What would we have to talk about? I decide to ignore her hoping she’ll go away. My eyes close again and I soak in the sun. No such luck. Just for my protection, I punch a few buttons on my phone and decide to record this.
“How long?”
Ignore her.
“I asked how long? How long have you been seeing each other?” Her voice borderline screaming.
Ignore her.
“I asked you a fucking question, you little man-thieving whore!”
This gets a reaction. I whip my head up and give her an evil glare. “First of all, there was no ‘thieving’ at all. Secondly, it’s none of your fucking business. Bryce and I are not your concern.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, little girl. Bryce and I have a history. One you can never compete with.”
My heart races and anger flows through my veins. I’m starting to regret my decision to protect her feelings the other night.
“From what I understand your ‘history’ is filled with painful and manipulative memories. I’ll never speak for Bryce, but you and I know he was never going to marry you. You used your unborn child together to try and trap him. I’m not competing for anything; you’re not my competition. As a matter of fact—you’re nothing.”
“A guy like Bryce has certain needs, I doubt you can fill.”
“Holli, you’re embarrassing yourself here. Being petty and chide isn’t a good attitude for you. You should run along.”
“Not until I get my answers.”
“Honestly? Let it go.”
“How fucking long has this been going on!?”
She wants to know, might as well tell her the truth, even if it devastates her. “We’ve officially been together since around Christmas.”
“That’s it?” Relief washes over her face. “That’s nothing.”
What. A. Bitch. Enough being nice.
“Holli, I wouldn’t be so smug. His plan to pursue me started way before we actually got together. It was he who chased me down and begged my forgiveness and a second chance. Everyday he shows me how much he loves me. He’s gone to great lengths to make sure he gets stationed in Virginia until I finish school. So if you think us being together a short time is an advantage to you, it’s not. Bryce and I have a history and a future that no one can compare to. Especially not you.”
“You’re delusional if you think he loves you. What in the world do you have to offer him? You’re still a girl.”
Her shit is getting old. I get up and gather my stuff ready to leave. “I think he’d disagree. But to answer your one last question, what do I have to offer him? Forever. According to Bryce, I’m his forever. In my mind, that includes wedding vows and kids. A life filled with love, happiness and health.”
“No,” she whispers and her bottom lip starts to tremble. Tears fall down her cheeks and she starts shaking.
“I felt sorry for you in the bar when I saw how upset you were discovering Bryce and I are together. But now there’s no sympathy. Suck it up, move on, and leave my boyfriend alone.”
“How can you be so callous? We went through so much.”
“Bryce lost a child. He was sad, he felt guilty, he grieved that child. It’s unfortunate your casual relationship caused an accidental pregnancy. It’s terrible that baby didn’t make it. I’m sorry for that loss. But Bryce took care of you out of kindness and a sense of obligation. You put him through so much.” I walk away and don’t look back.
Her sobs can be heard all the way around the corner. I don’t know how Bryce put up with that for as long as he did.
~~~~~
“Graduation will be here before we know it. Then I’m taking you away for a week. You pick. Somewhere tropical, sun, sand, beaches, boats—all of it.”
I don’t speak, just nod against him. My body and mind are both in denial of leaving. When we sat down last night and looked at our calendars and schedules, we discovered there were no free weekends between now and his graduation for us to travel. My heart physically hurt at the thought of not seeing him for six weeks again.
The tears started almost immediately and he took me to bed. We didn’t even get up to eat dinner. This morning I promised to make our last few hours together happy. We went to Nate’s favorite deli for breakfast and all three of us took a walk around the campus. Now that Bryce’s plans after training are out in the open, Nate and I discuss his future. He swears he’s not partial, but I secretly agree with Bryce. He wants San Diego.