Page 26 of Letters From a Broken Heart
Her appetite isn't as big as it was before she had her transplant, but I'll still give her a big plate. I'm hoping she’ll eat all of it without paying attention since there’s so much going on around us.
I watch her as I walk back to the table. She’s easily the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. I don’t know what Jack was thinking when he cheated on her. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
I wish I could have one more conversation with him. One chance to ask him what was going through his mind and how could he do that to her? I’d ask why I couldn’t have her when he clearly didn’t want her. Every single question I’d ask would have to do with Taylor. How he didn’t deserve her and how he ruined whatever we could’ve had.
Placing Taylor’s plate in front of her, she stares up at me with wide eyes. I smirk as I take my seat and prepare to get yelled at.
“Easton! This is too much food!”
“Just eat, Taylor. There’s so much food, it will never get eaten today. No one cares if you waste a little bit.”
“Are you going to eat whatever I can't?” She arches her brow. She’s always had this thing about not wasting food.
I agree it’s stupid to waste food, but only to a certain extent. One time, Taylor made muffins for Jack and me. Shewanted to wow us with her baking skills. We were definitely surprised, but not in the way she hoped for.
The muffins were so hard Jack was able to bang them against the table like a golf ball. Taylor almost cried and we ended up soaking them in milk just so we could choke them down because she didn’t want to let them to go to waste.
“Yes, don’t I always?” I roll my eyes playfully, making her chuckle.
My aunts, uncles, and grandparents engage us in small talk and before I know it, people are lining up to tell us goodbye and give their condolences once again.
I smile and nod my thanks because I don’t know what else to say. Yes, I lost my brother and that’s sad, but I'm really angry at him right now and I'm not sure how to handle that.
Before long, we’re able to climb inside my SUV and leave this entire day behind us. I'm ready to climb into bed and hold Taylor in my arms. I know we need to talk, but that can wait until the morning. I’m exhausted.
Chapter 11
Taylor
“Do you want me to drop you off at your place before I go to my house to grab clothes?” Easton peeks over at me before turning onto the main street.
I haven’t been to his house since Jack died. It was too hard to be there knowing Jack would never sneak up on me when I'm in the kitchen and scare the crap out of me again. We’d never sit in the hot tub and talk under the bright stars. We’d never lounge around in sweatpants and watch TV.
“You don’t need to do that. You can go home.”
“You can stay in the car if you want,” he offers.
“No, I want to come inside. I can't stay away forever. You still live there. Sooner or later, we’ll want to hang out somewhere other than my crappy apartment.”
A small smile spreads across his face, but he doesn’t take his eyes off the road. Instead, he reaches over and takes my hand in his. He lifts my fingers to his mouth and presses soft kisses to each knuckle.
I swear today there’s been a turn in our relationship. It was sudden and unexpected, but I can't wait to see where it goes.
Easton’s been showering me with affection and love. He’s making sure I'm being taken care of and giving me more attention than I could ask for. It feels good. Right. A polar opposite to how Jack treated me.
Jack never treated me poorly, but he never acted like I was his girlfriend. Sure, we’d kiss and he'd wrap me in his arms, but it was never more than that. I'm sure no one would believe me, but we never went past kissing and our kisses were rarely intimate.
Sometimes I wonder why I stayed with him. I knew it wasn’t normal boyfriend behavior, but what was I supposed to do? I couldn’t call him out on not being affectionate enough. It would’ve been too weird.
No, I was treated like a best friend. Like a bro. We’d hang out and go to the bar together. We’d grab some dinner, but there were never any romantic dates. My brows furrow as I think about how I wasn’t getting what I wanted out of our relationship. What I deserved.
My mind keeps whirling with thoughts about our relationship. What was wrong with me? Did he really ask me to be his girlfriendjust so Easton couldn’t? Did he have any romantic feelings towards me at all?
We dated for years. All through high school and college. I’m almost twenty-three years old and Jack was the only boyfriend I’ve ever had. I wasted so much time with him.
“Hey, are you ok?” Easton’s voice tugs me out of my thoughts and has me blinking up at him.
“Yeah, sorry. I was… Just lost in thought.”
