“Cleo?”
I stopped at the door but didn’t turn around. I couldn’t let him see my face.
He waited for me to face him.
Never. “Let’s just move on, Deacon.” I shut the door behind me and walked down the hallway to the elevator, doing my best to walk at a normal pace, not to sprint for freedom. He said he wanted to move on and go back to the way we were.
I could move on…but we would never get back what we had.
I got into the elevators and the doors shut.
A part of me hoped he would come after me, like in the movies. At the last second, he’d realize he’d been a dick and he did feel the same way. He’d wipe my tears away with the pads of his thumbs and kiss me, becoming the man I needed.
But my life wasn’t a movie.
It was a shitshow of mistakes.
No one would be awake at this hour, so I let my tears spill down my cheeks, let the sobs crack my chest, let myself come apart, my arms wrapped around my waist and gripping me tightly.
I wasn’t even humiliated anymore…just heartbroken.
I can’t just fuck you and pretend it didn’t happen the next day, so we can’t do that.
I had no opposition to one-night stands. I had no problem with a passionate night that evaporated the following morning. But hearing him say that…hurt so much. I thought I was more than that.
Guess not.
The elevator slowed down and stopped at the seventeenth floor.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.
The doors opened, and Jake stood there in sweatpants and a t-shirt, like he intended to grab something from the lobby before returning to his residence. He stilled as he looked at me.
I was an ugly crier, so my cheeks were probably red, my eyes bloodshot. I probably looked like shit. My palms immediately went to my face so I could block everything out, pretend he wasn’t standing there looking at me.
The elevator shifted as his weight joined me.
Then the elevator started to move again.
“Baby.” He grabbed my wrists and gently tugged them down.
I didn’t push him off. I didn’t tell him to leave me alone. I’d hit rock bottom and stopped caring. I was numb to everything. I was a good person, but the world kept shitting on my shiny shoes. My husband left me, the first relationship I had with anyone was with a married man, and then I found someone who was really special…and he didn’t give a damn about me.
Jake looked at me, the emotion in his eyes. “Talk to me.”
I shook my head, my lips trembling.
The elevator hit the lobby, and the doors opened.
Jake turned to the keypad and pressed button 17.
The doors closed, and we headed back up to his floor.
Jake turned me into his body and wrapped his arms around me, letting me use him as a crutch, letting me use him as a tissue. His hand moved up my back as he comforted me. “I’m sorry he hurt you…”
I stopped fighting it and wrapped my arms around him, letting my cheek rest against his chest.
The doors opened at his floor.
Jake moved his arm around my waist, and he guided me out of the elevator.
Fifteen
Deacon
A week had passed.
I went to work every day like usual, spending most of my time in the lab. I had patient care coming up soon, so my schedule would be different once again. Patient care was the part of my job I hated the most, because I wanted to tell them I would fix them…but I couldn’t.
Whenever I came home, my groceries were delivered, my dry cleaning was in the closet, my laundry was done, and my mail was on the dining table.
But I never saw her.
Not seeing each other for a while was probably for the best, so we both had time to cool off and pretend that conversation never happened.
When I got home, I saw the mail on the table. I recognized Cleo’s handwriting on the sticky notes. One pile was marked “Paid Bills,” while the others were marked as “Important.” I went through it all and shredded what I didn’t need anymore.
Then I made dinner and sat at the dining table, working on my laptop while I enjoyed my food.
Tucker texted me. You want to go out tonight?
My response was immediate. No.
Just no?
I’ve got a lot of work to do. I didn’t want to be around anyone right now. Spending my week in the lab was nice because I didn’t have to talk to anyone. The only person who said anything to me was my assistant, Theresa, but she knew I preferred to talk as little as possible.
My life went back to normal…as if nothing happened at all.
The following week was the same.
I expected Cleo and me to cross paths at some point.