Page 70 of When You're Gone
She let out a strained sigh as she thought about how Rhett might react—or worse, not react—when he found out what had happened tonight. This time apart, the space he swore they needed—it had to have its limits, right? There had to be exceptions. Or would she have to navigate the fallout of this nightmare on her own?
“Okay, I’m going to hold up the robe while you use the bread on your upper body. Especially on those hands and wrists, baby. Your neck, too. Take your time and go slow… we’re not in any rush.”
She couldn’t control the cold laugh that poured out of her. The absurdity of this situation was beyond any nightmare she could have dreamed up. Even in the darkest corners of her mind, she’d never suspected Fielding would be capable of something like this.
“Somethin’ funny?”
“No. There’s literally nothing funny about any of this. This isinsane.”
“Agreed,” Jake grunted. “This might top the list of craziest shit to ever happen in this backyard.” He held up the robe to give her some semblance of privacy. He had already instructed her to redo two sections of her arms, though. She was under no illusion that he wasn’t watching her with keen, concerned eyes.
They spent another twenty minutes using the bread to remove invisible slivers of glass and brushing her hair upside down over the concrete to shake out any leftover shards. Jake eventually guided her back toward the house, only releasing her shoulders once they were inside the sunroom.
“I’ll take care of the rest of the glass in the morning when I can see better. We’ll just have to let Penny out through the front door until then.”
She nodded mindlessly. She was crashing fast now that she was inside and safe.
“Do you want to take a shower?” Jake asked. “It would help get anything we missed out of your hair…”
“No,” she objected before he could finish. She couldn’t stand the thought of being alone in the shower right now, of feeling the water hit her skin the same way the rain was drizzling over her when the bottle shattered. She must have been experiencing some trauma response to that damn tequila bottle. She couldn’t even close her eyes without remembering the feeling of glass raining down on her skin.
“But can you stick around until I call Lia or Cory and ask them to come over?” she whispered. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
Jake froze in place, both eyebrows shooting into his hairline. “The fuck, baby… You really think I’m going to leave you here?”
She lifted her hand over her heart, rubbing the spot that had tightened in her chest.
“I just figured after last weekend… after what I did…” she trailed off, overcome with exhaustion, weak with emotion.
“Tori. Come on. I was upset last weekend. I’m still upset about what happened, but you need me tonight. Actually, you need someone else tonight, but as your bisexual backup husband, it’s my duty to fill in until he arrives.”
She teared up at his kindness. And at the reminder that Rhett still didn’t know anything about what had happened.
As if reading her mind, he asked, “Do you want me to call him?”
“I’m surprised you haven’t already.” She couldn’t have stopped the defensive response if she tried. She wasn’t intentionally lashing out—but old habits died hard. She was emotionally wrung out and raw.
Thankfully, Jake knew her heart—he knew her so damn well—and he didn’t let the insult land as intended.
“I deserved that,” he admitted with a grimace. “For what it’s worth… I was wrong. And I’m sorry. That wasn’t my call to make. I was just scared shitless and worried as hell. I realize now I probably made things worse for you.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not. But I’ll make it up to you, baby.”
“I think you already did,” she offered plainly, glancing down at her robe-clad body. She made her way to one of the living room couches. She was bone-tired and not confident she could actually make it up the stairs. Maybe if she sat down for a few minutes…
“So is that a yes?” Jake asked as he came to sit beside her. “Or do you want to call him?”
She leaned into her friend and sighed. For as much as she wanted to talk to her husband, to ask him to come home for her, she was staring down a hard reality she wasn’t sure she was ready to face.
“I… I don’t know what to do. I want to call him, but… I’m worried he won’t come. That this’ll make everything worse.”
Jake wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. He didn’t release his hold as he held her close, tucked into his side. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that he’ll come if you ask him.”
He was right, but she still dreaded what she had to do.
“Yeah, okay. Fine. Can you call him for me?”
