“But what?” I ask, frazzled. I know he’s about to tear me apart.
“Maybe you need to carefully consider your future, Ella. Maybe you are better off with him.”
My body suddenly feels so heavy, my head too big. I look into his eyes, and beg. “You can’t be saying this, Gabe. What about the girls?”
I can’t believe he’s giving up on us. That he won’t fight for me and the girls.
He takes me in his arms. “I’m just being realistic. I don’t want you to stay with me, if all you really want is to be with him.”
I tear myself from him. “But I don’t want him,” I cry out, the words a soft wail. “I want to be with you.”
He takes my face in his hands and wipes a tear with the pad of his thumb. “Don’t,” he says. “I still love you, Ella. I always will. But you need to seriously think about this…about what you’re doing. It’s one thing to fuck me around, but you can’t do that to the girls.”
I’m speechless. He’s so right.
His hands are still pressed against my cheeks as my tears drench his fingers. “I’m sorry,” he goes on. “But you really need to make a decision, and stick with it.”
He pulls me into another bear hug. I close my eyes and revel in the feel of him close against me.
But then, he releases me. “When I walk out the door,” he starts off but can’t quite seem to say the rest. I study his features, curious, trying to predict his next words. I know I won’t like them.
“When I walk out the door…” he repeats. “We are officially separated.”
His words destroy me. They absolutely wreck me. I think about him and Bridget, and I wonder if he wants to be with her.
“You want to be with her?”
“With who? Bridget?”
“Yes, Bridget.”
His eyes seem full of sorrow when he tells me, “I don’t want to be with Bridget,” he assures me. “I swear. It’s over.”
I believe him. I don’t know why, but I believe every word.
“This isn’t about me, Ella. This is about you. You need to figure out if you want to be with him or me,” he says, a frown pulling down the corners of his mouth. “Do what you need to do. Go to him, talk your feelings out, fuck him…but when you make your decision, you can’t go back. And either way,” he goes on, his words soft and low. “You need to tell the girls what’s going on. You can’t keep them in the dark much longer.”
I’m sobbing like crazy and he pulls me into another hug, muffling my cries against his chest. “Shh…the girls will hear you.”
I pull away and wipe my nose with the heel of my hand. I don’t want to look at him anymore. I want him to leave. “You should go.”
He stares at the floor and nods. Neither one of us says a word for the longest time. He finally lifts his gaze to mine. “I’m just giving you time, Ella. Please take it.”
He wraps his hand around the door handle and smiles at me as he leaves. “It’s not over between us,” he says as he walks away.
His last words give me hope.
I’m not giving up quite yet.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
As long as it takes.
The four of us girls are playing a game of Sorry. Claire’s little pout is bittersweet — Gwen’s just taken out one of her pawns.
“Sorry, sweetie. I had to do it,” Gwen tells her. “That’s why the game is called ‘Sorry’.”
Claire glares at her. Chloe, who is winning at the moment, seems rather amused. “Someone always ends up crying,” I point out. “Fun times.”
Gwen smiles at me. My best friend. My rock.
My phone chirps, off in the distance. I jump up and dash to the front entry hall where I keep my purse.
My heart sinks when I see Weston’s name.
Are u home later this afternoon?
No, Weston. Please don’t.
I really can’t deal with Weston right now. Things are finally going okay with Gabe. This is my chance to fix things. I know it seems impossible, but maybe Gabe is willing to come back to me, even with this new baby. The last thing I need is Weston seducing me and melting my resolve.
Yes…but I can’t see u. Pls understand.
-----------
I understand. I will not be there.
Gwen rolls the dice. “Who was it?” she asks. She’s always been super nosy.