Slaying The Dragon - T.K. Leigh Page 0,61

life, Tyler,” I confessed. “If it weren’t for Jenna and Brayden, I would have thought I imagined you. Even with them, there have been days I was convinced I did make you up. I was certain if you really did care, you would have come for me. Then a week passed. Then a month. Then another month. And then…” I glanced down at my stomach, my hand resting on it protectively, as if hoping I could keep my baby safe from a world of hurt and pain. “Then I knew you were real, which made your absence hurt even more. I called, Tyler! I called your cell and it was disconnected. I called the security company and they gave me the run-around every time. I missed you so much, I vowed to swallow my pride and admit I made a mistake when I pushed you away, but now…” I shook my head. “It hurts too much to be near you. I can’t–”

“You told me the only way to prove it was real was to let you go,” he interrupted.

I stared into his eyes, scared to see that the love he had for me no longer covered them.

“But I can’t, Mackenzie,” he said, his voice wavering. “You’re my heart. The air I breathe. My everything. I don’t care what it takes to prove it was real. That it is real. Still. I will beg every day for the rest of my life to make you mine. You can tell me no every day for weeks, months, years. I don’t care how long you want to hurt me, to tell me you never want to see me again. I deserve it.”

“Four months, Tyler!” I exclaimed. “You’ve been gone for almost four months. Four months where I had to question everything. Four months where, every night, I lay awake, wondering how I was going to explain to the baby growing inside of me where his father is, why he wasn’t good enough for his father to love him.” I let out a slow breath. “But I got up every day, and every day I didn’t hear from you, another brick was built around my heart. Every day, I missed you a little bit less. I thought of you a little bit less. I cried for you a little bit less. I let go of another piece of you. Your eyes. Your lips. Your smile. Your touch. I had to let go of all those things.”

“Please, Mackenzie. You have to realize how sorry I am, how much I love you–”

“How can I believe you?” I asked, shooting off the bed and heading to the window. “After everything you did to me, I will always think this is all just another lie, another way for you to get what you need, then toss me out like last week’s garbage.” I looked back at him and saw how full of regret he was. The pain of my words were etched on every inch of him. Part of me wanted to jump in his arms and forget how much he hurt me, but I couldn’t do that. Not anymore.

“The thing is, I can deal with that pain again, but it’s not just me I have to worry about now. I can’t let you back into my life just for you to leave again. I can’t let you hurt my baby–”

“Truth or dare,” he interrupted, his voice impassioned as he stalked to me.

“What?” I asked, my eyes widening.

“You heard me, Mackenzie,” he countered, narrowing his gaze at me. “Truth. Or. Dare.”

I swallowed hard. “Truth.”

“Did you mean this?” he asked, pulling a sheet of paper out of his shirt pocket.

Squinting my eyes, I recognized the email I wrote him and inhaled quickly.

“This…,” he said, gesturing to the piece of paper. “Because of this, I drove fifteen hours to the closest airport I could get a flight out of, from one end of Sudan, where I was volunteering at a refugee camp for the past four months, to the other. Then I flew thirty-three hours on a series of three different flights. You want to know why?”

“Why?” I quivered.

“Because of the last line,” he admitted. “You said you still love me. You picked truth so please tell me. Do you still love me?”

Staring into those green eyes that had haunted my dreams, I let out a loud sob, nodding as my tears washed over me. He pulled me into his body and planted a kiss on my forehead. My emotions

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