Page 133 of Aftersome
“And poor Greg and Shelia… I barely have the courage to text them back, let alone carry on a full conversation with them now. I’m supposed to be bringing him back, Kate, for them. Not fall in love with Hayes’s best friend.” I cried out as her shocked eyes landed on mine.
“You love him?” Her now tearful eyes were swarmed with an emotion I hadn’t seen in so long.
Not since I had met Hayes.
“I…” A rush of sensations bombarded me as I struggled to answer her question.
Did I love him? I wanted to say yes, but I was terrified to admit it.
“It doesn’t matter.” I shook it off quickly. “It won’t matter once I tell him why I’m here.”
It was a lie, of course, because it would matter. My heart wouldn’t stand another blow and neither could his.
“It does matter, Wren. It’s okay to admit that you’ve found love again. There’s nothing to be ashamed about.” Her hand had fallen onto the top of mine where she squeezed it.
My eyes fell closed as I let her reassuring words wash over me.
“When I’m here, with Mal, nothing about us feels wrong. Everything feels… perfect.” My heart pounded at the mention of Mal. “But once I’m away from him, I think about how I’m betraying the people I love the most and how wrong it should be that I’m with Mal.”
She continued to squeeze my hand in a steady reoccurrence.
“I don’t want to disappoint anyone, but I feel like all the walls are slowly closing in on me and I’m losing all the ability to breathe. I’m terrified to admit to Mal that I’m a liar and I’m dreading the day I have to tell Greg and Shelia that I have fallen for their other son.”
I expected tears to pour from my eyes, but I was too gone, too stuck on my deception that I felt like I didn’t have the right to cry.
“Oh, Wren.” Kate laid beside me. “No one is or will ever be disappointed with you. It’s not possible.”
Lying on her side with her hand propped under her hand and the other holding her belly, she made sure our eyes were horizontal with one another.
“You’re a strong, beautiful woman who has for eleven years clung onto her lost love without the intention of ever falling in love ever again. We all know that, Wren. We all know just how much you love and adore Hayes still and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.” She smiled. “You’ve come so far, and have grown so much, that you never expected to be swept off your feet by the one man that you feel like you shouldn’t have. And if I knew any better, the two of you denied it for as long as you could before you couldn’t take it any longer.”
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from hers. The truths that were spilling out made me feel so much more at ease. Like I was finally being understood.
“Mal will understand if you tell him the truth. He might get upset, but the man is head over heels and in no way would he ever risk losing you.”
My mouth turned to the side.
“And as far as Greg and Shelia go, they know you’d never replace their son. They know he will always hold a special place in your heart and deep down, you know all they want for you is to be happy.” She then took her finger and brought it up to my face where she brushed away a stray tear. “Whether it be Mal or not.”
I nodded through the tremors that were currently wreaking havoc on my body. I wanted to believe all that what she was saying was true, but I couldn’t help but have my doubts. Nothing about this situation was normal.
Nothing about it was easy, and in the end, I knew someone would get hurt.
Whether it would be just be me, or all of us.
“But sooner, rather than later, you’ll have to tell them. It’s not good for your heart to have all this stress to deal with.” Her tone went from mama bear to worried in seconds.
That’s how I knew she’d make a great mother.
“I know,” I grumbled. “I will, I just… I just need to come up with a plan on when to do it.”
“Why don’t you send Shelia a text and let her know that you’re doing okay. At least to keep hers and your mind at ease for a little while before you decide on what to do.”
I agreed with her on that, so I quickly opened our thread of messages and sent a reassuring text that instantly made me feel more relaxed.
“Good.” Kate nodded. “See? You just need someone to tell you that everything will be okay. And it will be.”
My heart had eventually lowered to a more normal pace and my mind wasn’t so sporadic with assumptions and worries of thefuture. I found myself sitting up and running a hand through my tangled locks.
