He had kept secrets from me. He kept secrets from everyone.
That mean, horrible voice in the back of my head was whispering in my ear again.
A man that lies about one thing, lies about many things.
The wild force of my distrust was hard to tame once unleashed.
I wasn’t sure how I could reign it in again.
Chapter Fourteen
Robert
I was feeling pretty good. Things seemed to be falling into place. Jeremy came into my office earlier and told me that he and Adam agreed to drop Tiffany as a client. That we’d hang onto the paperwork for now but reserve the right to share it with the authorities should we need to. Jeremy also told me that he got word that Tiffany had spoken to the same real estate agent that sold her the Carmichael house and she wanted it back on the market. Seemed she was leaving town as fast as she could.
I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders knowing I wouldn't have to deal with her ever again. But I also knew that this evening I had to come clean with Sky about everything. About Tiff. About the website. About how I made all that extra money to take care of my mom and brother.
I had officially shut down the website. I deleted the page completely. I didn’t want to share my body with anyone but Skylar. Now that business was booming and I had more clients at the firm than I could handle, money was no longer an issue. I didn’t need to dance to make cash. The reality was I continued to do it because it fed a need inside of me to be wanted and adored.
But I got that from Skylar now. I didn’t need it from strangers.
I was feeling like a man on top of the world. Even though I was worried about telling Sky, I truly believed she’d hear me out. That we’d work through it. That she’d understand.
I loved her. That had to be enough.
And I was missing her like crazy. I took a late lunch considering I didn’t get into the office until after eleven. I tried calling her while I was eating a sandwich at my desk. The phone rang and rang and eventually went to voicemail. I hung up and tried texting her. Sometimes she kept the ringer down when she was working and didn’t hear it.
I could see the message was delivered and that she had read it. I waited for her reply. And I waited some more. And nothing. Maybe she was busy. I knew she had a lot of work to do. Our sex romp in the morning had really put her behind but I hoped, like me, she thought it was worth it. Knowing that she hawked her email constantly, I figured that was the best way to get hold of her when all other methods failed. I sent her a quick email.
Hey baby,
I’m missing you.
Rob
I watched my inbox, looking for her response. Five minutes went by. Then ten. And still nothing.
What the hell was going on?
I didn’t have time to obsess about it because a client arrived. Thankfully my afternoon was busy, and I didn’t have time to bombard my girlfriend with a million messages until she replied. That would be a little too pathetic. But as soon as I closed up for the day, I dashed out the door without so much as a word to my partners. I hurried to the corner market and picked up a six-pack of Sky’s favorite beer and a bundle of wildflowers. I raced over to her house, breaking a couple of traffic laws in the process.
I pulled up at her house, my heart in my throat. I could hear Edgar barking from inside. Her car was in the driveway, so I knew she was home. The lights were all on. I felt a niggling of worry. Why hadn’t she messaged me back?
I walked up to her door and rang the bell. I had started to wonder if she wasn’t going to answer when the door opened. Edgar came bounding out, jumping at my legs. I patted him on the head. “Hey boy,” I said to him, though my eyes were on Skylar.
Something was very wrong.
“Hey?” I posed it as a question. She hadn’t moved aside to let me in. I noticed her eyes were red as if she had been crying. My concern was instant. I reached out for her. “My god, Sky, did something happen? What’s wrong?” I pulled her into my arms, but she remained rigid. I looked down at her, but she was staring past me, her face worryingly blank.
“You’re freaking me out,” I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “Can I come in and you tell me what’s going on?” I could hear the rising panic in my tone.