The Man I Thought I Trusted - E. L. Todd Page 0,13
played Switzerland, she was pouring out her feelings to me. All the while, I knew you couldn’t feel more differently toward her.” I shook my head as I replayed her words in my mind. When she put it like that, I really did feel like a bitch. “Who listens to somebody say how much they love a guy and hope they can work it out, knowing the guy is head over heels for somebody else?”
“Don’t do that.” His voice came out quiet. “You’re taking all the blame on yourself, and that’s not fair. I’m your best friend, coworker, and roommate. Kat is your best friend, and to top it off, Denise is your sister. What the hell are you supposed to do?”
I raised my hands in the air in an exaggerated shrug. “No fucking idea. Maybe it’s not me at all. Maybe it’s just the situation. Still shitty, nonetheless. Kat and I will never get over this, and I can already tell she’s going to pull away from all of us, and we’ll stop seeing her altogether. When I run into her at the coffee shop, she’ll duck out and act like she didn’t see me. Time will pass, and it’ll be hard to remember what it was like when we were friends at all.” The emotional, poetic side of me came out, painting a vivid picture of our future and making me sick to my stomach.
Charlie rubbed his fingers across his jawline, his eyes heavy with the weight of the situation. “Let’s not be dramatic…”
“I’m not being dramatic. Just realistic.”
“Give her time—”
A knock sounded on our front door.
Charlie glanced at the entryway before he turned back to me, his eyebrows raised slightly, silently asking if I was expecting company.
I shook my head as an answer.
“Maybe that’s her.” He walked to the front door, checked the peephole, and then opened it to reveal Dax on the other side.
I’d been hoping to see Kat come here to make amends after our fight, but this was a pleasant surprise too.
Dax didn’t even look at Charlie as he came into the apartment and approached me.
I just wanted to be alone to lick my wounds in private, but seeing his handsome face, concern in his eyes, immediately made me feel better, like I didn’t have to carry this alone, not anymore.
I moved into his body and wrapped my arms around his waist. My cheek planted against his chest, and I closed my eyes.
His powerful arms wrapped around me quickly, acting as my crutch so I wouldn’t fall. He squeezed me tightly and showered me with affection, his lips moving to my forehead and then my hairline. “Sweetheart, I’m here.”
“I know…” I never had to be alone again. I always had this man to comfort me, to carry my burden with me. It wasn’t just me anymore, and hopefully it wouldn’t be just me ever again. I completely let him in, let him see all of me, let him be a part of me. “I’m glad you came.”
4
Dax
Carson lay beside me in bed, her body wrapped up in mine, her breathing deep and even now that she was calm.
I didn’t ask for the details because they didn’t matter.
She was sad. That was all I needed to know.
When she told me she wanted to be alone, I knew that was an impulsive response. If I’d really walked in the door, she would want me there. I had complete faith.
And I was right.
My fingers lightly played with her hair as we lay together under the sheets, the sound of traffic, honking horns, and loud ambulances passing in the street below. It was hard for me to sleep in her apartment when I could hear everything because I was used to the insulated silence of my penthouse. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“Okay.”
“I just want to go to sleep…and leave this day behind.” She pulled the sheets higher over her shoulder and came closer to me, no longer wanting her own space on the bed like she used to. She completely wrapped around me like we were one person.
“It’ll get better, sweetheart. I know it’s hard to believe, but it will.”
The alarm went off the next morning, intrusively pulling us from our dreams.
She automatically reached across my body to grab my phone and quickly stabbed her fingers into the screen until the alarm shut off. Then she turned back over again, releasing a loud sigh of annoyance.