Page 153 of Aftersome
Fuck.
Why, baby? Why didn’t you tell us? Why couldn’t you have just… Fuck! Why couldn’t you have just told me?
“How long did you think you could keep this up, Wren? Till I fucking proposed? Till I got you pregnant?” I asked instead.
Her eyes went wide from the confession of all the things I wanted with her.
“I don’t know, Mal… I wasn’t—I wasn’t going to let this go on forever. I was just waiting for the right time.”
“The right time should have been the moment you fucking saw me. You know I can’t tell you no. You know that I’d do anything for you.”
I would’ve understood, or at least I would’ve tried to.
“I know, Mal. I know you would.”
“No, you don’t know, Wren. If you did, we wouldn’t be here now. Me questioning everything. Your trust… You. I don’t know what to believe anymore.” I ran a palm over my hair as a wave of dizziness hit me.
“You can trust me, Mal. Nothing about the time that I’ve been here has been a lie.”
Bullshit!I wanted to shout at her. Everything was built around a lie and I was foolish enough to fall for it.
“Can I really trust you?” I stared at her, unblinking.
“Of course you can!” she shouted.
Frantically, she began to pace. Back and forth until her breathing became labored.
“I don’t know if I fuckin’ can, Doe! And it kills me on the inside that I have to question you… Questionus.”
“Don’t…” she begged. “Don’t say that.”
“I have no other choice!” I roared. “You lied!”
She started to shake her head.
“You did this, Wren. You.”
I could barely look at her any longer. There were so many conflicting emotions that were running through me but I felt rage beginning to take over.
I began to pace. Back and forth, I could barely look at her and I noticed her breathing.
It sounded ragged, like she was having trouble finding air, then on a gasp, she shot her eyes toward me.
“Mal… I can’t…” She clutched onto her chest as frantic eyes sought out mine.
Something was wrong.
“It hurts,” she cried out, and I had to do something.
“Baby, what’s wrong?” I went to grab her but before she could respond, her eyes rolled back into her head as she collapsed into my awaiting arms. Panic swept through me like a tidal wave and a fear I never thought I’d feel again had taken over.
“My chest,” she said through heavy, intense breaths. “I can’t… breathe.”
At first, I couldn’t process what I was hearing. It was as if my whole body went into panic mode as every horrible, painful thought imaginable had entered my brain.
I already lost Hayes.
I couldn’t lose her.
