinner and thinner by the minute.

“All of these secret and private conversations are really getting to me, Chris. Don’t you think this is something that you should have mentioned to me?” she says sharply, turning towards Chris.

“Are you listening, Jenna? She hasn’t talked to me about it,” Chris says defensively.

“Everyone. I think we should all calm down and finish dinner. Later on Chris and Lauren will talk about this, but until then, there’s no reason for anyone to get upset,” Mrs. Scott pleads.

“No, this isn’t just something for them to talk about. I am going to be Chris’s wife. This involves me!” she says pointedly to Mrs. Scott.

“Do you understand that, Lauren. You two are over. You should start acting like it. No more talks between you and Chris. Anything you say to him needs to be said to me as well.” Her tone is acid.

“Jenna, this is not the time,” Chris interjects.

“Are you kidding?” I ask her in disbelief.

“No I’m not kidding, and since we’re on the subject, when are you signing the divorce papers?”

“What divorce papers?” I ask, feeling my heart in my throat. She whips over to Chris who looks down guiltily. Everyone at the table is completely silent.

“You didn’t give her the papers yet?” Jenna asks Chris pointedly.

He’s going to give me divorce papers? Is that why he’s been so nice to me? He’s been buttering me up to get me to sign divorce papers?

“This isn’t the time, Jenna,” Chris says, his voice stern. I look at him and his eyes avoid mine.

“No it’s exactly the time!” she yells.

“Shut her up or I’m going to shut her up,” I hear Hillary say sharply.

I’m frozen, like I’m in a dream and everything is going in slow motion.

Chris

It looks like the wind has been knocked out of her. All the color’s drained from Lauren’s face, but this time her eyes won’t leave mine. She looks embarrassed, hurt, and most of all, betrayed, and that’s what hurts me the most.

“Who the hell are you to threaten me?” I hear Jenna screech. “…and you’re going to let this trash threaten me like that?” I feel a push on my shoulder.

“Trash?!” I turn to see water coming towards us. Lauren’s best friend has just thrown water in Jenna’s face.

“Whoa!” Aidan says. Jenna is about to return the favor, but Lauren’s friend has nearly leapt over the table ready to grapple. I quickly grab Jenna and pick her up and drag her out the door. It’s time to leave this commotion behind.

“What was that in there?” I say, barely able to contain my anger.

“Are you yelling at me? After I basically got attacked?” she screeches.

“You kind of deserved it.”

Her mouth drops open. “Why would you bring that up in there?” I ask her, and she looks at me in disbelief.

“Because it should have been brought up!” she yells back at me.

“You did it to embarrass her, to hurt her,” I say pointedly.

“This isn’t my fault, Chris. If you would have told her when you were supposed to that wouldn’t have happened! How do you think it makes me feel that you haven’t done that?”

“You didn’t have to act like that, Jenna. I can hardly recognize who you are anymore,” I say honestly. Her frown hardens.

“You don’t recognize who I am?” she responds with a mirthless laugh. “If that’s not the most ironic statement of the year, I don’t know what is!” And, with that she storms off to her car. She storms off a lot these days. Like my own personal hurricane. I have too many of those in my life right now. I’m getting tired of cleaning up in the aftermath. My dad appears on the porch, his face red, and he looks flustered.

“Where’s Jenna?” he asks, exasperated.

“Gone,” I say, letting out a deep breath.

“You just let her leave?” Now my dad seems angry with me, and to tell the truth, I don’t want to hear it right now.

“What was I supposed to do? She was wrong in there. She shouldn’t have talked to Lauren or Mom like that,” I tell him, and he groans.

“This girl has been nothing but trouble since the day she got here. Her and her crazy family,”

“Oh that’s real nice dad,” I spit back.

“Because we’re the picture-perfect family,” I say sarcastically and walk past him. When he grabs my shoulder, I snatch away from him and go back into the house. The kitchen is empty besides my mom, cleaning up the aftermath of what’s just happened. She looks at me, exhausted and regretful.

“I’m sorry, Mom,” I apologize, and she shrugs.

“It’s not your fault, Chris. Things like this are to be expected, I guess. We’re all getting to know one another’s personalities and such. It’ll get better,” she says, giving me a reassuring squeeze before she finishes sweeping the floor. I enter the living room and see Lauren’s friend Hillary sitting on the couch next to Lisa and Aidan sitting across from her.

“She’s a fucking bitch,” she spouts angrily, her legs crossed and her arms the same way. She’s still furious. Her hair is blond at the roots, but turns a bright shade of red. She’s wearing leather boots up to her knees and a white leather jacket. She looks like she still wants to fight. If she wasn’t so pissed off, I’m sure she’d be a pretty girl. She and Lauren seem different. She actually reminds me of more hotheaded version of Lisa. She glances up at me when she sees me enter the room and rolls her eyes.

“Look, I’m sorry to disrespect your house like that. I told your mom, so now I’m telling you. For that, I apologize,” she says, throwing her hands up. “But I’m not going to let anyone talk to my best friend that way, especially when she’s really trying to be nice. I don’t know if you’ve seen Lauren pissed, but she can go there fast. She was really trying in there,” she states.

“How long have you guys been friends?” Lisa asks cautiously.

“Since college. We’re not on the best terms right now, but I’ll be damned if I let someone talk to her like that.” She then turns her attention to me.

“At first I thought you were lying. I didn’t know whether to believe all this or not, but now I know you’re not Cal,” she says, looking at me bitterly.

I sigh. “Why is that?” I ask.

“Cal would never let anyone talk to Lauren like that,” she says before getting up and brushing past me. I think this is the first time in my life I’m embarrassed to be myself.

“Dude, I think I’m in love,” Aidan says, following her.

“Chris. I’m sorry. I told Lauren I’m sorry. If I wouldn’t have brought it up that would have never happened,” Lisa says, walking over to me.

“That was going to happen sooner or later.” I sigh.

“What’d Jenna say?” she asks.

“She’s pissed and left.” I shrug with a sigh.

“You didn’t go after her?” she sounds surprised.

“No. You think I should’ve?” I ask, just as surprised.

“No. Just surprised you didn’t.” She shrugs.

“Where’s Lauren?” I ask.

“In her room with her aunt. I think she’s trying to get Lauren to go back with her,” Lisa whispers.

“Today?” I ask.

“I mean, could you blame her after the disaster just happened in there?”

I nod. She’s right. “How serious was Lauren about staying here?” I wonder.

“She seemed to be seriously considering it. I don’t know about now…” she trails off as Lauren’s aunt Raven emerges from the room. She doesn’t look happy.

“Christopher. Can I talk to you?” she says, looking up at me. She’s only about my mom’s height, but the expression on her face couldn’t be more intimidating.

“Sure,” I say. Lisa smiles tightly before excusing herself.

“I’m going to be blunt here. I’ve tried to convince my niece that she should come back home with us.”

“I understand,” I say, nodding my head.

“She’s refused. I’m not surprised. I’m upset, but not surprised. She’s still stubborn as all get out. But of course you know that.” She glances up at me.

“Or maybe you don’t.” She sighs, rubbing her head.

“I want my Lauren to come home in one piece, Christopher. I’m not generally a harsh person, but I want to impress upon you the importance of what I’m saying to you.”

“I understand,” tell her genuinely.

“I don’t think you do. Most people don’t want to hurt anyone it just happens. She’s been through so much. If you’re confused about all of this, if you’re in love with that other girl, just let her go. Don’t play with her, don’t string her along. We’re going to be stuck together for at least 17 more years, even longer than that. You do not want to be on my bad side.” And with that, she leaves me standing in the room alone.

Chapter 11

Lauren

They’re gone. It wasn’t easy to get them to leave without me, but I did it. The only reason I’m staying at this point is that I promised Mrs. Scott. I promised myself that I’d stay until I get some type of closure. The closer it gets to the time I’m supposed to leave the more it feels like I’m saying goodbye, goodbye to my past, to the man I love. There have been instances along the way where I thought I might get my happy ending after all. But, as soon as they come along, something horrible happens, and I feel that happy ending being snatched away. But this was the real show stopper: divorce papers.

He’s had divorce papers all of this time. All of the times we’ve laughed and joked and spent time together, he’s probably been thinking how he’s going to get me to sign the papers to make a clean break. I wish he would have mentioned this to me before. Maybe I wouldn’t have been so blind-sided, so embarrassed in front of his friends and family and mine. I know there’s not a good way to say ‘hey I want a divorce’ but, as terrible as it could have been, it would have been much better coming from him than Jenna.

I don’t understand why he’s with her. I won’t lie, she’s a pretty girl when she’s not frowning I’m sure she could be considered beautiful, but her attitude is absolutely disgusting. Then again, she hates my guts. I can’t really blame her, but if the roles were reversed, I’d never treat someone how she’s treated me. There has to be something sweet and kind about her in there…but who am I to judge? A lot of people didn’t understand why Cal and I were together. They failed to see the good in him, even his own dad. Thankfully, I haven’t been able to obsess over what happened today.

Caylen’s been crying all night. She has a little tooth coming through. I’ve walked her around, gave her warm milk, and baby pain reliever, but it’s been no use. There’s starting to be a small ringing in my ears from the crying, but I’d rather not hear my own thoughts now.

“I know, baby. I know,” I say, walking the room, bouncing her up and down again. I hear a knock at the door. It’s probably Mrs. Scott coming in again to offer her help. She’s done it several times, and I told her she needs her rest. She gets up so early in the mornings for the farm and I don’t have anywhere to be.

I open the door and see Chris standing there instead. I haven’t talked to him since the dinner earlier today. I haven’t wanted to talk to him.

I’m not exactly ready to talk to him.

“I texted you. You didn’t respond” he says bashfully.

“Kind of hard to hear an alert with a screaming baby,” I joke, but my tone is dry.

“What’s wrong with her?” he asks, reaching out for her.

“She’s teething,” I say, gladly handing her over.

“Aww come on, big Cay, that little tooth is nothing,” he says to her. It’s a nick name he’s given her. He bounces her up and down, hugs her close to him, and makes faces at her, but the crying goes on and on.

“Is she okay? Should we take her to the doctor?” After five minutes he’s worried. Huh, he’s an amateur.

“She’s fine, she doesn’t have a temperature her gums are just irritated, and she’s fighting her sleep,” I say flatly. Truth is, I’d be as concerned as he was if I didn’t take her to the E.R. the first time one of her teeth came in. He looks relieved to hear that. Then he glances back over at me.

“I kind of wanted to talk to you about earlier,” he says, still attempting to comfort her.

“This isn’t really the best time,” I say, glad to have an excuse. He’s a guy, and I’m sure his ears will only take so much before he has to excuse himself from the room.

“If I can get her to stop crying, will you talk to me?” he asks in all seriousness. That’s not going to happen.

“Sure,” I say with a disbelieving laugh.

He nods and hands her to me. “I’ll be back in five minutes,” he says and slips out of the room. If he comes in here with sock puppets or something, it’ll be completely adorable, but won’t help a bit. I continue to walk Caylen around, her crying at the level I’ve grown accustomed to. Soon, Chris is back, this time with a beautiful black guitar in hand. I can feel my eyes widen. He smiles sheepishly.

“I haven’t done this in a while,” he says nervously. “Can I sit here,” he asks, gesturing towards the bed. I nod, feeling my stomach start to knot. He sits on the bed and strums a few chords. God, he looks so freaking sexy, and he hasn’t even played a song. I’m not supposed to think he’s sexy. I’m supposed to be mad and irritated at how wrong he was for hiding the fact he wanted me to sign those papers.

He takes a deep breath and starts to play a little more fluidly, and I recognize he’s playing London Bridges, but a slower version. It’s beautiful. I watch his hands and how he looks at the instrument so intently. I’m so lost in watching him play, I don’t even realize that Caylen’s stopped crying. Once he’s done with that song, he goes into another song. It takes me a minute then I realize it’s a song that’s on my iPod playlist for Caylen.

