Page 67 of Love Resurrected
The last time that we made love.
Her face leaning over mine.
Her hair cascading down around us.
The touch of her lips to mine.
That last moment of life in her eyes before it drained from her forever.
Sobs wrack my body as I fall to the side, curling into myself. I will the memories to fade, the hurt to lessen, the ache to go away, and try to make myself as small as possible. As insignificant as I can. Insignificance can’t feel pain, and I don’t want to feel this pain any longer. I don’t know how to escape it. It’s so pervasive and ever-expanding, taking over everything I am.
I’ll do anything to feel whole again.
I didn’t even want love in my life when Kat and I first met. I sure as hell didn’t believe in love at first sight. But one look was all it took, a feeling that was reaffirmed tenfold when we reunited. I didn’t want anyone else after that. I’ve never wavered since.
And then tonight, I slept with someone else, betraying the woman I love more than life itself.
The woman who destroyed every piece of my heart when she left me forever.
I don’t know how to put it back together again.
I don’t know that I want to.
23
Tenley
It takes me a few minutes to realize Brad is no longer in the stall.
“Brad?”
And even longer than that to realize he’s left the restroom.
He fucked me senseless. Literally.
That was intense.
I grab some toilet paper to clean myself up. Shame fills me when I realize we didn’t even use a condom.
“Not like he’s Casanova up in here, screwing everything in sight.” I snicker to myself, as I toss the used tissue. After I wash my hands, I check myself in the mirror, then leave the restroom. I catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye and turn to see Brad making his way down the hall toward the back entrance. His movements are jerky and awkward, almost like he can’t see where he’s going.
I’ll see if he needs help.
“Brad?”
He stumbles out the back door and vomits in the alley.
Is he sick?
Should I get Nessa?
I stand there, trying to decide which direction to turn. If I go right down the hall, it leads to the back alley where I could help Brad. If I go left down the hall, it leads to the dining room where I could get Nessa.
Finally deciding, I head to the dining area to let Nessa know Brad is sick. I smooth my hair down with my hands and double-check my dress. I’m certain she will know we just had sex in the bathroom. Who would have thought the reclusive Brad Mathews would be such a beast?
My feet stop, but my brain keeps going as it hits me.
Brad wasn’t throwing up because he’s sick.
