Black Forever (Obsidian 4)

I knew the only reason why she allowed me to do anything was because she was trying to get out of there as quickly as possible. She didn’t object to using Tom to get to Christopher’s apartment. She was in flight mode, and there was no time for pride.

I put her things in the trunk and watched her get into the back seat. She shut the door and locked it, her appearance invisible due to the dark tint over the windows. I stood on the sidewalk and stared at the place where I imagined she would be, her face covered in a waterfall of tears.

The car pulled away from the curb and onto the street. It faded farther into the distance as it drove away. I inserted my hands in my pockets and stared at the taillights as the car drove down the road. Eventually, it came to a stoplight, where it turned right.

When the car was gone from my sight, I knew she was really gone.

And gone forever.

8

Rome

When I reached Christopher’s door, I was on the verge of sobbing.

I just lost the love of my life.

It hurt so much I couldn’t handle it. My throat was tight, my heart was weak, my knees could barely hold me up.

I hardly had the energy just to knock on the door.

Christopher opened it a moment later, and when he saw the look on my face, he didn’t ask any questions. He did something he rarely did, only during the most extreme cases. He wrapped his arms around me and held me on the doorstep.

And I cried.

I cried into his chest, soaking his t-shirt until it was damp. I shouldn’t cry over a man, whether I loved him or not, but now I was falling apart at the seams.

Christopher ran his hand up and down my back, comforting me in a way only my brother could do. When it went on for over ten minutes, he guided me inside and grabbed the bags Tom helped me carry to the door. He piled them in the kitchen then came back to me, concern written all over his face. “Rome, talk to me.” He grabbed a handful of tissues then placed them in my hand.

I told him what happened, taking time between sentences to stop myself from shedding more tears. “So I left…and now I’m here.”

He grabbed my shoulder and massaged it, his eyes crinkled with sadness. “I’m so sorry, Rome.”

“I know you are…”

“You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want. I was a little lonely without you anyway.”

I forced a chuckle even though I wasn’t in the mood to laugh. “You’re just saying that.”

“I’m really not.” He grabbed my bags and carried them into the room I used to occupy.

I drifted behind him, unsure what to do with myself. Now that Calloway was gone, I wasn’t even sure how to live anymore. Spending every day playing house with him was a dream. Having that taken away so suddenly was jarring. I wasn’t sure if I would ever recover.

Christopher sat on the edge of the bed and patted the space beside him. “Do you want to be alone right now?”

I moved to the spot next to him, feeling the bed sink just the way it used to. “Honestly…I don’t know what I want right now.”

“I’m always here if you want to talk.”

“There’s not much to say… I can’t believe he did that to me.”

He nodded.

I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at the floor.

“Now what?” he whispered.

“What do you mean?” I wasn’t even sure how I was going to get through the next day.

“Do you have anything else left at the house that you need?”

I shook my head. “Nothing that I care about.”

“What about your job?”

Could I really work for the man who broke my heart? “I don’t know. I would find something else, but I’m never gonna find anything that pays me nearly as well. With my salary, I can afford to live on my own…and food.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“But…I’ll never move on if I run into Calloway.”

“How often do you see him?”

“Very seldom.”

“Well, you can stay there for now and look for something else in the meantime. I’m sure Calloway will do his best to avoid you.”

I pulled my knees to my chest and stared at the floor.

Christopher remained silent beside me, unsure what else to say. There was nothing that could cure this pain, could erase the loss I felt in my heart. The entire day had been chaotic. Calloway’s former lover confronted me at the office, and he confirmed everything she said was correct. And then he told me he had his doubts that we would ever work…so it was best if went our separate ways.

It was catastrophic.

It was hard to believe the morning started so beautifully. He kissed me in the shower and held me under the warm water. He walked me to my office and kissed me again like he couldn’t get enough of me.