Oh, Mr. Sun.

Cute.

He plays it fasts, and then he slows the tempo and starts to sing.

And, oh my God, he can sing and not like the average karaoke singing, but like if he was on one of those talent shows, all the teenage girls would be crying after he’s done. The funny thing is, he started off nervous and a little unsure of himself, but as he keeps playing the nervousness melts away, and he’s completely confident in what he’s doing. He’s good, and he knows it. He looks up at me a few times with a small grin. He plays like it’s a therapy for him. Caylen has drifted off to sleep so I put her in bed. I sit in my rocking chair to watch him and listen. I close my eyes, feeling all the stress of today melt off me. His voice is like a mix between Ed Sheeran and Connor Maynard. I cannot believe I’ve never heard him sing before this.

If this were Cal, I’d know for sure he was trying to seduce me, but this is Chris, and I don’t know if he realizes the affect this is having on me, but if he plays one more song, I’m pulling him out of this room and being charged for sexual assault.

“Lauren.” His voice, the normal one, wakes me up out of my trance.

“I can’t believe all of these years, and I’ve just heard you sing,” I say quietly.

“That’s because you weren’t with me all of those years,” he says, an amused grin on his face. I run my hands through my hair. I don’t really know what to say to that, but the glint in his eyes makes my skin heat up.

“I—I wanted to talk to you about earlier,” he says, clearing his throat. He cannot show me those divorce papers now. It would be too cruel, not after he’s done that.

“Jenna had them drawn up... She gave them to me, and I told her I would talk to you about them,” he says, and I can’t look at him anymore. I look at Caylen. I keep my focus on her, that’s what this is all supposed to be about anyway.

“It’s okay, Chris,” I say with every ounce of strength in my body as I look at Caylen. I can’t look at him and say this.

“If that’s what you want,” I say, trying to force the words out without my voice breaking.

“I wasn’t going to give them to you,” he says, focusing his green eyes on mine, and I feel my heart stop.

“What?” I ask him, confused. I’m trying to read him, but his expression gives away nothing. Not one single thing.

“I just want to slow things down a little. Really think about the future. I want to make sure I’m not making the wrong decision,” he says simply but his words are anything but simple. Is he saying what I think he’s saying?

“What do you mean, Chris?” I ask, hearing the nervousness in my voice.

“I just don’t want to move so fast anymore. There are a lot of things I need to figure out.”

Great he’s confused, and that leaves us in limbo, but I’ll take it.

“The doctor I scheduled to see has an opening tomorrow,” he says, changing the subject. I want to stay on this subject, but him seeing a doctor is really good news.

“That’s great, Chris,” I say, and he nods.

“She’s in Chicago,” he says. “I’m a little nervous about going,” he admits, sitting down on the bed.

“Do you want me to go with you?” I ask him. Please let him say yes.

“Please,” he says simply.

“Okay,” I reply. It’s all I can manage to say because my thoughts are racing, emotions are on overload, and my body…let’s not even go there.

“I’ll talk to my mom about keeping Caylen. My appointment’s at 3:00. I figure we should leave around 10:30,” he says, standing from the bed and walking towards the doorway, increasing the space between us. Space is good. Space makes me feel less likely to do something stupid.

“Great.” I feel a smile spread across my face. He picks up his guitar and stands in the doorway like he doesn’t want to leave, our eyes locked on each other’s.

“Goodnight, Lauren,” he finally says.

“Goodnight, Chris,” I reply, and he closes the door behind him. I let out a deep breath even though that conversation almost took it away completely. I don’t really know where I stand with him. I don’t know what this all means, but I feel that single flame of hope catching fire right about now, and I don’t want to think about anything that will put it out.

Chapter 12

Chris

We finally make it to Chicago, my home away from home in some weird way. The GPS says we’re 10 minutes away from the doctor’s office. I’m doing this. I’m going to tell a complete stranger my deepest darkest secrets, except I don’t know what any of them are. Only my mom knows what I’m doing. I didn’t tell Aidan, Lisa, Jenna or my dad. It’s something I wanted to do on my own without any bad vibes. My trust in doctors is still butchered from my last experience, but this is a clean slate. She doesn’t know me, Cal, my parents, or my affiliation with the Crestfields so she has no agenda.

Lauren offered to drive, but I felt like driving would help calm my nerves, and I’m more nervous about this than I thought I would be. I don’t know what to expect or what’s going to happen. I hate putting so much trust in someone else’s hands, letting someone manipulate my thoughts, play around with my brain essentially. A part of me want’s to forget the whole thing. I’ve been doing fine so far, and my dad always said if something’s not broken don’t go trying to fix it. The thing is, I think I am broken, almost at least.

Functional, like a car that can get you where you need to be, but you never know when that clinking sound’s going to cause a complete breakdown. I can’t be like an unreliable vehicle. I’m a dad, and Lauren’s depending on me. I glance over at her. She’s been pretty quiet. She slept most of the way and just woke up a couple of minutes ago.

“We’re in your neck of the woods,” I joke, glad she’s awake. Talking releases some of my nervous energy.

“Yup. The big city.” A wide smile spreads across her face as we enter downtown. Her face has lit up.

She loves it here. She misses this…

“I’ve only been here one time, for a high school field trip,” I say, and then realize how ridiculous that sounds.

“Well, that, I remember,” I add quietly. I guess that’s one reason I’m seeing this woman.

“Well, if she’s in this district, she’s doing pretty well,” Lauren replies.

“Let’s hope that means she knows what she’s doing.” I let out a nervous chuckle.

“Everything’s going to be fine.” Her smile is reassuring, even though I notice her sigh. When we reach the building, it takes us another ten minutes to find parking. I wanted to keep looking, but we ended up in a parking lot that cost us twenty-five dollars for three hours. What a rip off! Lauren didn’t even flinch. I show Lauren the address, and she confirms we’re parked three blocks from the building. As we make our way down the busy street, I take it all in.

There are so many people, men, women, old, young, all different nationalities and ethnicities. There are three guys dancing in front of a fast food restaurant and people put money in a bucket in front of them. On another block, there’s a man dressed in a suit and tie telling people they’re going to hell, literally everyone is going to hell according to this guy.

Lauren looks up at me amused by my amazement. When she slips her hand in mine, I’m surprised, but I don’t hesitate to give her a gentle squeeze. I’m amazed at how her hand seems to fit so perfectly in mine, like it was meant for me specifically. She quickly pulls me through the crowd and we make our way to the tall, gold and black building with the address in front. Once we enter, the atmosphere is quiet, a stark contrast from the hustle and bustle outside.

“There should be a directory near the elevator,” Lauren says, letting go of my hand. I wish she hadn’t, but I remind myself I’m a grown man and not a scared little boy. We reach the elevator, and sure enough, the practice’s name is on the directory. Good thing she’s only on the 5th floor. The elevator ride goes faster than I want it to.

“It’s going to be fine, Chris,” she assures me again. I must look as nervous as I feel. At least we’re the only people on the elevator. When the doors open, there are large embossed letters with the name of the practice on display. We walk through the door and head to the receptionist desk.

“Good afternoon, welcome to New Horizons.” The receptionist seems cheerful and enthusiastic, but professional.

“Hi. I have an appointment with Dr. Clemons at three,” I say, clearing my throat.

“Excellent. Your name please?”

“Christopher Scott.” I’m tapping my fingers on the desk.

“Dr. Clemons is usually booked months in advance. You really were lucky to catch a cancellation,” she says with a bright smile, and I smile too. They must have hired this girl for her voice, because I feel a little better. Lauren touches my shoulder and smiles before heading to what looks like the waiting area. The receptionist takes my ID and insurance card. I glance over at Lauren and see her flipping through a magazine. She’s sitting with her legs crossed, but one leg wiggles back and forth. I’m not the only one nervous.

“Okay, Christopher, there are a couple of forms. The first few forms are the standard confidentiality agreement, HIPPA form, and authorization to bill your insurance. After those are done, you’ll be directed to an assessment screen. Some of the questions may not apply to your visit, and you can feel free to not answer them,” she explains, handing me an iPad and a stylus.

“Cool,” I say a little impressed.

“Dr. Clemons will be alerted once everything is complete, and she will be right with you. If there is anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask. If you’d feel more comfortable in a private setting we do have an intake room that is available,” she offers.

“No, I’m fine,” I say gratefully, and I make my way to a seat near Lauren.

“iPad?” she kids.

“Fancy.” I laugh, feeling a little more at ease. I scroll through the paper work and sign. Everything starts off smoothly enough until I get to the health questionnaire. That’s when my head starts to hurt.

1.      Do you have frequent dizzy spells?

2.      Do you have obsessive feelings to communicate, but are fearful to do so?

8. Do you have frequent panic attacks?

42. Do you feel isolated even at social gatherings?

79. Do you have seemingly unshakable addictions (drugs, tobacco, food, or sex?)

104. Do you seem to hear voices when no one else is around?

136. Do you have compulsive feelings to communicate, but are fearful to do so?

By the time I’m finished, I’m expecting to see: Your results are in, and you’re bat-shit crazy flash across the scene. I let out a deep sigh and run my hands across my face.

“Was it that bad?” Lauren asks with a smile.

“Worse,” I joke. After answering all of these questions, the doctor should have a full-on treatment plan all set up once she calls me back there.

“Did the questions seem relevant?” she asks curiously. That’s the bad part.

“Almost all of them,” I nod before getting up and returning the iPad to the secretary.

“Dr. Clemons will be right with you,” she says, taking it from me. “Right with me” has turned into almost forty minutes. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until my stomach starts to growl. I left all my candy in the car.

“You want me to run and grab you something?” Lauren asks, hearing the monstrous growl it just made.

“No. Hopefully this will be over soon,” I say, though the optimism I had at the beginning of the visit is fading fast.

“Mr. Scott. Dr. Clemons will see you now,” the receptionist calls out to me. I look at Lauren, and she pats my leg before I stand. Once I’m standing, I see that a door near the receptionist desk is open. Standing at the door I see an older woman with a long braid in her hair, wearing a white sweater and long grey skirt.

“Dr. Clemons?” I ask to be sure.

“That would be me.” She seems warm and pleasant, like the receptionist. “Thank you for being patient. I apologize for the wait. Right this way,” she says, gesturing towards her office. I look back at Lauren who has a wide smile on her face and is giving me two thumbs up like I’m about to be up for bat in an all-star game.

When we enter the office, my nerves ease up a little. The atmosphere inside her office is a lot different than the waiting area. The waiting room was cool and modern, but her office seems warm and friendly. Well as much as an office could be. The walls are a tan with brown chairs, two in front of her desk and to the right is the proverbial couch you see in the movies. The wall behind her desk has the obligatory degrees hanging, but her office doesn’t come off as snobbish or imposing. It’s comfortable and homey.

“You can have a seat here,” she says, gesturing towards one of the chairs in front of her desk. I guess it’s not time to lie on the couch and tell her how screwed up I am.

“Are you comfortable? Would you like anything to drink? Coffee? Water?” she asks and my eyes drift to the bowl of candy on her desk.

“I’ll just have one of these,” I say, taking four mini snickers from the dish.

“They are addictive, aren’t they?” She chuckles as she puts on a pair of square black glasses. “Well, I’d like to start by saying that anything that you say to me in this room will be kept strictly confidential. Unless, of course you ask me to speak to someone on your behalf.”

“Also I record all sessions in case I need to go back over them later,” she states.

“I understand,” I say, pushing my hands down in my coat pocket.

“Have you worked with a lot of patients with my condition?” I ask, eying the picture of her and two little boys.

“I have. You’re in good hands,” she says reassuringly.

