Need You Now (Love in Unknown) - By Taylor M. Lunsford Page 0,86
Did he expect you to live like a nun all your life?”
“I’m sure he would have preferred that.” Mel wrapped her arms around herself. “No, he was mad at you, actually. For leaving me alone to deal with that, for getting involved with me in the first place. I honestly thought he hated you for a while there.”
“I didn’t know.” Mel had seen him with that shell-shocked look one time before— when he’d fallen out of the tree house as a kid. “Jesus, Mel. How could you not tell me you were pregnant?”
She groaned. “Because I wasn’t. But I had to wait over two weeks before I could take a pregnancy test. Two weeks scared out of my mind. I was eighteen years old and possibly knocked up by a rich, playboy who was off playing on a tropical island with his rich, spoiled friends while I sat around with my dad, waiting to find out if my life was thrown off course for good.”
“You could have called me.” Tension radiated off of his body. He was pissed. She knew that much. Any other time, he’d probably have blown a gasket by now. “I would have been here in a second if I’d known what was going on. I would have -“
“Bullshit.” Mel stood up, needing to be on his level in some way. “Even if you hadn’t been on a private island with no cell signal, you wouldn’t have been here. You would have run for the hills. Responsibility scared you shitless back then. All you gave a damn about was what made you feel good. Booze, parties, casual sex with me. The second things got complicated or permanent? The last thing I would have seen was the taillights of that ridiculous sports car you drove back then.”
Caine straightened, his gaze shuttered. He was holding back. A lot. “That’s what you think of me, isn’t it? No matter what I do, you’ll always see me as that guy I was in college.”
No, she wanted to blurt out. No, I don’t see you like that. Instead she stayed silent, closing herself off.
He grabbed a book off of the beside table and threw it on the floor in frustration. She winced at the sound of hardcover meeting wood floor. He never would have thrown a book in front of her unless she’d pushed him to the edge. The pain in his eyes flayed her resistance. She'd succeeded. She'd wounded him, cut to the bone. "Damn it, Melody. Don't you know I would do anything for you? Give up everything just to have you in my life?"
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to trust what we have. Every time I start to believe that we have a chance, I remember how I felt during those weeks on my own. I don’t ever want to feel that alone again.” The ache in her chest stole her breath. Oh, God, she loved this man. She had to stay strong. To get out now. "Goodbye, Caine. I'm sorry. I hope you'll understand in time."
To her profound relief, he didn't try to stop her as she picked up her bag and left. In truth, she almost ran out of his house. She couldn't let him see her cry, no matter what. She stayed strong until she got outside the gates. Then tears began to trickle down her cheeks. By the time she let herself into her apartment, sobs wracked her body.
Unable to go any further, Mel slid down the door and let the pain take over. No way around it. She just had to fight her way through it. She'd done what was best for him in the long run, and that's all that could matter right now.
Chapter 17
Caine let the whisky burn down his throat in one fast bolt.
He stared at the bottle in front of him. Three nights ago the large bottle had been completely full. Now less than a quarter of the amber colored liquid remained. A half dozen empty beer bottles kept the whisky bottle company on the coffee table. He wished he had ten more of each.
Three night ago his world came crashing down around his ears. He’d come to expect a lot of things in his life. He expected his parents to be judgmental. He expected Gage to show up when he needed him. He expected the town to gossip. Never in a million years did he expect Mel to tell him that.