Page 82 of When You're Home
Rhett held his breath as he scrolled through his contacts and found her name. He had tried to reach her so many times over the last four weeks. He knew she had blocked him the Monday after the party. He knew it before he had even tried to call her that first night his call went straight to voicemail. Something in his gut knew it was her way of protecting him. And yet he had still attempted to call her again and again over the last four weeks. He had listened to her voicemail every night for a month. When he clicked on her name tonight, he knew with certainty the call would finally go through.
She answered on the first ring.
“Hi,” she whispered.
There she was. Any doubts that had been lingering in Rhett’s mind dissipated with the sound of her voice. He felt a part of himself settle back into his body. She was home, and tomorrow, he’d be there with her.
“Tori, this sucks so hard,” he groaned into the phone. Relief. Desperation. Sadness. Love. It was all there.
“I know. I know,” she repeated, her voice breaking on the last word and confirming all the spiraling worries in his mind. She was hurting, and he couldn’t be there now. It was killing him to not be with her tonight. But he would be there soon.
“Hey, don’t cry, beautiful. Tomorrow, I’m there. We’re going to figure this out together.” When Tori didn’t reply, he kept talking. “We don’t have to talk tonight. You don’t have to say a thing. I just need to be with you, and this is the best I can do right now. Is your phone plugged in?”
“Yeah,” she whispered softly through the phone.
“Good.” Rhett nodded to himself. He could see her in his mind’s eye, lying in her bed huddled under a pile of blankets, Penny snuggled up at her feet. “I’m going to stay on the phone with you all night if you’ll let me, V. Just pretend I’m lying right there next to you. And tomorrow, I’ll be there for real,” he promised.
Rhett continued to talk—to comfort her, to distract her, to just be with her—until he heard her softly snoring a few hours later. Even then he kept his promise and stayed on the phone all night long.
Chapter 44
Rhett
Thewholemorningfelthazy.Rhettrememberedpackingupthecar.Hegothimselftothebusinessbuildingforhislastfinal.Herememberedputtingpentopaperandfeelingokayabouttheexam.HeevenrecalledmergingontoI-71towardHampton.Butnothingcouldholdhisattentionforlong.Hewasjustsodesperatetogettoher.Itwasn’tuntilhewasonRoute8,lessthantenminutesaway,thatthingsstartedtocomebackintofocus.
Jake had texted him around ten thirty that morning while he was taking his final to let him know he was headed into work, but that Fielding was there in his place. Rhett reached for his cell phone as he took the exit toward Hampton. He hadn’t really thought about how he’d handle coming face-to-face with Fielding once he got to Tori’s house, but the reality of that situation was starting to sink in. Maybe if he gave him a heads-up…
Ev:10 minutes out
Rhett shot off a text first to Tori, then separately to Fielding’s phone. There. That should be enough time for the other man to vacate the premises so they could avoid a confrontation.
He checked the parking lot behind Clinton’s and spotted Jake’s Jeep as he drove slowly through downtown, stuck behind afternoon traffic. He made a mental note to text his best friend later once he knew the plans for the weekend.
By the time he pulled in front of the Thompsons’ house, he was keyed up and anxious. He had to park in the street because a massive Infiniti SUV was parked in the center of the driveway.
Fucking Fielding. Of course he hadn’t taken the hint. It would have been too decent for him to excuse himself and not be here when Rhett finally arrived.
None of it mattered, though. He was here. She was in there. He couldn’t move up the driveway fast enough.
He let himself in through the side garage door, then pushed into the door that led into the laundry room. Wafts of fabric softener and Tori filled his nostrils as he quietly kicked off his shoes.
The quiet didn’t keep. A scurrying of paws tore across the kitchen, and a few seconds later, Penny was yapping at his feet. Rhett knew better than to try to ignore the pug mix, so he squatted down and gave her a few good scratches behind the ears.
“Hey, girl. Hi, Penny. Ohhh you’re such a good girl. I bet you’ve been taking good care of your mama, huh?” With Penny temporarily satisfied, he rose to full height. He walked cautiously through the lower level of the house, just in case someone was downstairs. He knew where he’d most likely find her though.
If Rhett stopped to think for too long, he would realize that it felt like his insides were trying to come out. Stress, anxiety, and anticipation bubbled up as he became acutely aware of his own breathing. Muscle memory took over as he rounded the stairs and climbed them with purpose. All he had to do was put one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward.
He turned left at the top of the stairs. Her bedroom door was wide open. The first thing he saw was Fielding’s long body sitting at her desk. The man looked at ease in her pink swivel chair, leaning back with his legs outstretched wide in front of him. He had a smile on his face, obviously amused by whatever Tori was saying to him from across the room.
Rhett stepped from the hallway into Tori’s bedroom for what may have been the thousandth time in his life, but today, everything was different. He didn’t knock. He didn’t pause. He didn’t hesitate. He barely registered Fielding sitting up and addressing him from his perch at her desk. The other man was an afterthought. Everything was background noise. His sole purpose was her.
“Tori,” he breathed out as soon as his gaze locked on her sitting up in bed, back straight against the headboard. He was across the room in three strides. He was sitting on the bed two seconds later. She was in his arms just one moment after that.
“You’re here,” she exhaled into his chest. He felt her body give in. She was soft in his arms, totally malleable to his touch.
“I’m here, beautiful. I’m here,” he assured her as he squeezed her tighter and ran his hand up and down her back. It felt so damn good to finally hold her. “Let me see you,” he insisted, loosening his grasp and shifting away from her.
She peered up at him with swollen, bloodshot eyes, but there was no resistance in her gaze. She was open to him. She was fully present with him. She was right there.