“In your questionnaire, you indicated that you had been seeing Dr. Lyce. She’s quite well-known is there a reason that you’ve decided to end your relationship with her?”

“Conflict of interest.” I shrug. “I’d like to start with a clean slate. I didn’t see her for DID so I’d like to start the same way you would with any new patient.” My nerves are starting to get the better of me.

“I understand. Well, there are a few different tests that I’d like for us to complete,” she starts.

“What kind of tests?”

“Well the first is called Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule. DDIS, for short. They are tests where I ask you a series of questions, some of which you’ve answered in the health assessment you took today. Then the Dissociative Experiences Scale, or DES, helps me screen for the possibility that you may have another disorder that could possibly have been misdiagnosed. It also gives me an idea of the level of dissociation that you are having.”

“Are we going to do all of those today?” I ask, feeling a little overwhelmed.

“We can. However, based on the questionnaire, it seems our time may be better spent discussing some of the concerns that you have overall. I could get you scheduled for these tests next week.”

“Yeah, I don’t really think there is any possibility I’m misdiagnosed.” I say honestly “My main reason for being here is…” I trail off, trying to choose my words carefully.

“And remember, Christopher, I am here to be your sounding board. I don’t have an agenda or preconceived notions. I am here to help you sort things out in the most objective manner. I would like you to be able to speak freely and truthfully.” She leans forward on her desk, giving me all of her attention and a warm smile.

I nod.

“How did you find out about your condition?” she asks, pulling out a leather notepad. This is going to be fun…I take a deep breath and tell her how Lauren showed up at my door and how all hell broke loose. I’m a little hesitant at first, but as I continue, it feels better getting everything off my chest, and I’m able to speak more freely. I tell her about the memories I’ve had, how sometimes I have thoughts that don’t’ really seem like mine, and my panic attack. She listens intently making frequent eye contact as she scribbles away in her notepad.

“…I feel lost and confused. Before all of this happened I thought I knew what I wanted in life. I knew what I wanted to do, who I wanted to marry, now I don’t know anything,” I mumble.

“Your feelings are completely normal. Your life has changed significantly in a very short period of time. These changes would be stressful for anyone. You’ve become aware that you are a parent, you’ve become engaged, the knowledge of your disorder…I’m surprised that the pressure you’ve endured hasn’t caused your alter to surface.” She says the last part impressed. “Also the fact that Cal reached out to you, alters usually prefer to stay hidden,” she says, still scribbling away in her notebook.

“You said that when you believed your switches were blackouts, that you had headaches. You mentioned when you discovered your parents were hiding your condition from you that you felt one coming on?” she asks, but it seems more like a statement.

“Yeah,” I confirm.

“However there was no time loss, or blackout at that time?”

“No.”

“The last time you had a switch that you remember at least was the day before Lauren arrived?” she asks, and I nod.

“And the memories began once she arrived. Lauren, I mean?” she asks, and I nod again.

“Does that mean something?” I ask her, feeling a little anxious.

“Possibly? How do you feel about Lauren?” That was a little blunt. I wasn’t really ready for that question.

“Uhm.” I feel myself starting to fidget in my chair.

“Remember, Chris, that you can speak freely here. There is no need to feel nervous. Our session will only be beneficial if you’re completely honest,” she says, folding her hands.

“I’ve never felt the way I feel about her before. It’s like we have a connection but that would be crazy because I haven’t known her long. I don’t know her, like I do Jenna. I feel like I shouldn’t feel this way, and I’m afraid that the feelings aren’t mine.” It feels good to say it out loud.

“I think one of the hardest things for patients who dissociate is to realize that your alters…”

“Alter,” I interject. God, let there just be one.

“Alter, is a part of you. You share the same feelings that he does. Cal was created for a reason. What my job will be is to help you to find out what that is. Our goal is to integrate that portion of your personality—the portion created to help you cope—back into the fold so to speak, making you whole once again.” Her voice is smooth and calming, but the word “integrate” makes my skin crawl.

“I don’t want to integrate with him. I want him gone,” I say quietly as if Lauren can hear me. When the words leave my mouth I feel a rush of relief. Then, I see Lauren’s face in my mind, and I feel a huge amount of guilt.

“It’s normal for you to feel at odds with your alter. However, he is a part of you. I can only liken it to cutting off your own foot.”

“I’d get a prosthetic.”

She smiles. “Well, you seem to get along well with Lauren, and you have a little girl that you’ve taken quite well to, you state. He can’t be all bad,” she says, and I roll my eyes. It was sheer luck he didn’t impregnate some STD-ridden psycho.

“One of my acquaintances who knew me as Cal says that he wouldn’t like my fiancée. If we’re one, how could he hate someone that I love,” I counter.

“From what it sounds like Cal may be the part of your personality that is uninhibited, unedited, that does and says the things that you may not. He is the personification of the emotions that you sequester. If there is a part of you that dislikes things about her it isn’t unusual that his feelings would be magnified,” she says, closing her leather notebook and pulling out another pad. I look at the clock in the office and see that our session is over.

She writes on the paper tears it off and hands it to me.

“Medication?” I ask.

“No. There isn’t any medication that is specifically for DID but some treat the symptoms that it could cause like depression, insomnia sometimes physical ailments, but other than your panic attack, it seems that you’re not suffering from anything that concerns me. This is just a bit of homework.”

I take the piece of paper and read

Find three things that you like about Cal.

Is she serious?

“It’s so important that you come to terms with the fact that he is a part of you and that you embrace that part of yourself. He isn’t your enemy,” she says, standing from her seat. He’s not exactly my friend either.

“You are at an advantage. You have a direct source to reach him,” she says as we walk towards her door. That’s my worry, I don’t want to reach him or connect with him or understand him. I want him to disappear. I want him gone, like he never existed.

Lauren

Chris said everything went fine in his session with the doctor, but I can’t help but notice that his mood has changed. He was nervous before, but now it’s almost like he’s irritated. I don’t know what the doctor told him, but whatever she said, he didn’t like it very much. I can tell he’s trying to hide it, but for the first time, he’s pretty transparent. He’s quiet on our way back to the car. I want to ask him what happened and get more than a throwaway answer like “everything went fine.” I’d pay anything to know what went on in there, and since he doesn’t seem to want to elaborate, I’ve decided not to push any further.

It’s absolutely beautiful out, unseasonably warm for an April day in Chicago and so many people are out taking advantage of it. I start to think back to the late nights when Cal and I would walk around downtown while it was quiet. I put that memory away as quickly as I can. I can’t think about Cal. I try to keep all my memories of Cal and I locked away, because thinking of him will consume me. It’s like a slippery slope, one thing leads to another. First it’s something we used to do together, soon I’m thinking about the way he used to smile, the way he laughed, how it felt when he hugged me. And, when I think about how it felt to be in his arms, I think of other touches, and my body becomes alive with the memory of him. Sometimes I manage to sleep through these instances, and wake up feeling slightly satisfied. Other times, I require a cold shower. Now I’m walking next to Chris and neither of those options are available to me.

I wish Chris would just say something. When him and I are together and there’s silence, when things start to feel awkward between us, that’s when I think about Cal the most.

He’s not saying anything, but I can tell there are a million thoughts running through his head. Still he’s taking in everything around him. The noise, the lights, the energy of the city, they make me feel alive. I’m not sure if it does that with Chris. He’s observant, but I’m not sure if it excites him.

When we make it back to the car, I start to ask him if he wants me to drive. I have to admit that his driving scared me a little once we hit downtown. It’s ridiculously apparent that he’s not used to driving in such a congested area, but he didn’t even hesitate to get back in the driver’s seat.

“I have another appointment with Dr. Clemons next week,” he says before starting the car.

“That’s good. Do you feel comfortable with her?” I ask, glad that he’s finally opening up about his appointment.

“For a stranger, I guess.” He chuckles looking down at his lap.

“She wants to do some testing at our next appointment,” he continues.

“What type of testing?”

“To confirm that I actually have DID. Go figure right?” He grins, and I can’t help but laugh at that.

“The other is to test my level of dissociation. I think,” he continues. That’s why he should have asked for me to come in and talk to her. After hearing from me there wouldn’t be any test needed. I can testify to the fact that his level is pretty high.

He sighs. “She gave me some homework,” he says sarcastically, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket. He glances at it and hands it to me. I unfold it and have to bite my cheeks to keep the smile from spreading across my face. So this is why he’s been sulking.

“This isn’t so bad,” I say, and he frowns. Well of course it’s bad. He doesn’t want to like Cal.

“She wants me to connect with him.” Again with the sarcasm. I guess it’s better than pouting.

“Is that such a bad thing?”

He looks at me, completely baffled. It’s funny that Chris has never said how he’s felt about Cal. I mean I know he isn’t happy about him, but I never got the impression that he has the same disdain for him as his dad. I somehow thought he’d come to terms with the fact that Cal is him, but from the way he’s acting, now maybe he doesn’t think of Cal as himself.

“Nope. It’s awesome,” he says even more sarcastically than before. I feel myself growing defensive, and I’m really trying not to be. We both sit in silence the awkwardness filling up the car.

“Well are you going to do it?” I ask trying very hard to restrain my aggravation.

“I kind of have to,” he sounds bitter. At this moment I realize just how much I have filtered myself when it comes to Chris.

I’ve done it since I’ve known him.

After our disastrous introduction I’ve been trying to keep my emotional outbursts on lock down. But, in reality, my tongue has become pretty sharp when I’m upset. Thanks to Cal and I usually say things without thinking about them. I tried to be pre-Cal Lauren. I wanted him to see that I’m not psychotic. Maybe in the back of my head I’ve sort of shown him what I imagined he wanted me to be. I haven’t been dishonest about who I am but he certainly hasn’t seen me in my full glory which laughable since his fiancé is complete... I won’t even go there but what he’s just said strikes something in me and the tight rope that’s been holding me together from letting the old Lauren, Cal’s Lauren rearing her head. I don’t know if it’s the city, the fact that I’m hungry and tired from sitting in a waiting room for three hours or the fact that what he just said is so out of character from the man I used to know but the kids gloves are coming off.

“You don’t have to do anything Chris.” He is caught off guard by the bluntness of my statement.

“You always have a choice in life. You don’t have to do that assignment if you don’t want to. You could crumple up the paper and throw it out the window right now. You could go back and tell her you aren’t going to do it; you can walk away from this doctor and never look back,” I say looking him directly in the eye. I expect him to give some sort of response but he doesn’t, he just shrugs and chuckles. Now I am pissed off.

“Did you want to get something to eat before we hit the highway or wait till we get home?” he asks as a quiet yawn escapes his mouth. The next moment he rests his head against his arms as they drape over the steering wheel. His sleepy green eyes look downward and a small smile spreads across his face; and, just like that, my anger disappears. He doesn’t want to debate, fight or piss me off he just wants peace, and I feel a warm calmness spread through my body.

“I can wait,” I say. It’s funny, how ridiculous I can be. I was angry for nothing really.

“But you look tired. Are you sure you’re up for the drive back with no rest?” I ask him.

“I’m good,” he says yawning again and I laugh aloud this time.

“I have an idea, and you are under no obligation to say yes if you don’t want,” I start with a disclaimer. He looks at me apprehensively, but I can tell that I’ve piqued his interest

“Our…My house is less than fifteen minutes away,” I continue. His face remains impassive, and I take that to be a good omen.

“We could order some food and get a couple of hours of sleep before hitting the road again,” I finish giving him my most innocent smile.

“You might even be able to knock your homework out in one day,” I say giving him a little nudge.

“Why not?” he says simply. That was easier than I thought it would be. Sometimes he does surprise me.

Chapter 13

Chris

I’ve only been to Chicago once, in high school for a class science trip before all of this happened, that I can remember. So, it was a little eerie that I was able to drive to Lauren’s house without directions. I wanted to think it was just a fluke, but honestly it was more like I was on auto-pilot. The visit with the doctor really drained me, and I just drove without thinking.

