Page 98 of The Rules Of Attraction
Silence filled the line to the point where I thought he’d hung up.
“Tom,” I cried.
“When you first went away to college. That was the first time we were together, and then …we…” his voice trailed off.
“It was the whole time I was away. Wasn’t it?” I just went in for the kill, refuting his shit about it not being continuous.
“Yes. We were on and off.”
“God, you are such an asshole. How could you cheat on me with my best friend? Becca, of all the people. Someone close to me. Was it even just her?”
I didn’t know how much more I could take. His silence said it all.
“Summer, please.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “It wasn’t just her was it?”
“No. It wasn’t. There were others.”
I covered my mouth with my hand trying to hold the tears back in.
The whole time I thought I had this long standing relationship with this man, it was all a joke. A joke inside my head.
“Summer, I was a complete jerk and I didn’t know what I was doing. I was confused.”
“You think that’s a good excuse? Were you confused when you were fucking Becca and God knows who else?” I snarled. “Didn’t you think it was wrong? Did it cross your mind that you had a girlfriend who loved you, and would have done anything for you.”
“You were away all the time, and I didn’t see us working out. But then I realized that we did, but I was too late.”
“Tom, if you were cheating on me the whole time, you were always too late. And then you asked Becca to marry you.”
I didn’t realize I was crying until a tear dropped unto my elbow. Another followed, and another.
“I asked her to marry me because she’s pregnant, Summer.”
I gasped, stunned into deep astonishment.
“What?”
The bravado I’d taken on completely faded. Rose petals dried, body drained out in every sense.
I had to sit down on the chair around the breakfast table and hang my head down.
“She’s three months pregnant. I proposed because I thought it was the right thing to do.”
“Fuck.” I couldn’t do this.
“Summer, please listen to me. I knew it was the wrong thing and I knew that I couldn’t marry her because I love you. It’s always been you.”
“You bastard. Don’t patronize me. You slept with my best friend and got her pregnant. You cheated on me, and you think this is okay to tell me that it’s always been me. Damn you!” I cried, hot tears spilling down my cheeks.
“Summer, please. We were together for eleven years.” He said with emphasis. “Something must have kept us together for so long. We loved each other with the kind of love that doesn’t just go away. I called the wedding off it wasn’t right. She wasn’t you. Please, Summer, can’t you just think about it. I swear to God I’ll never, ever hurt you again because I’ll never love anyone the way that I love you.”
What a disaster.
What a damn disaster.
My whole body trembled to the point where I couldn’t think straight.
