CAMILA
With reluctance,I remove my arms from around Brady’s shoulders and slide them down his chest. He looks just as dejected as I do when I look up at him. As much as I enjoy our time together at these motels—we switched to another one since the Baymont has been compromised—I always feel like he takes a piece of me with him when he has to leave. I wonder how much longer it’ll be before there’s nothing left of me.
“I fucking hate this,” he mumbles against my lips. “It feels wrong to leave you.”
“I know. I feel it too.”
There’s been so many times I’ve almost asked him to leave Addison, but the words always get stuck in my throat. I wish he would tell me why he feels like he needs to stay with her, because I know it’s not out of love. If he loved her, he wouldn’t be sleeping with me. And his eyes wouldn’t hold abhorrence each time her name is brought up. The whole situation confuses the hell out of me.
Brady asked for time, and I plan to give it to him, but that doesn’t mean my mind isn’t conjuring up a thousand and one scenarios why he and Addison are still together.
“You need to go.” I push his chest, forcing him back a step and closer to the motel room door.
He grabs the front of my shirt, stretching the material, as he tugs me against him again. “One more.”
I smile against his lips. I’m glad I’m not the only one having a difficult time letting go. It makes it a tiny bit easier knowing he doesn’t want to leave any more than I want him to.
His sigh is loud when he finally releases me. “Alright. I’m going.”
I trail behind him as he goes to the door and picks up his small overnight bag. I asked him once what he tells Addison about where he goes when he’s not at home at night. He said he gave her as close to an honest answer as he could. That he needed time away from her, so he was staying with a friend. When she asked which friend, he refused to tell her, saying he didn’t want her to show up, something she would definitely do. I’m surprised she’s not pounding on doors throughout Silver Falls, demanding to know if he’s there.
With his bag in his hand, he turns to face me, cupping the side of my cheek. His head dips down for another quick kiss.
“Addison is going out of town next weekend for an art exhibit. I want you at my house the whole weekend.”
As dangerous as it is for me to be at the house he shares with his wife, there’s only one answer I can give him. “Okay.”
“Text me when you leave here and when you get home.”
I nod. “I will.”
Our eyes linger on each other another moment before he’s opening the door. I stay back, both of us having decided to not show my face as he’s leaving. I love that he’s so protective of me.
The minute the door closes behind him, a dull ache forms behind my sternum and my shoulders slump with sadness. I pull in a tired breath and let it out slowly before I go to the bathroom to gather my toiletries. I have an hour before I can leave, which was another decision we made. You know, just in case someone spots us and decides to loiter to see if someone else comes out of the room.
It only takes me a few minutes to finish in the bathroom, and I bring my bag out to set on the bed so I remember to put it in my travel bag.
I’m folding the t-shirt Brady purposely left behind for me to wear to bed when a knock sounds at the door. Ridiculous excitement courses through me at the thought of seeing him again.
Grabbing the handle and with a smile on my face, I pull it open. “Do you miss—”
I snap my mouth shut when I see the woman glaring daggers at me. The look is full of so much hatred, I’m surprised I’m not dead on the spot.
I swallow past the boulder in my throat. “Addison. What are you doing here?”
“Oh, please. Don’t act stupid.” She puts a hand on my chest and shoves me backward. Not expecting the move, I stumble back a couple of feet. Enough for her to come into the room and close the door. “We both know he just left.”
I move back a couple more feet to get away from her. I don’t like the crazed look in her eyes. She looks on the verge of coming unhinged. Her usually immaculate hair has frizzed out, and it looks like she’s fisted it a few times. Her eyes are red-rimmed and her make-up around them is smeared, giving her a raccoon look. Her clothes aren’t much better with all the wrinkles.
If I had to guess, I’d say she slept in her car last night, and I’d bet it was in this motel parking lot.
I straighten my spine and look her right in the eye, refusing to let this woman intimidate me. “I have no clue what you’re talking about. I’ve been here all night by myself.”
The laugh that leaves her is maniacal. “I saw him with my own eyes, bitch. Do you really think I’m going to just let you steal my husband from me?”
The words barely leave her mouth before she’s charging for me. For an instant, I’m frozen, and I just stand there and watch her coming in what seems like slow motion. I snap out of it right before she reaches me, and I manage to duck out of her way. Her hand breezes past my face, and it’s so close I feel the wind from it.
I spin around, my eyes wide in shock. I’ve always known Addison is a little insane when it comes to Brady, but Jesus, this woman looks like someone you would see in a mental hospital.