Lauren tells me to stop in front of the building addressed 304. I do as she instructs, and when I look at it I’m astonished. There are at least thirty floors, and it looks more like an expensive hotel than an apartment building.

“This is it?” I’m sure she has noticed my apprehension, she gives me a nod and a beautiful smile. “Where do I park?” I ask. But before she can respond there’s a guy in a suit near my door.

“He’ll park it,” she says and gestures for me to let down the window.

“Hi James, can you take it around please” Lauren replies.

“Of course Mrs. Scott,”

“Good evening sir,” he says opening my door.

“How are you?” I’m not really sure how to act.

“Wonderful and you?” he says,

“Great,” I reply looking over at Lauren in disbelief.

“You can get out, it’s in good hands” Lauren’s tone is playful and I notice the man is returning her smile. I feel left out of the joke.

“Do you need any help upstairs,” he asks.

“I’ve got it” I tell James as I step out of the car.

“Have a great night James” she says as we head to the entrance of the building.

“What about the keys?” I ask.

“They’ll send them up,” she’s amused by my uncertainty. I follow her into the building and we head to the elevator. This can’t be an apartment building. I feel like I should be paying something to walk in.

“This is nice,” I whisper feeling like I’m in a museum.

“You have good taste,” and she winks at me as the elevator closes.

“I picked this place?” I can’t believe that I would pick a place like this. When she presses the button for the thirtieth floor I take a deep breath. I think I might be sick. .

“You’d been here a few months before we met” she smiles at me. It’s a little weird how she’s not saying Cal but me. As the elevator makes its way up I put one of my hands on the wall and take a few more deep breaths.

“Are you okay?” she asks nervously and I nod my head.

“Yeah, I just don’t really like high places” I say swallowing the sick feeling in my stomach. Her eyes widen in surprise.

“I forgot you’re afraid of heights?” she says covering a laugh.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say afraid, more like I hate them, “I say with a laugh. But, if we go any higher I’m going to throw up.

“Well, I may need to get curtains or something then,” she says exiting the elevator once it stops.

“Why is that?”

“You’ll see,” she says with a slight giggle. When she opens the door to the apartment my jaw hits the floor as she turns on the lights.

“This is it” she says as she closes the door behind her.

She’s watching me waiting for a response. If I didn’t feel like I walked into someone else’s life before, I definitely do now. Everything in this place screams expensive. For one it’s huge and I even know space equals money in the city. There’s a seventy inch, television and leather furniture that looks imported, a kitchen where everything is stainless steel and modern. It looks like a show room or bachelor pad except for the play pen and toys scattered about…

“I’m pissed! Just leave me alone Cal!” Lauren says snatching away from me but I grab her and push her up against the window our bodies pressed against each other.

“I don’t think that’s what you want” I say as my hands go underneath her dress and my fingers slip inside her. She moans as I do.

“Now I know that’s not what you wan,t” I whisper into her. She reaches down to move my hand but I just move it away with my other hand and go deeper into her. After a minute she relents spreading her thighs.

“I haven’t seen you in two weeks. You make me sick! I’m not screwing you tonight,” she says bitterly in between soft moans.

“Not a problem. I’ll screw you.”

“What do you think?” her voice pulls me out of I don’t know what to call it, a trance, fantasy or shit! I look at her trying to keep my expression calm and unaffected by what I just saw. I look at the window the exact place where I-he held her. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen things this way. Recently the way I see things, these memory are like second hand as if I’m watching, this time it was like I was there,…doing those things.

“Can I get a glass of water or something?” I ask my voice is shaky. She looks at me curiously for a minute but then she nods.

“Sure,” she says as she makes her way to the kitchen. I try to forget about what I just saw, how hot her skin was, how good she smelled and felt.

“Kittens, grandma, Spongebob, rats, math,” I mumble trying to think of every turn off I can. When I look up and see her heading towards the spot I’m standing in by the window, the spot I just saw her pinned up against I make a beeline to the couch. She looks a little caught off guard stopping mid-way.

“Are you okay?” she asks a little nervous.

“I’m good,” I say folding my hands together. She smiles tightly and hands me the glass of water. I finish it in record time.

“This must be weird huh?” she asks her voice light but a little shaky. She has no idea, but then again maybe she does.

“A little bit,” I answer gripping the glass tighter in my hand.

“I guess I need to show you around,” she smiles and sweeps a piece of hair from on her face.

“Cool,” I say.

“Well this is pretty self-explanatory,” she gestures towards the living room and kitchen area.

“There’s a bathroom right there,” she points to what I thought was a closet in the far corner. She heads up the stairs and I follow her. Her butt is right at eye level now, and I try not to stare at it. As I follow her every move I find myself struggling with the urge to grab it.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Thank God we’re up the stairs so I’m no directly behind her. We walk down the hall to the right and she opens the door.

“Caylen’s room,” she says. She steps aside for me to walk in. I do but only half way. It’s pink. There’s a rocking chair and a book case filled with kids books and glowing stars on the wall and ceiling.

“Cute,” I laugh and she smiles. The next stop is a small bathroom and then she stops in front of two doors. She hesitates, and lets out a sigh then opens the doors.

“This is my room,” she says quietly. She stands aside for me to go in. It’s really big, bigger than mine. There’s floor to ceiling windows lining the entire left side and a door to a patio. In the center of the room is a gigantic bed. I recognize the black ceiling fan       from that…dream or maybe not so much a dream. On the right side of the room is I see double doors I imagine to be the closet and a single door I assume is the bathroom.

“This is a really nice place,” I admit stuffing my hands in my pocket.

“Yeah, thanks,” she sort of laughs then shakes her head.

“You picked out everything in this apartment, well almost...even me” she chuckles then her expression shatters.

“Bad joke, really bad joke” she says covering her face.

“No it wasn’t that bad, maybe work on your delivery a little” I joke touching her hands and moving them from covering her face.

Don’t ever hide that beautiful face from me again.

The moment is brief but I just saw her, sitting a table in a diner her hands over her face just how they were now, but he was he one removing them.

“Are you going to let go?” she whispers, and I wonder how long I’ve been holding her hands.

“I’m sorry,” I say feeling like an idiot stepping away from her.

“What just happened Chris?” she asks apprehensively.

“Nothing, I just” I stumble over my words but she’s obviously not buying it. She just sighs a little.

“I’m going to order some food? Chinese okay?” she asks moving from the space we just shared in the doorway.

“Yeah, that’s great,” before I can even finish my statement she’s heading down the stairs.

Ugh, that wasn’t awkward at all.

This trip was supposed to help me find something I like about him so far it’s making me do the opposite, I know it’s him doing this, ruining everything throwing bits and pieces of memories at me at the most awkward time possible.

No need for me to interfere. You’re screwing this up all by yourself.

There it is again! I close the door behind me and walk over to the needlessly large mirror and stare at it.

“You are an asshole!” I say into it. “And I can’t wait to get rid of you!”

Such language, Chris. Sorry to tell you, but the mirror isn’t going to talk back. We don’t have hallucinations.

“Go away. Right now!” My anger is getting the best of me.

But we haven’t had any fun yet.

“This is fun for you? Making me talk to myself, driving me crazy, destroying Laurens life is fun for you?”

“Chris who are you talking to?” Lauren says her voice slightly raised. How much did she hear?

I really am going crazy.

“My parents,” I say pulling my phone out of my pocket.

“I was letting them know we were taking a break before heading back,” I say quickly.

She looks at me skeptically but a few seconds later her worried expression disappears. She tells me that the food will be here in a half hour, but before she walks away she asks if I’d like her to shut the door. She thinks I’m crazy. I tell her I’ll be down in a minute, then turn to go into the bathroom. She just looks at me and walks away. She knows I’m crazy.

Great idea coming here.

Lauren

Something is going on with him. I don’t know what it is, but he seems nervous and a little timid. I was going to the room to ask him what type of Chinese he wanted me to order for him and I heard him talking or better yet arguing. I didn’t hear exactly what was going on but whatever it was he was livid. I’ve never heard him that angry before. He said he was talking to his parents but I just don’t see how that could be the case unless he just hung up on them as soon as I came in the room.

I wonder if it was a good idea coming here, bringing him to the house and letting him see our life. He had just seen his doctor maybe this was too much too soon, but he looked so tired in the car. Now he doesn’t look tired he looks annoyed, maybe even a little paranoid. His appetite is normal though since he’s eaten two plates of Chinese food but he’s been so quiet I don’t really know what to make of it. No jokes, no short stories he’s looks like he’s in deep thought and it’s causing the tension in the air to be heavy.

“How do you like the food?” I ask him even though he’s been devouring it. I want him to say something, to break whatever reverie he’s in. It’s almost like he’s reverted back to the man who showed up at my hotel room after I exploded on his front porch. I definitely don’t want us to go back there.

“It’s really good. I’m stuffed now,” he says washing down his food with the glass of orange soda.

“I’m glad you liked it,” I say starting to clean up the table.

“I don’t need a nap if you just want to hit the road in a few,” he says standing and stretching. I look back at him surprised as I throw away the take out containers. Usually after most people eat as much as he did, especially Chinese, they could sleep for a while. Now he’s ready to hit the road? Once I turn all the way around I have to admit he looks alert, the anxiousness and worried look that was on his face is gone. Maybe it’s just being here is what makes him uncomfortable. I try to pretend like that doesn’t bother me. Cal and I had a lot of fights and tough times in this house but so many good ones as well. The idea that being here makes Chris so distressed, doesn’t bode well and I wonder if he’ll find anything good about Cal.

“What did you do with his stuff?” he asks as he walks up beside me to throw away his own plate. I wish he wouldn’t stand so close to me. Actually I wish he would stand much closer, but I’m trying to ignore the fact that whenever he’s near me my body becomes alive. Every nerve ending in my body awakens and begs to be touched. I’m learning to tune them out, each day it gets a little easier. But today it’s a little harder. Especially when he’s standing so close looking down at me in the very room where he did so many things that my body remembers and misses.

Stop it Lauren!

“What did you say?” I ask. I’m so caught up in my own thoughts I can’t remember what he just asked me.

“His things, when I looked around up stairs. I didn’t go in your closet or anything but it looks like it’s just you and Caylen that live here. Do you still have his stuff?” he asks stuffing his hands into his pocket. Oh that’s what he was saying.

“It’s in storage,” I say taking a small step away from him, inches are good between Chris and I. The closer I am it seems like energy from him makes me want to do crazy things like cup his face in my hands, kiss his lips and feel all of the body that I’ve missed so much.

“Can I see them?” he asks, interrupting a train of thought that I shouldn’t be on, one that leaves me flushed and breathless.

“It could help with the homework,” he answers obviously noticing the surprise on my face.

“Of course. I don’t know why I didn’t think to ask you.” I admit with a nervous chuckle. He gives me a smile that makes me melt. Chris has a way of making me feel like everything will be okay with the simplest gesture. I grab my keys a box cutter and more tape from out of the kitchen drawer before we head out the door. He follows me out of our apartment. When we’re in the elevator and the door is closes I see him gulp and close his eyes

I hit floor fifteen and then the basement level. If it goes straight down I’m not entirely sure he won’t throw up.

“You okay?” I steal a glance while I try and cover up my smile.

“Yup,” he says tightly his hands folded together. Thankfully for Chris the ride is over fast and the door opens up to a hallway that leads to our storage area.

“This is a pretty nice basement” Chris comments as he follows me he doesn’t miss a thing. I said the same thing when I saw it. It looks more like a big loft type office space than a storage area but I guess this isn’t the ordinary apartment building.

When we get to the door of our space I let out a small breath. Last time I was here I was putting away Cal’s things. I never imagined when I came back to get them it would be like this.

