Page 66 of When You're Gone
She closed her eyes and shook her head, willing him to stop. But he just kept going.
“You and me? We would be so good together. We’d be unstoppable. You’d be my everything. You’d want for nothing. I’d buy your dad’s house, and we could live in it together. Fuck, I almost bought it earlier this week but figured I better ask you first. Can I buy that house for you? Or maybe you want a different house? A bigger house? I’ll give you anything you want, Victoria Thompson, now that I know you want me. You’ve been so sad… I can fix that. I can change that. I know I can do right by you…”
He wasn’t making any sense.
She tried to bring him back to reality. “Fielding. I’m married.”
“That doesn’t mean shit to me. I don’t care that he has a claim on you now. He’ll let you go if you ask him to. I know he will.”
He knew nothing about the state of her marriage, about how Rhett had come home last weekend and told her they needed space. And yet she knew in her heart that Fielding’s assessment was spot on.
Rhett would let her go if she asked him to. But she had never been more confident that she never wanted him to let her go. Her heart ached for her golden boy—for the man who loved her, supported her, needed her, wanted her. She should be with him now. Yet here she was, sobbing in his backyard, hundreds of miles away from him, standing in a broken pile of glass. She wanted Rhett, but this was what she deserved.
Fielding didn’t give her a chance to reply before he continued. “You deserve to be happy. And I want to make you insanely happy forever. That’s all I want, Tori. To be with you and to make you happy. I don’t even care that you can’t have kids! We don’t need kids! I’m a handful enough!”
She cringed at his insensitive appraisal of her health. He really had thought this through. And he was getting more agitated by the minute. She had to stop his monologuing. She had to keep him calm.
“Fielding,” she tried again. “I care about you, but as a friend. You’re such a good friend. You’re one of my best friends.”
He smirked, shaking his head back and forth before locking her in his gaze. “Friends don’t straddle each other in hot tubs.”
His words burned through her, the accusation behind them scorching hot. She had so many reasons to regret her actions last weekend. But this? Watching him teeter on a literal edge because of what she’d done? This was the worst.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it. If I could take it back…”
“Too fucking late. You can’t take it back. You put it out there. You gave me my opening. Now I’m taking it.”
“Fielding, there’s nothing to take. I love Rhett. I’m with Rhett.”
His eyes narrowed on her, but instead of arguing, he glanced down at the bottle of tequila again. Before she could anticipate his next move, he was swooping down and grasping for the mostly-empty vessel.
“Ha! Got it!” he declared triumphantly as he righted himself.
She held her breath as he regained his balance, then watched in horror as he took a long swig and almost finished off everything left in the bottle. Her gasp caught his attention.
“Oh. Shit. Sorry. Did you want some?” He held out the nearly-empty bottle.
“This isn’t funny, Fielding. You could fall. You could get hurt!” She glanced down at her phone and tried to discreetly illuminate the screen. It had been at least five minutes since she’d hung up with Jake. They had to be close.
“Ha!” he exclaimed as he tossed the bottle into the air.
She watched wide-eyed as it flipped twice before he snatched it from the air by the neck.
“You like that?” he crooned, a gleam of mischievous in his eye. “Here. You try.”
There was no way he was actually going to…
She saw it before she heard it. She heard it before she felt it. She barely had time to react as she realized he had, in fact, just lobbed a glass bottle toward the sky.
“Fielding!” she screamed as the bottle arched through the air. It landed a few feet away and exploded on impact. Glass shattered around her and ricocheted off the wet pavement in every direction. She had just enough time to cover her face before sharp pricks needled the back of her hands. She felt them pierce through her thin leggings. She knew pieces of glass were sprinkled in her hair. When she finally looked down, she was covered in tiny glittering shards.
“Oh. Shit. Oh shit! Tori! Are you okay? I’m so sorry!”
She could hear his words, but she couldn’t bring herself to respond. She was shaking all over, desperate to get away, yet too terrified to move. She tried to steady her hand as she found Jake’s name and called his cell phone again. She ignored the droplets of blood covering her hand as she lifted the phone to her ear. It was all she could manage to just hold on to the device slick with rain and blood.
It only rang once before he answered.
“We’re on Willow,” he offered in greeting.
