Page 99 of Forgotten Pieces

“From the public.” He pulls back from me a little. “Until Shelley comes back and you can make us official.”

“It’s already official to me, T.”

“I know it is. And me too. But to everyone else it will look like you chose me over her. The town will have a field day.”

He frowns and a wrinkle creases his brow. “I get it. And you are probably right. But that doesn’t mean I won’t show you in private how much I fucking love you.”

I smile at him. “You can show me anytime you like, sergeant.”

He laughs at that and then attacks me with kisses and a very hard cock.

Chapter Thirty-One

Ryder

I stroke Tacoma’s hair as we sip on tea and watch the sunset in my backyard. We’ve been playing house for a week. And it has been great. I feel good about my life. Like I am where I am supposed to be, with the woman I am supposed to be with. Like I told Tacoma before, she calms me, she keeps away the nightmares. I haven’t had any episodes and the darkness that was clinging to me for a year has faded almost completely.

I’ve talked with my C.O. a few times and I have decided to go through with one final deployment. After we get back from that I might have the opportunity to work as a consultant for logistics in the field. A job I want. I would still be able to give my expertise to the Marines, but I could work from home on a case-by-case basis.

Tacoma and I have spent hours talking about my life as a Marine, which has been helping me cope with PTSD. She is comfortable with me leaving even though she says she will be worried sick the entire time. I let her know it gets easier and I can have her contact a few wives of my friends.

I haven’t heard from Shelley since I talked to her last week. I only hope she has come to terms with us ending our relationship.

The sunset is beautiful tonight. The reds and oranges beaming off the clouds in the sky turning the sky pink and purple. Tacoma draws lazy circles on my leg with her finger. I shift my vision from the beauty of the sunset to the beauty of her. I still can’t believe she is in my life.

I want her to move in here with me. My name is on the mortgage so there shouldn’t be an issue about the house with Shelley and me. But I know Tacoma is hesitant over it all. She is waiting for the other shoe to drop. She wants to wait until Shelley is back and one hundred percent moved out.

I can’t blame her. I know how hard it is for her to still accept the fact that she was the other woman for a while. But in my eyes she was the only woman.

“You know, I never told you what happened between me and Cole.”

I look down at her and push her hair out of her face. “I thought you found out he was cheating on you.”

She stares out into the sunset as she speaks and I can tell by her tone that I am not going to like what she has to say. “I found out I was pregnant the day before I found out Cole was cheating on me. More so that I was the other woman. I was so excited when I went to tell him. I wanted to surprise him at his apartment. We never really went there; we were always at my place because it was closer. So, imagine my surprise when I ring his bell and a woman answers.

“I was shocked. He took me for a walk in Central Park and finally confessed everything. I told him he destroyed everything for me. But he promised me he was going to leave her. He just hadn’t found the right time. As you could guess, I was excited. I decided right then to tell him I was pregnant.

“But he didn’t take it so well. He said countless times he didn’t want children. I thought it was a blessing in disguise when I found out I was pregnant. He thought otherwise. And that was the end of us.”

I can feel the tension in her body. “What happened?”

“Promise me you won’t think I’m a terrible person.”

I lean over and kiss her forehead. “I could never.”

She sighs as she grabs my hand. “I had an abortion.”

I squeeze her hand back. “Sometimes we have to make tough decisions to be happy with our lives.”

She nods her head. “Want to know the worst part? A year ago, I was going for a walk through Central Park and I saw Cole and his other girlfriend. Well it was now his wife because she had a gigantic ring on her finger. And they were pushing a stroller. He looked so happy. He told me he never wanted marriage or kids and he had them with her. I ran behind a tree and puked. I was disgusted with him for all the lies he fed me that I believed. But I was more disgusted with myself. For giving up on my child that never had a chance to be in this world. I realized at that moment it didn’t matter what Cole had thought or whatever role he played in my life. I should have kept that baby. It tore me apart, those thoughts, and for the last year I have felt that way. It’s why I moved back here.”

“He was a dick, T. If he couldn’t see what you had to give then he missed out.” I take a deep breath and continue. “And you aren’t a terrible person for making those decisions when you did. You were twenty-one, twenty-two? You didn’t know then what you would want later. Don’t regret something you can’t change. Besides, if all those things didn’t happen, we never would be here right now in this moment.”

She gets up and faces me, kneeling between my legs. “This is all going to work out right? I don’t want to face another heartbreak.”

“You and me, Tacoma. That’s how it will always be.”

She smiles at me and I pull her against my chest. My heart breaks for her knowing everything she went through and that she still has found a way to be with me.

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