“It’d be easier if you stayed but if you don’t want to I get it,” his eyes sympathetic and his voice warm. I plaster on my practiced smile, I haven’t used it in a little while I hope it’s still effective,

“No it’s fine, and there’s a lot of stuff,” I say with a laugh opening the door. There are at least twenty boxes here.

“Wow,” he says as we step in. I fold my arms across myself.

“Over there are his clothes he wore for work and shoes, underwear.” I turn to the other wall. “Those are his more casual things, you’d probably feel more comfortable in them,” I say. I started referring to him and Cal as the same person when we first made it here, it’s what I’ve been wanting to do for so long but since he started acting weird I thought it might be better if I stopped.

“This is a lot of stuff,” he says resting his hands on his head and lets out an overwhelmed sigh.

“He liked to have a lot of things,” I chuckle, nodding my head.

“Can we start here?” he asks pointing to boxes of things I don’t think are his taste at all.

“Sure,” I say with a shrug. He starts pulling down boxes from the top rows. He opens the first box and it reveals Cal’s variety of button ups, upwards of two hundred dollars a shirt. I see his face frown up as he goes through an endless array of them. He opens another box revealing his blazers, and vests. Box three is full of endless ties.

“What do you think?” I ask quietly observing him as he picks through each. He looks up at me as if he forgot I was standing here. He shakes his head.

As he returns to a standing position he sighs. “None of this is really me,” he shrugs. He goes for a smaller box tucked inside a larger one he’s pulled out. I already know what it contains, Cal’s watches. When Chris opens the box his eyes widen. He picks up one and looks at it then over at me.

“Rolex, Cartier, There’s like twenty of these,” he says in disbelief.

“He liked watches,” I shrug with a laugh.

Chris isn’t finding this as funny.

“There’s enough money in this box to buy someone a car,” he says disdainfully.

“I suppose he only eats caviar and escargot,” he jokes and I feel a little offended.

“Uhm no,” I say folding my arms.

“It just a little a hoity toity” he laughs scratching his head and I feel my defenses rise.

“He likes nice things but he’s far from being a snob if that’s what you’re referring to”

“It’s hard to tell by looking in these boxes. I thought I’d recognize myself somewhere in all of this. So far I’m not seeing anything.”

“This building, his clothes all of this stuff just isn’t me” he says looking at me as he pulls another box from the pile. His words hit a nerve and I feel myself biting my lip. I start to think that if his taste is so different from Cal’s that I’m probably not ‘him’ either.

“The school does a clothing drive every year. Selling this stuff could make a lot of money for the fundraiser,” he says and I hear my breath catch.

“You want to sell, all of it?” I ask abruptly. His glance catches mine.

“I mean, if that’s okay with you. I just think most of this is unnecessary, it’s definitely not my style,” I swallow the lump in my throat.

He wants to sell it.

All of it.

My face is getting hot and my heart beat speeds up. Screw the homework assignment and the visit to the doctor. I thought that this would be progress. That him seeing his doctor and coming here he would somehow connect with Cal, that these things would help him to not hate that part of himself. But after everything that’s happened I’m beginning to think that he didn’t come here to connect with Cal. He came here to sweep him under the rug, tie up loose ends. The next time he comes he’ll probably be selling the house and closing accounts.

“I’m going to go back upstairs,” I say as evenly as I can.

“Lauren, you’re not mad are you?” he asks putting down the box and locking eyes with mine. Of course I’m mad but I can’t say it.

I break away from his stare and reaffix my fake smile.

“I’m not upset. It’s your stuff. You can do what you want with it,” I say, trying to neutralize the bitterness in my voice as I head towards the exit.

“Floor thirty, suite B,” I tell him before I head out of the storage room. As I head to the elevator, a single tear falls. I don’t know why I’m so upset. They’re his things to sell. What he’s doing isn’t wrong. They’re not even my things, and if he wants to use it for charity, for God’s sake, it’s fine. Still it feels like a dagger in my heart. Just another major reminder that he’s not Cal he’s Chris and Chris hates Cal.

“Hey, wait, Lauren,” he calls after me. I stop but I can’t face him.

“I’m sorry,” he says. I can hear his sincerity.

“I really appreciate you coming down here with me. Not just here, but to Chicago and to see my doctor. I know none of this is easy for you,” he says and I feel him standing close behind me. I close my eyes and wish his arms would wrap around me, that he’d pull me close to him and tell me everything is going to be okay, but I know that’s not going to happen.

As I step into the elevator I turn to face him.

“I know Chris,” I say taking a deep breath. When the door closes I let another tear fall.

HHH

When he comes in I’m sitting on the couch with the TV on a random channel I’m not even paying attention to. It’s just on for distraction. He was down there for about twenty more minutes after I left, probably organizing what needs to go first.

He’s sorry, which is great but it doesn’t help. In fact sorry makes it worse. There’s almost nothing worse in the world than someone feeling sorry for me. I don’t want his pity. His pity means he believes that I’m in need of it, that my situation is a complete lost cause. Huh, maybe it is, and if anyone would know it would be Chris.

“I talked to your mom and let her know we’ll be later than we thought,” I tell him when he enters the room.

“Caylen’s doing okay?” he asks and I nod.

“Your mom said she just went to sleep,” I feel the couch shift with his weight as he sits beside me. I don’t look at him. I can’t, sometimes it’s just best that I don’t.

“That’s good,” he replies I want to ask him if he asked about her when he was supposedly talking to his parents but I don’t.

We both sit in silence and after a minute he gets off the couch. He walks over to our sofa table and picks up one of the pictures and examines it. I turn my attention back to the Property Brothers even though I’ve seen the episode a hundred times.

“I’ve seen this picture before,” he says and sits back down beside me. I glance over at the picture of Caylen when she was only a few months old.

“Where’d you see it?” I ask him curiously. He doesn’t say anything for a few seconds as he stares at it intently.

“I don’t know,” he mutters continuing to look at it like it’s a brain teaser. After a few moments pass I turn towards him.

“Cal came back the night of Caylen’s birthday,” I tell him quietly. I think back to the night when I heard his voice and how it turned the little world I had been building upside down.

“Maybe you saw it then,” I offer seeing how much effort he’s putting into looking at the picture.

“My last blackout,” he says shaking his head.

“He didn’t talk to you?” he asks confusion evident on his face. I shake my head.

“No, he didn’t talk to me. I heard him talking to Caylen over the baby monitor. He gave her a bracelet. Maybe you saw it when you were here,” I offer again. He shakes his head.

“No if I had seen it then I’d remember all of this. My memories are really vivid,” he says. That’s a surprise to me since he said he only see’s bits and pieces of things.

“But I thou-” I’m about to ask when he snaps his finger and a realizations dawns on his face.

“My doctor’s office,” he says as excitedly. I look at him strangely.

“Your doctor has a picture of Caylen in her office?” I ask him skeptically.

“Not the one I saw today. Dr. Lyce. I haven’t seen her in a long time, I stopped because…well it’s a long story but that’s where I saw this,” he says enthusiastically. I guess any mystery he can solve feels good when your life seems out of control.

But that doesn’t make sense. The Scott’s said they didn’t know about Caylen unless they were lying.

“That can’t be right, Chris. Your parents said they didn’t know about Caylen. They knew about me but not about Caylen,” I say shaking my head.

If they lied about that, and they knew about Caylen all along I could never forgive them. He looks over at me realizing the same thing. His smile disappears completely from his face and he sits back further into the couch.

“Are you sure that it was this picture and not another little girl?” I ask him feeling a knot beginning to form in my stomach. I hope to God he’s wrong. I’ve really taken to Mrs. Scott, but if she knew that Caylen existed and kept Chris from her and lied about it, there will be no going back. I really can’t imagine Mrs. Scott being able to keep herself from Caylen. But what other explanation could there be as to why one of his doctors would have that picture.

“I know this is the one I saw,” he says putting the picture down and his head in his hands.

“How they could do that? How could they lie about something like that,” he says anger penetrating his voice.

“If they had that picture it had to come from somewhere. I didn’t give it to them. The only people who had that picture would be Raven, Hillary, Angela, Helen, Michael and Raven,” I say aloud to myself.

“Who’s Michael?” he asks his head snapping up to look at me.

“Just a friend,” I say quickly.

“I guess Helen could have given it to Dexter and he gave it to your doctor without your parents knowing possibly,” I say trying to figure this thing out.

“Helen is Dr. Lyce’s first name.” Chris says, and I frown.

“What?”

“Dr. Lyce. Her first name is Helen I think.”

Are you fucking kidding me? No. No way.

I shoot off the couch and grab my iPad out of my purse.

“Lauren what’s wrong?” Chris keeps asking me questions, but my hands are shaking I’m so tense. I quickly pull up my photo album and scroll through to a picture of Helen and show it to him.

“Yeah that’s Dr. Lyce,” he says hesitantly and I slam the Ipad down on the couch.

“Unbelievable! Unfuckingbelievable!” I’m pacing the floor at this. HELEN was his doctor, my friend Helen. Helen who stood in front of me when I found out about him and pretended to not have a clue what was going on. I cover my face with my hands. I feel sick, the sense of betrayal washing over me. All of this time I thought I had an ally, that she was as clueless as I was.

Helen has never been as oblivious as I was. How could she do that to me and Caylen? I feel angry tears forcing their way out of my eyes. Chris stands up in front of me bewildered.

“She was my friend!” I say angrily. Angry at myself for being so stupid.

“She knew all along. She was your fucking doctor?”

I feel myself getting angrier and angrier the more I think about it. I think back to Cal saying how manipulative she was and how she wasn’t to be trusted. He’s a dick and she’s a lying cunt. I think back to our first conversation; she was probably analyzing me, seeing if I could psychologically handle all the bullshit they would put me through. While I was pulling my hair out after Cal left paying detectives thousands of dollars she pretended to be clueless. Smiling in my face and comforting me when she knew all along what was going on. I can’t take sitting here anymore. I grab my purse and my keys and head towards the door.

“Where are you going?” Chris asks following me hurriedly. For a second I forgot he was even here.

“I’m going over there,” I tell him.

“We’re going over there,” I correct myself. I probably have more of a chance of getting in with Chris. He looks reluctant but screw that! This is happening with or without him.

It all makes sense now. She’s been avoiding my calls.

Well she’s not going to avoid this.

Chapter 14

Chris

Coming here is a bad idea. I haven’t seen Lauren this mad since that day she showed up on my front porch. I want to tell her she needs to sleep on this. That coming here while she’s so angry isn’t going to help matters for anyone. I know she’s upset and she has every right to be but you can’t just act first and think later. But she says she just wants to talk to Helen, and I think talking will help.

Talking will be good, I think Dr. Lyce and Dexter can shed some light on all of this. I have my own questions about some of the memories I’ve had. But, what worries me is the blank stare Lauren has had on her face the entire way here. Her expression made me kind of wish security wouldn’t have cleared our visit. Unfortunately that didn’t happen and we’re in. This building is even more opulent than the one Lauren lives in and when she hit the button 86 at the very top of all the other ones I feel completely sick. They’re in the pent house of course. Where else would they be?

“Sorry, Chris,” she mutters and a few seconds later we’re going up, up is okay. Down is going to be the problem. I try to focus on the elaborate art on the gold elevator doors they probably costs more than my parents’ entire house.

“Are you okay, Chris?” she asks tensely. I nod as the elevator goes higher and higher. It doesn’t help that it’s all glass and I get to see how high we’re climbing.

“I think this is a good idea,” I say talking aloud to distract myself.

“Great idea,” she answers tightly.

“There’s a lot she can tell us. Dexter might tell us some things as well,” I say watching her expression remain impassive, she’s nodding her head but it’s pretty obvious she’s not listening to me.

“We just have to be level headed,” I say.

