Eastern Lights (Compass 2)

I huffed, completely thrown off and disgusted by her words. “Excuse me?”

She reached across the table, took my hands in hers, and squeezed. “He loves you, Aaliyah. I know he does. He just got cold feet.”

“His toes must be ice crystals by now, seeing as how he hasn’t once tried to reach out to me.”

“I think he’s scared of how much he cares for you. He’s never been that vulnerable with a woman before.”

I pulled my hands away from her hold. “He cheated on me, Marie.”

Her eyes widened, surprised by my words. “What? No. Where did you hear that?”

“I have my sources. Listen, I understand you’re hurting and confused by all this, and I get it. I still am, too, but this is too much for me. You know I care for you, but Jason and I are over.”

“Don’t say that. You haven’t even given a second thought to giving him another chance.”

“I’m sorry…did you not hear me? He cheated on me.”

“Young men cheat sometimes—that’s what they do.”

Her words baffled me to the point that I was left speechless.

That’s what they do? That was her response to finding out Jason cheated on me?

“I’m sure it was an accident,” she told me.

“Did his penis accidentally fall into some woman’s vagina?” I mocked.

I saw the flush of color hit her cheeks, and I couldn’t blame her. That was the most straightforward I’d ever been with her, but there wasn’t really another way around it. He had screwed another woman. There was no accident involved. It was a choice he made.

“I know my son isn’t easy, and he has a history of mistakes, but I see his potential. With the right woman, he could be as stable and grounded as his father. Walter used to be young and wild, too. I tamed him.”

“Potential isn’t something worth staying for because it may never come. Plus, it’s not my responsibility to tame a man.”

She released a heavy sigh. “Maybe if you meet with him. Maybe if you talk in person…” She was spiraling, and it was all becoming a little too much for me. When would she start connecting the dots that whatever it was Jason and I had shared was nothing more than a made-up story? There had been a point when I’d thought what we had was real, but it was wishful thinking.

He wasn’t the only one in the wrong for what had happened. I had make-believed for too long in the situation. I was in a rush, trying to settle down before my time ran out. I wanted a family so much I fell into the arms of a man who was never strong enough to hold me.

I took the blame for the mistakes I’d made, trying to create love in a place where it was never meant to grow. I owned up to my flaws, and I’d have to deal with them in my own time. But I knew for certain that going back to Jason would never, ever be a situation I’d fall back into.

“If he wanted to meet with me, Marie, he could’ve, but he doesn’t, and I don’t want to meet with him either. I’m moving on with my life. I’m moving out of his place this Sunday, and I will be leaving the key at the front desk for him whenever he’s ready to return. It’s over.”

“You can’t truly believe that, Aaliyah. After everything we’ve been through…” The tears fell from her eyes and she wiped them away, only to have more begin to fall. “You’re our family.”

I hated that she was crying. I hated that I was the reason behind her hurting. She’d come into my life at one of my lowest points, when I was scared and alone, and given me comfort, not to mention all the medical expenses she and Walter had covered for me without a second thought. They truly had been my family for a short period.

But if I stayed in her life, I knew it would become toxic. I didn’t want that for either of us.

I shrugged my shoulders and grabbed my to-go cup of coffee. “Maybe some things just aren’t meant to be forever. I’m sorry, Marie. I have to go pack.”

“Where are you moving to?” she asked.

“I don’t really feel comfortable telling you that information.”

She combed her long straightened black hair behind her ears and shook her head. “You’re making a huge mistake, Aaliyah, by walking away from my family.”

It was already happening. She was beginning to shift blame to me, as if I were the one who’d caused the current issues. She made it seem as if I was the one who had called off the wedding and was severing our connection. That blame would only build over time, making me the villain in the story. Leaving now was the best option for everyone involved.