Page 38 of Letters From a Broken Heart
I really don’t know how Taylor’s putting up with me. I don’t take her out on dates, I don’t kiss her, or touch her. I give her as little attention as possible without feeling guilty. I don’t know another woman who would put up with this.
Easton’s senior prom is coming up. Maybe I can suggest they go together. I know he won't ask another girl and he won't go alone. He’ll probably sit in the garage and work on his stupid car instead.
Taylor would love an excuse to put on a fancy dress and doll herself up. Easton would love a reason to have her in his arms.
This is the greatest plan. As long as I can get them to agree, it will work out perfectly and we can all have our happily ever afters. I can fix every mistake I made.
My hand flies up to cover my mouth. That was six years ago. He’s been with Cassy for six years and has kept it a secret?
I don’t know if I'm more hurt he’s been cheating on me for that long or more irritated he wasted so many years of my life. I understand why Cassy hated me though. She was kept a secret for almost a decade when he was in love with her. To her, I was ruining everything.
I wish I could talk to Jack. I wish I could scream and yell at him, telling him all the ways he screwed up. All the things he could’ve done differently. But I don’t need to. He already knew. He wasn’t oblivious to the pain he was causing those around him.I wonder how much it killed him to live with the consequences of his actions.
Instead of flipping to the next page, I toss the notebook in the keep pile on the bed and move towards the closet. Easton doesn’t want any of the clothes. I already grabbed some trash bags and I’ll bag up Jack’s clothes and stick them in the hallway. I had to promise I wouldn’t try to lift anything heavy and I won't. I don’t want to make my recovery more difficult than it needs to be.
As I stuff the various pieces of fabric into the bags, I realize he has quite a bit of dressier clothes I never saw him wear. I wonder if he wore these when he took Cassy out on dates. Did he put more effort into his appearance to impress her? I shake the thought away and keep going. I'll never get answers to the questions I have. There’s no one here to answer them and I'm not seeking out Cassy.
Most of the things I find in here are to donate or trash. Jack definitely wasn’t a tidy man and the bags of trash prove that. I’m rifling through another stack of papers when something catches my eye. Sitting in a pile of junk mail is a little black and white picture.
I look closer and gasp. My hand flies up to cover my mouth and my eyes fill with tears. This is an ultrasound photo with Cassy’s name clearly printed at the top. I scan the text for a date and swallow hard when I find this is from a few months ago.
My mind drifts to Cassy and how she looked at the funeral. She didn’t have a baby bump at all. Her stomach was completely flat. She was skinnier than me.
Before I can stop myself, I scramble over to the bed and open Jack’s notebook again. I scan the entries looking for something more recent.
I’m going to be a dad. No matter how many times I repeat those words, it just doesn’t feel real. In a few months, I'm going to have a little baby who’s part me and part Cassy.
I know I haven’t been good to Cassy so far, but I'm going to be better. I’ll be the best dad my baby could ask for. First, I need to convince Cassy to keep the baby and not put it up for adoption. I know she keeps saying she doesn’t want to do this alone and she doesn’t want our baby to feel like they’re a secret from the world.
I need to make this right. I need to break up with Taylor and move in with Cassy. I don’t care if I lose my friendship with Taylor. My baby is more important than anything else. I’ve screwed up a lotin my life, but I'm not screwing this up. I'm talking to Cassy tonight and tomorrow I'm breaking up with Taylor.
I’ll do everything in my power to push her into Easton’s arms. I’ll make sure Easton knows there won't be any hard feelings if he chooses to date her. Honestly, I’d be thrilled if they finally got to be together. I want to see them get married and live happily ever after together, just like I’m about to get my perfect life with Cassy and our baby. I’m going to fix everything.
I choke on a sob as tears stream down my face. I can't believe he got her pregnant. I can't believe he was starting a family with someone else and I was completely in the dark. I didn’t even know.
How could I be so oblivious to the man I claimed to love?
Chapter 15
Easton
My eyes widen when I enter the house and find trash bags filling the hallway. There are so many. There must be barely anything left in Jack’s room.
I stop in the doorway and watch Taylor carefully. Her back is to me, but her shoulders are shaking and her hands are covering her face. I knew this would be too much for her. I didn’t want her to go through everything alone, but she seemed like she really wanted to do it.
I don’t say a word as I step over a trash bag and scoop her into my arms. I carry her into our room and lay her in the center of our bed. After stripping off my suit jacket, pants, and dress shirt, I slip on a pair of sweatpants and climb into bed next to her, tugging her body into mine.
“I love you, Taylor. I’ll help you through this, I promise.” I kiss her head and hold her a little closer.
She’s quiet for a few minutes as her sobs slowly calm down. It breaks my heart every time I see her cry. I want to take away all of her pain and misery. I want to make sure she’s smiling and happy for the rest of our lives.
“She was pregnant. The day Jack died, he was going to Cassy’s to beg her to keep the baby instead of putting it up for adoption. He was planning to break up with me the following day, but wanted Cassy to know where he stood.”
“I'm so sorry, sweetheart.”
“He was happy with her. He couldn’t wait to be a dad and get his life with Cassy. They were together for six years. He planned to push me into your arms after he broke up with me. That’s why he wanted you to take me to prom. He met her and wanted to be with her, but didn’t want me to hate him.”
“He’s an idiot. He never should’ve asked you out if he didn’t want you to be his girlfriend.”