“Of course. Level headed,” she repeats. When the doors open an older woman wearing all black greets us with a small smile.

“Mr. and Mrs. Scott. So good to see you. The Crestfields are waiting,” that’s as far as she makes it before Lauren storms past her.

“Sorry,” I tell the woman quickly following Lauren who’s walking so fast down the long corridor there should be wind behind her. She doesn’t stop until we reach an opening revealing Dexter sitting on a sofa with a glass in hand and Helen sitting beside him. Lauren stops as soon as she sees them, she seems frozen in place. Helen stands.

“Christopher,” she says acknowledging me, her eyes linger before falling on Lauren. I notice her hands clasp together.

“Lauren. I have been anticipating this day a long time,” Dr. Lyce says smoothly but her voice reveals her tension. Lauren doesn’t say a thing, she still has that same expressionless stare she wore in the car.

“We know there are a lot of questions that you both want answered,” Dexter says cooly shifting his drink from one hand to the other.

“There are,” I say folding my arms across my chest. Lauren is standing like a statue but I can see her breathing is distressed from the way her chest his heaving up and down.

“If you both would like to come sit in the dining room,” Dr. Lyce says gesturing towards a room.

“Lauren,” I say quietly, she still hasn’t moved or said a word. I think this is about to be really bad.

“I understand how you may be feeling now,” Dr. Lyce says in a calming tone.

“You don’t understand!” Lauren says bitterly.

“I thought you were my friend,” she adds quietly.

“I am your friend Lauren,” she says approaching Lauren apologetically. My eyes see Lauren’s hand sort of twitch and I’m not fast enough to stop it when it swings back and goes hard across Dr. Lyce’s face so hard that she stumbles backwards and Lauren pounces on her. I grab Lauren off her as Dexter quickly goes over to help his wife.

“What the hell is wrong with you Lauren?!” Dexter shouts.

“It’s okay,” I hear Dr. Lyce say as she gets off the floor.

“What’s wrong with me?! What is wrong with you people! To think that you can play God, and manipulate people’s lives, lie and deceive them and then have the nerve to say, to actually think that you are our friends!” she screams hysterically as she writhes and struggles to get out of my arms.

“Get out!” Dexter roars angrily pointing to the door.

“Gladly!” Lauren spits back as I carry her out of the room. We manage to make it out of the building before Dexter changes his mind and has security stop us. I don’t feel completely relieved until we’re back in the car and driving out of the security gate.

“I can’t believe them,” Lauren mutters angrily. I don’t say anything. I wish she would have kept her cool in there. I actually think they were about to tell us something that could shed some type of light on this whole situation. No one knows more about me as Cal than Dexter and Dr. Lyce and Lauren has effectively set that bridge on fire.

“Can you believe them?” she asks finally looking at me.

“How could they sit there all solemn and holier than though, how could she say that she was my friend after all she’s done? It’s insulting!” she fumes.

“You didn’t have to hit her,” I interject

“What?” she asks in disbelief.

“You didn’t have to hit her. I’m angry too, she was my doctor, and she kept the truth from me. Dexter isn’t innocent in this but I did haul off and knock him out?”

“I can’t believe this,” she huffs.

“I can’t believe you Lauren. Is that how you handle things, by just flying completely off the handle?” I ask her honestly. I glance in the mirror and she’s shifted her body towards me looking at me as if I’m speaking a foreign language.

“You’re taking their side?”

“I’m not taking their side but you didn’t have to do that back there. You could have gotten arrested for assault,” I say. I don’t understand her. How can she not see that she was wrong?

“You are taking their side,” she says angrily.

“No, I’m not. But, look where that got us? Nowhere, we left without knowing anything more than we did when we got there. And, now you just pissed off the two people that could give us a little guidance,”

“I wouldn’t trust anything either of them said if there statements came notarized,” she says defensively. I shake my head. She doesn’t get it. I’ve never seen this side of her before, well I have but I didn’t think it was one that shows up often. There’s an awkward silence in the car. She’s mad and I’m kind of annoyed.

“You know what Chris, sometimes people don’t think, they just act. They feel and don’t think about the consequences. I’m sorry that I’m human and not a perfect stoic saint. You should try it sometimes,” she says bitterly.

Now she’s mad at me! That’s great.

“You remember what you said earlier about me always having a choice,” I glance over at her. She’s not looking at me anymore.

“You’re right. You always have choices but when you grow up you learn that your choices have consequences, and not all of them are good. I make the choices that are responsible, that make sense. I try to think rationally because I’m an adult, I have responsibilities, and I’m not a self-absorbed asshole.” I’m trying to make a point, but who am I kidding. She probably likes that sort of quality, she married Cal – a selfish asshole – if ever I knew one. She looks at me a long time before turning away, I see surprise, anger, and disappointment all rolled in one in her expression. This trip definitely did not go the way I imagined it would be.

HHH

The next day is a long one. I had planned to take the day off, but after yesterday’s fiasco I jumped at the chance to teach when they called. Anything to keep busy to keep me from brooding over everything is worth more than money. The tension in the house between everyone is high. My dad’s not thrilled about Lauren possibly moving to town, and after last night I don’t know if she’s even still contemplating it. My mom is sad that there’s only three days left that Caylen will be staying at her house.

I don’t know what to make of Lauren mad, and she’s beyond mad she’s pissed. At breakfast she barely said a word to me other than a short good morning and I don’t think she would’ve said that if my mom wasn’t at the table. It’s different from when she stopped talking to me the week before, this time it’s like daggers shoot at me whenever her eyes find me. I feel like I should apologize to her for what I said, but I’m really not sorry. I told her what I felt which is exactly what she told me to do. I guess she probably had something different in mind, and that wasn’t what she wanted to hear.

Cal’s annoying commentaries have been silent, it’s the one time I wish he would share how to get back into her good graces. I’m almost home when I get a text from Jenna telling me she wants to see me. I haven’t talked to her since the dinner debacle. When I arrive at her house it’s almost six o’clock since I had to fill in for one of the coaches today for practice. I stopped at Olive Garden and grabbed some dinner hoping to share a quiet, peaceful evening the way we used to. I ring the bell and hear her call that it’s open. When I see her on the couch my heart starts to beat faster. Her hair is piled up messily on her head and there’s tears running down her cheeks. I set the food down on the table next to the door and go over to her.

“Jenna, what’s wrong?” I ask squatting down in front of her. She continues to cry and hands me her tablet. When I look at it my stomach drops. I see pictures of me but I quickly know it’s not. It’s Cal and Lauren on their wedding day. There’s loads of them.

“Where did you find these?” I ask her carefully.

“On the internet. Turns out their wedding was a big event apparently,” says wiping her eyes.

“Keep going there’s more,” she says, taking the tablet from me and going through dozens of photos of Cal and Lauren. They look normal, they look happy and worst of all they look in love. I take the tablet from her and she lets it go without a fight before covering her face with a pillow. I try to think of something to say to comfort her, but I’ve never been good with words. I rub her back. I feel sick. I’m the reason she feels like this, that she’s crying that she’s hurt.

“I didn’t want it to be real,” she whales.

“I didn’t want what they had to be real. It’s one thing for them to have a kid. People have kids all the time and aren’t in love but this… This makes it real,” she splutters.

“Tell me,” she squeaks out sitting up.

“Tell you what? I’ll tell you anything just stop crying,” I say putting my arm around her.

“Tell me you don’t love her,” she says looking me directly in the eyes and I think my heart almost stops.

“Those pictures aren’t of me Jenna. I don’t remember any of that,” I tell her taking her hands.

“That’s not what I asked you. I’m not talking about Cal. Tell me you don’t love her. You Christopher. Tell me that you don’t have any feelings for this woman,” I look into her watery blue eyes and I want to tell her what she needs to hear, I want to tell her whatever I can to make the pain she’s feeling go away. I want to tell her the feelings I have are Cal’s not mine. But if I did it would be a white lie. There are a lot of reasons I have feelings for the woman in those pictures

And Cal isn’t one of them.

“I—I can’t.”

Chapter 15

Lauren

I want to be mad at Chris. I really do but it’s hard to stay mad at someone when you replay the words they said to you in your head and they make absolute sense. That and the fact that when you scowl at them their eyes smile back at you as if they were never mad at you in the first place. I know he was mad. The first time I had ever seen Chris mad and he was mad at me for what I did.

He was right of course. I probably shouldn’t have gone at Helen how I did but that was the Lauren I kept neatly tied up, breaking free in all her infamy. I hadn’t been that person in so long, I wasn’t sure she still existed. I don’t think Chris liked what he saw. He looked at me with such disappointment. It’s the only way I could describe it, but the next day it was gone, like it never happened. Cal could hold a grudge as long as I could. And, our fights didn’t end easily, most of time they culminated in angry sex.

I think that’s out of the question for me and Chris.

I feel badly now. I really messed up a shot for Chris to be able to talk to Helen and Dexter. I don’t want to hear from either of them. I don’t trust them, and it’ll be a long time before I can forgive them. But Chris, I know, wants any and all information he can get. I can’t imagine only seeing pieces of a puzzle that is your life. That’s what caused me to suck it up and apologize to Helen.

She quickly accepted, I guess being a psychiatrist she understands why I did it. Dexter on the other hand looked like he wanted to have me thrown out on the sidewalk.

She’s agreed to meet with me, at my house. I don’t think I’ll be welcome in theirs for quite a while, but I don’t plan on making any social calls anytime soon. I apologized but I’m not sorry in the least, not for what I did to her. I’m just sorry it interfered with what Chris wanted to accomplish. I’m heading back to Chicago, she’s going to meet with me tomorrow afternoon. She says she thinks it will be good for us to talk. That she has a lot that I need to hear. I don’t want to hear anything from her, I’ll just sit there until she agrees to tell Chris everything he needs to know and gets Dexter to do the same.

Mrs. Scott is glad to have some extra time with Caylen since we’ll be heading back to Chicago soon. Chris and I haven’t had a chance to talk about my getting a house here. Everything was just moving too fast on my part, and going back home made me realize how much I love the city and missed it. I adjust my bag on my shoulder as I walk towards my car. I look up and see Chris parking his truck. I let out a deep breath at his approach.

“Hey,” he greets me with a small smile.

“What’s the bag for?”

“I’m going back to Chicago, there’s a few things I need to take care of and I didn’t think it’d be a bad idea to take some things back with me. I’ll back tomorrow night,” I respond.

“By yourself at almost seven in the evening?” He seems upset.

“In the Audi I’ll get there before the clock strikes midnight. I’ve made drives like this by myself a thousand times to my aunt’s house,” I assure him. There’s a steady wind blowing around us, when I smell expensive perfume I know he’s been with Jenna, and I suddenly feel like this conversation is a waste of my time.

“See you, Chris,” I say getting into my car leaving him standing outside. I put my key in the ignition and he knocks on the window.

“I’ll come with you,” he says. It’s funny that he doesn’t ask, he just sort of says it.

“Why?” I ask him curiously.

“Because you shouldn’t drive that far this late, alone,” he says as if it’s obvious.

“I’m a big girl Chris,” I laugh and his eyes find mine and he smiles at me with them.

“I know,” he says.

“Let me go tell my mom and say bye to Caylen. I’ll be back,” and with that he heads into the house. I feel myself getting a little excited then I think of how he smelled of Jenna’s perfume and my excitement evaporates into thinly veiled disappointment.

HHH

“Where did this storm come from?” I ask. It’s raining so hard I can barely see where I’m going. We’ve only been on the road about an hour and a half and then the rain came accompanied by loud thunder and lightning.

“We need to get off the road,” Chris says.

“We’re not going to make it to Chicago.” I pull out my phone and ask my search engine to find the nearest hotel. It lists several of them. The Detroit Marriott sounds like a winner. I change the route option to lead us there.

“The Marriott’s a little expensive for two rooms,” he says.

“Of course we need two rooms,” I mutter under my breath. I see him glance at me and sigh. The 20 minute drive takes us about forty minutes. When we finally pull up to the hotel Valet parking is in full affects with big rain coats and carrying huge umbrellas.

“Thank you so much,” I say loudly over the rain.

“No problem,” the valet says walking Chris and I over to the entrance of the hotel where we pay him and he gives us a ticket. We’re virtually dry as we walk into the large upscale hotel. I haven’t been to one of these since Cal. We walk in and it looks relatively empty,” aside from a few businessmen scattered about the lobby, it’s beautiful, but unfortunately for Chris it’s a high rise.

“I’ll go get the rooms,” Chris says. I stop him and hand him my credit card.

“I’m not going to take your money Lauren,” he chuckles and I can’t help but laugh at him.

“My money is kind of your money,” I chuckle. He frowns still not taking the card from me. I guess he thinks of it as Cal’s money and he doesn’t want anything of Cal’s of course which leave me little hope in all of this. This is going to be a long trip.

HHH

Chris made sure to get us two rooms. We go into mine first. It’s a nice size with the standard queen sized bed with a down comforter and flat screen TV. Hopefully we won’t be here for more than a couple of hours, which is why I don’t understand why we couldn’t share a room. Though, I guess that would be disrespectful to Jenna, and we wouldn’t want that.

Ugh. I can’t get the smell of her perfume out of my head and I feel annoyance and agitation seeping through my pores. I try not to think about them together but smelling her on him meant she had to be close enough to... Ugh. I won’t think about it.

I won’t.

“This is pretty nice huh?” he says cheerfully. I can feel my expression set in a scowl.

“What’s wrong?” he asks noticing it.

“Nothing,” I say flashing my fake smile as I sit on the bed and turn on the television. I flip until I find a new station. The news caster’s talking about severe thunderstorm warnings in the area.

A little late for that.

I see Chris pull out his phone charger and plug it in.

“I must have not been getting phone calls earlier. All these messages just came through at once,” he says aloud sitting at the little desk. He puts the phone to his ear and frowns.

“My volumes really low. Do you mind if I listen to these on speaker?” he asks and wonder if they have any good stuff in that mini bar. I nod giving him the okay.

“Hi Christopher, it’s Mom. I’m worried about you and Lauren out there. There’s a storm warning. Please call me and let me know you’re safe your father and I are worried,” Chris smiles and so do I.

His mom’s such a sweetheart. I can’t believe I thought for a second she’d hide the fact that he had a child from him.

“Chris it’s me. I really need to talk to you. It’s important so, uh, when you get a chance can you let me know a good time we can get together. Soon ok, and at my house,” I glance over at him. That’s Lisa’s voice and she sounds distressed and just a little bit tipsy maybe.

“You think everything’s okay?” I ask him and he smiles and rolls his eyes.

“She’s fine, it sounds like she’s been drinking,” he chuckles and I nod, that she did.

“I’ll text Aidan to go check on her just in case,” he says casually. The next message that plays causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.

“Christopher, I love you so much, and I didn’t mean what I said earlier. I don’t want this to be the end of us,” I immediately sit up in the bed. Chris quickly takes her message off speaker. I look over at him questioningly. Did they have fight? If so what about? It sounds pretty serious.

“I’m going to go check out my room,” he says taking his charger and phone with him.

“Okay,” I say simply but I really want to know what the hell just happened. Did they break up? My heart starts to beat wildly in my chest but then the pessimistic side of me notes how quickly he’s gone in the other room to call her back. If they were just off, they probably are about to be back on. I grab the remote and turn off the TV. I fall back into the bed letting my head come down hard on the mattress.

“What am I doing?” I mumble aloud to myself as I cover my face with my hand. I’m pathetic. I walk over to the mirror in the room and look at myself.

Why doesn’t he want me?

“Because he wants her that’s why,” I mutter to myself. And like the genius I am I let him think that I’m okay with it because it’s best for Caylen. That’s what I tell myself, but really it’s because I’m a coward. A coward that’s too afraid to lay her cards on the table and say how she really feels because she’s scared of having her heart broken into a million pieces. I bite my nails, I have to know what he’s saying to her. I make my way over to the double door and open it slightly.

“I do love you Jenna,” I hear Chris say and I quickly close it again. Of course he loves her. When will I just give up? I need a drink.

I head to the mini bar and am utterly disappointed with its contents. The only thing that look’s mildly appealing is a mini Heineken beer and I’ve never really been a beer drinker. I look back at the door and hope it’ll put me in a mood where I won’t cry or completely snap. A few moments later I hear a knock at the door. It’s Chris wanting to make sure I’m decent before he comes in.

“Come in,” I say flatly. I glance over at him. He looks relieved, like a heaviness has been lifted, happy. I bet he’s happy because he and his lady love are back on good terms.

“Any more of those?” he asks enthusiastically and I can’t help but look at him in surprise. He doesn’t drink.

“You don’t drink…” the words come out sharper than I intend. His eyes narrow in on mine and a frown sets on his face.

“Let me guess Cal doesn’t drink?” he says sarcasm creeping into his voice.

“I’m not Cal, Lauren.”

Is he serious? I stand up, and grab my purse.

“I’m more than aware of that, in case you didn’t know,” I say angrily. I’m sick of him and his snide remarks about Cal, like he’s the worst person in the world. News flash his girlfriend doesn’t win any prizes in the personality department.

“Where are you going?” he asks surprised.

“I need a real drink,” I say before leaving him standing in my room.

HHH

“What are you having?” the bartender asks me as I settle onto the plush leather bar seat At first I was going to ask for a glass of wine but that’s what the old Lauren would have ordered. I need to be a new Lauren. The Lauren who’s bold and gets what she wants.

“Reyka on the rocks,” I say with a smile. There aren’t many people at the bar and she sets me right up without any wait. I grab a straw and take a sip, God this is disgusting. But drinking vodka on the rock looks a lot better than doing shots like I’m still in my early twenties. I’m halfway through my glass and I’m already starting to feel better. The music that was putting me to sleep initially doesn’t sound all that bad and I start to feel light, warm and tingly. I end up ditching the straw and down the rest and alert the bartender I want another.

“Lauren Brooks,” I hear a somewhat familiar voice say. I look up and see a tall blonde man in an expensive looking blue suit. I don’t recognize him but he looks like he’s someone important, maybe head of hotel security. Oh gosh what did I do now?

“I’m sorry. Have we met before?” I ask hesitantly. He’s pretty cute and when he smiles at me I feel myself start to blush.

“Oh don’t break my heart. Was I that forgettable?” he asks flirtatiously taking the seat next to mine. Who is this guy?

“Bar tender, rum and coke for me and a Long Island for the lady,” he says turning his body towards me. I survey his face closely and it hits me.

“Jason Daniels!” I say the realization dawning on me.

“Wow you look great,” I say nudging him. He always was attractive but he’s definitely grown into his looks.

“Thank you. You’re still as stunning as the day I first met you,” he says before taking a sip of his drink.

“You remembered my drink,” I say surprised before I take a sip.

“Of course I did,” he says with a laugh.

“How are you? What are you doing in Detroit?” I ask. He tells me how he’s in a more prominent position and in town for a story. How he’s now an investigative reporter, a long ways from his entertainment fluff section. He talks about the cases he’s worked on and the places he’s traveled. I remember Jason always did like to talk about himself, and I’m not sure if it’s just the vodka or the Long Island ice tea but he seems a hell of a lot more interesting than he was.

“What about you. Are you still in Chicago?” he asks and I nod.

“Isn’t that a coincidence, so am I,” he says leaning into my space.

“I’d love to take you out sometime when were’ back in town,” he says and I giggle. Yup I just giggled.

“Uhm. That wouldn’t be such a good idea,” I sigh and he gives me a playful frown.

“Oh why not. Are you married now?” he asks. I run my hand through my hair. I am but not exactly.

“Engaged?” he says as if he’s trying to help me along.

“Separated,” I say. Separated sounds perfect and surprisingly accurate.

“Then that means it would be okay for me to take you to dinner as a friend,” he says as a smile spreads across his face. It’s been such a long time since a man has been so forwardly interested in me. After being alone for two years and then the one man I’m attracted to looks at me as if I’m his sister in law most of the time, it feels good to feel attractive. Then I smile too.

“My life is very complicated… things are really complicated,” I confess.

“With your separtee?” he jokes and I can’t help but laugh.

“Lauren, you are one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. You’re sweet and funny and intelligent. A man would have to be out of his mind to need space from you or for him to make you feel like you need it.” It’s funny he’d use those words, and I’m surprised when butterflies take flight in my stomach. Jason’s attractive but I never had this reaction with anyone other than Cal…well, Chris. Maybe it’s the liquor.

“It’s time to go Lauren,” a firm hand grips my arm and lifts me from my seat. I look back and see Chris helping me up,” and to my surprise he looks…pissed maybe even jealous. I see Jason let out a sigh as looks from me to Chris.

“Cal Scott,” Jason says flatly. My eyebrow lifts, God if he says he’s not Cal. I get my balance and stand beside Chris whose deadpan stare looks a little familiar as he frowns at Jason.

“I’d love for you to make a comment on the recent acquisition Crestfield Corp just completed of Maratech,” Jason says.

“Get in line,” he says coldly as he ushers me out of the room. I look back at Jason who gives me a flirtatious smile.

“You don’t think that was a little rude?” I ask covering the hiccup from my mouth as we make our way to the elevator.

“You shouldn’t drink like that by yourself in a strange hotel. What if that guy had slipped you something?” he says accusingly.

“The bartender made the drink right in front of me he didn’t just walk over and hand it to me. And, I know him,” I say defensively. The ride up to the elevator is short and not so sweet. Thankfully for Chris our rooms are only on the fifth floor. He waits for me to exit first and I do quickly at first until I feel a little off balance and have to slow down. I pull out my room key and look back at Chris who is shaking his head disapprovingly.

“Other side,” he says pointing to the door to the left of where I am now. I knew that. I hear Chris sigh behind me, he closes the door once we’re inside and sits in a lounging chair across from the TV. I roll my eyes, why is he in here? Why won’t he just leave me alone, I don’t want to be his fucking friend.

If anyone should be sighing it should be me. I slam my butt on the bed so he can see how mad I am. I can’t believe his audacity. He didn’t come down there to rescue me from the boogey man he was jealous that I had an attractive man actually interested in me. He doesn’t have the right to be jealous. If I can’t show the fact that I’m jealous, that it kills me inside whenever Jenna’s near him, that when I hear him talk to her that my insides feel like they’re crumbling, then he doesn’t get to be jealous. How dare he not get it, I don’t want any other man. I only want him, and God damnit this stupid alcohol is making me cry.

Chris

Lauren is definitely a sight to see when she’s drinking. She acts like a bratty ten year old. She rolls her eyes, she stomps and pouts. I had to frown to keep from letting her see me laugh. Well the frown when I walked in to the restaurant and saw that guy about to practically pounce on her was real. It took everything in me to not knock him right out of his seat. She didn’t put up a fight, when I moved to take her out of there, which was good. I didn’t want to cause a scene but she was coming with me whether she liked it or not. She was funny after the drinks she had, it was cute. Until she started crying and now she’s been in the bathroom for the past ten minutes. Seeing her cry makes me feel like the lowest thing on the earth, because I know it has something to do with me, or him, but this time I think it was me. I let out a deep breath and finally knock on the door.

“Lauren,” I say quietly. She doesn’t say anything. So I knock again.

“Just leave me alone, Chris.”

“Can you please come out?” I ask her.

“You don’t want me to come out. Trust me. I’m an emotional mess, and you are not prepared to deal with this version of me.”

“Whatever version of you is in there I’d love to come out,” I feel a smile spread across my face. I think of the way she smiles, how she bites her lip, how she steals glances at me when she thinks I don’t see her. The way she takes care of Caylen, how even when she’s mad and pouting she has the most angelic eyes and kissable lips, lips I’ve never took the chance to kiss.

“You’re going to make me sing to you out here if you don’t come out,” I threaten her. I think back to the way she looked at me when I played after Caylen went to sleep, how she looked at me as if she saw me for the first time. Not Cal, and how she looked at me the same way my mom looks at my dad.

I didn’t want to admit it then but Jenna’s never looked at me like that.

“That’s not a good threat. You’re an amazing singer Chris,” I hear a little laugh.

““You’re extremely generous when you’ve been drinking,” I say laughing as I sit down on the floor next to the door.

“Trust me I won’t sound as good without the guitar,” I tell her. I can tell she’s not crying anymore and that was my ultimate goal.

“Can you come out please?” I ask her again, she’s quiet. I hope she’s contemplating.

“I’ll tell you a secret if you come out,” I promise her.

“A good one or a boring one,” she asks and I laugh.

“Well if it’s boring I’ll go in the bathroom the rest of the night,” I tell her. I hear water running and few seconds later she opens the door and comes out. After a little contemplation she sits down on the floor beside me.

“Okay. What’s your secret,” she says her voice sounding light and airy. I sigh and look over at her, those eyes of hers full of curiosity she’s so close it’s like she can see into my soul. That line between us I feel like I’m ready to erase it but I still feel reluctant. I know once it’s gone, there will be no going back.

“I’ve remembered things,” I tell and her eyes widen. My heart skips a beat.

“You’ve had more memories?” she asks excitedly and I feel terrible that I’m just now going to share them with her.

I nod.

“What have you remembered?” she asks. I let out a deep breath.

“I remember the first time Cal told you he loved you,” I say and I hear her breath catch in her throat.

“I remember when you were moving and you said you didn’t see him as the villain,” I continue swallowing the lump in my throat, and I see her eyes fill with tears.

“I remember him telling Dexter that he needed you,” I say and I take a deep breath.

“I-I remember how much he loves you,” I say finally and I look over at her she lets out a breath like it’s been held in for years. She lets her head fall back against the wall and the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen spreads across her face, while an array of emotions pass through her face, hope, joy, and relief.

“And, I’ve completed my homework assignment. The three things I like about Cal are: he met you, he made Caylen and he brought you both into my life,” I say feeling my heart starting to beat faster. I hear her breathing start to quicken. She stands up. She begins to pace the room. And she shakes her head.

“You can’t say things like that to me Chris and think that I can do this with you,” she says as if it’s painful. I look at her confused. I stand up and walk over to her the inches between us closing in as our chests touch.

“Do what?” I ask and she looks in my eyes as if she’s trying to read my thoughts.

“Pretend I can be your friend. That I’m not in love with you,” she breaths outs her desperately.

“Do you love me Lauren?

“What do you mean?” she asks quietly.

“I need to know that you love me,” I ask her honestly. She looks at me intently, the time passes between us seems like an eternity.

“You’re right here. I’m in love with you, Chris,” she says standing on her tiptoes and bringing her lips to mine. She kisses me softly but with such pent up passion it takes my breath away. I pick her up and pull her as close to me as possible. Before I know it we’re on the bed I’m lying over her and she looks so beautiful.

“I want you, Chris,” she says pleading before pulling me down on to her.

Lauren

Two years since I felt a man’s touch, that I’ve missed his touch. I imagined it so many nights but nothing compared to the reality of the feel of him. His caress releases the hopeless longing and constrained emotion to pour off me in waves of ecstasy. Each kiss and touch different but so familiar. His fingers intertwine with mine before raising my hands over my head. He looks at me as if I’m his everything, taking in every inch of me. He slowly raises my shirt over my stomach his fingers against my skin makes me feel alive. I can’t breathe. I’m scared to breath. If I move to fast I might wake up from this dream, because if it is a dream, I want to stay in it forever. He lifts me up to him as he pulls my shirt over my head and I do the same with his.

I take time to get a close up of his body, a body that I’ve known in so many ways. I trace my hands over his chest to his stomach and when my eyes reach his lips I kiss him again and again, first patiently then frantically. He tastes so good, I’ve forgotten how soft his lips are, how good his hands feel on my body. This body belongs to him. How could I have forgotten something I’ve dreamed about so often.

He grips my waist tightly pulling me on top of him. His hands go to my jeans unzipping them. When they slip inside to knead the swell of my butt, I release a soft moan. Everything’s happening so fast but so slow. I lie back on the bed as he removes my remaining clothes. I thank God I have on good underwear. It’s nothing fancy but they’re brand new. He stops for a moment and looks down at my body, now nothing covering it except a cotton white thong. His eyes devour me. When he gets off the bed my breath catches. If he stops now I’ll die. Everything will shut down, but he’s not stopping he removes his own pants and underwear and I feel every muscle in me contract as I look at him. He’s perfect his thighs thick and muscular and the one thing that I missed that I know like the back of my hand is standing at attention. He lies down on top of me kissing every part of me it’s its sweet torture. His lips kiss my collar bone my neck and trail down my stomach as is fingers slip beneath the material simple white thong and he removes it. He takes in my body with his eyes again, I’ve never been so turned on from someone just looking at me the way he is. He lifts my right leg and begins kissing down it making his way up my thigh. I’m going to die if he’s not in me soon.

My breathing is short and I can’t control it. I’m so turned on that as soon as his lips touch me there I feel myself beginning to come undone. I pull his hair between my fingers grabbing it as his tongue slides into me, I cry out. His free hand moves to my breast and it hasn’t been long before I feel myself shattering under his assault. I pull myself away and he looks up at me a smile on his face but confused.

“I need you inside of me,” It takes every ounce of energy for me to barely whisper that, and just like that he is and I feel like the part of me that’s been gone is back. I feel complete.

HHH

Last night was everything.

It was the beginning and an end. I felt as if I gave a piece of me away but was given so much in return.

Chris, I can’t even describe him. I thought he’d be a little timid and nervous but it was like he already had a road map of my body he just took a different route. It was amazing like we were connected. And everything I needed after two years of loneliness, emptiness and despair was returned to me. I stretch out in bed and realize Chris isn’t in the bed. I wonder if he went out and to get breakfast. I go and peep into his side of the room he’s not there either. I grab my phone and see that I have two missed calls. They’re both from Lisa. I think of the message she left for Chris yesterday. I call it and she picks up on the second ring.

“Hey, Lauren. Is Chris with you?” she asks nervously.

“No, I think he went to run an errand or something. Is everything okay?” I ask her concerned by the tone of her voice.

“It is but I really need to talk to him. Can you let him know it’s really important to call me back,” she says pleadingly.

“Okay. As soon as he comes back I’ll make sure he calls you,” I promise her.

“How are you doing?” she asks lightly and I can’t help but feel a smile spread across my face.

“I’m fantastic,” I laugh seeing myself blush in the mirror.

“You sound fantastic,” she chuckles.

“I’ve got to go my breaks almost over but don’t forget Lauren, please.”

“I won’t,” I say hanging up the phone. It’s 11 am. I’ve slept straight through breakfast. I call up room service and order two breakfast plates and turn on the television. I feel absolutely refreshed. I lie back down and call Mrs. Scott to check on Caylen, she confirms she’s doing fine. I admit I feel giddy, knowing our family is going to be complete again. Chris has finally come around.

Everything is as it should be.

Room services arrives twenty minutes later. I wait a few minutes for Chris but I’m starving and I start to eat without him. I finish breakfast and he’s still not here. I grab my phone and shoot him a text asking where he is with a smiley face and decide to hop in the shower, I wish he was here to get in with me. After I finish I check my phone and see that he still hasn’t responded. I call him and it goes straight to voice mail. At this point I’m a little annoyed after what just happened why he would decide to run errands or whatever he’s doing instead of being here.

3:00. I’ve called him four times and his phone keeps going straight to voicemail. I’ve called the concierge to see if he left a message for me.

None.

I go down to the lobby and even check the fitness center. He’s nowhere to be found. I start to look around the room tearing it apart to see if he left a note that I might have misplaced telling me where he’s gone.

4:30. I’m freaking out. I want to call the Scotts but I don’t want to worry them if this is nothing. There’s a reasonable explanation for this there has to be. A chill shoots through me and I scold myself for thinking he went back to Jenna. By six I’m in panic mode. I can’t even sit still, my heart about to beat out of my chest.

“I’m out of my mind worried. I’m three minutes away from calling the police and lying about how long he’s been gone when I get a text alert on my phone, it’s his notification. I almost trip over the bed to get it. I pick it up and see it’s only one word.

What.

What? Is he kidding? I feel my blood starting to boil. I’m going to kill him. Is he for real? I start to text all of my thoughts out with a lot of expletives and then realize that would be stupid. I call his number and on the second ring he picks up.

“Hey,” he says shortly.

“Hii…” I say just as short.

“W—where are you? Why haven’t you been answering all day? I was completely freaking out,” I say frantically.

“Penthouse suite A. See you soon,” he says and the call goes dead. I feel my breathing accelerate my heart starting to beat rapidly. All my anger seemingly has melted away, replaced by a sudden chill

I go down to the lobby and see if there’s been a key left for me for the penthouse suite.

There has.

I walk back to the elevator; my thoughts are in a haze. With each floor the elevator climbs my heart drops further into my stomach. When it stops and the elevator door opens I have to will my legs to move.

How the fuck did I end up here? For two years I imagined what this would be like. Now I’m terrified of it. My heart’s beating like a drum. I’m confused, I’m angry and a sense of guilt is creeping over me. I thought I’d grown, that he couldn’t make me feel like this anymore. Now I feel like I’ve been transported back through time, and it’s all a game again. I’m at the beginning of a match that I haven’t trained for or expected. “I can do this,” I mutter to myself. Now, if only I believed it.

I take a deep breath before I open the door. I’m just waiting for my brain to confirm what my senses, my intuition, whatever you want to call it already knows. My eyes stay on the floor a few seconds.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared. That won’t make this much fun.” His words vibrate through me. I can’t ignore the goose bumps popping up on my skin. I look up and see him dressed in a black fitted t-shirt, dark wash jeans, a gleaming Rolex on his wrist and his arms folded across his chest. The only thing missing is that cocky-ass grin on his face. Instead, there’s an angry scowl.

“Hey gorgeous. You happy to see me?”

Authors Note

I’d like to thank each and every reader who picked up If I Break and gave it a chance. There are so many other books out there you could have chosen, and you chose mine. To every blogger and every reader who has taken time to write a review or recommend the book to someone else, thank you. I am so appreciative of the emails and Facebook postings I get. It’s still surreal that so many of you love these characters as much as I do. Thanks to every beta who’s read for me.

A special thanks to two people specifically. Lashawnda G. You were with me from the very beginning and went from being a super good beta to someone I consider a very close friend. Without that woman, I never would have gotten the courage to share this with the world in the best way possible. I’d also like to thank Brittany H. You have no idea how appreciative I am of what you’ve done for this story and Before I Break. You are sweetheart and a great writer!

If you’re still reading this, the final installment of Lauren and Chris/Cal’s story will release Spring of 2015. Since it’s the last book for them, make sure you like my facebook page facebook.com/portiamoorebooks. I will be posting teasers, sneak peeks and lots of fun stuff to lead up towards the release. If you enjoyed the story, please leave a review and share with a reader friend.

If you’d like to reach me personally, feel free to email me at portiacmoore@gmail.com. I love hearing from readers, and I respond back.

Also if you haven’t joined my mailing list and would like to be kept up to date on new releases and other fun stuff click here.

Table of Contents

Copyright

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Author’s Note