Page 2 of A Little Christmas Jericho
He didn’t move. He only looked at me as if I’d mistaken the rules of the world. “Then pick,” he said finally, soft but sharp as a paper cut. “Because I can’t be with someone whose priorities are pets over…us.”
A laugh hit the back of my throat and tasted wrong. “Us,” I echoed. The word sounded like a hollow. Sad. Little me peered out then—small, wary, hiding behind sarcasm. He wanted to throw a tantrum and stomp until everything went back to the way it used to be. He wanted Oscar to scoop him up and tell him he was silly for worrying, that he’d never leave.
Instead I felt the heat behind my eyes. I was an adult. For this Ihadto be an adult. I could bargain, negotiate, promise thingsI might not mean. I could make lists, sell things, find a better apartment Oscar might not mind sharing with the pets.
“Please,” I heard myself whisper, and the single word surprised me with how much it sounded like a child asking for one more bedtime story. “Please don’t make me choose. Don't do this."
Oscar blinked. For the briefest moment I thought he might give in and be the Daddy I'd always hoped he could be for me.
Instead he looked away from me like he couldn't even stomach looking at me anymore.
"I'll give you the weekend. I'll come back on Monday. And I'll expect them to be gone."
Stones.
No.
Boulders.
Big-ass boulders were sitting in my stomach. It had to be. That's what it felt like.
When he headed to the back door without another glance at me, I found the courage I needed.
"Don't come back on Monday."
He stopped in his tracks, his shoulders squaring. "What did you just say?"
I cleared my throat. "I said, don't come back Monday. In fact, I'll leave now, take the dogs on their walk. Give you time to gather all your things. By the time I come back I expect all your stuff to be out of my place. The few things I have at yours you can keep or donate."
I swallowed down the tears threatening to push out and grabbed Daisy and Murphy's leashes before getting them ready for a walk.
"Are you fucking serious?" Oscar bellowed at me, causing Daisy to cower behind me.
"I am." My tone was cold, but inside I was falling apart. I didn't want to be single again. Start over again. And as much as Oscar could be an asshole, we'd been together for over a year now. We were talking about finding a place together.
And now this.
He scowled. Growled. And then he stormed toward my bedroom. "You know what? Fuck this and fuck you!"
At those words I took two of my favourite babies and went on a walk.
When I came back, all I was left with was a broken heart and the only four creatures in the world that cared for me.
Chapter 2
The apartment felt empty the second I unlocked the door. Not bad-empty, like when Daisy had an upset tummy and left me a present on the rug.
No. This was quiet-empty. Okay, maybe it as a teensy bit hollow-empty.
Murphy didn't notice, of course. He barreled past me into the living room, toenails clattering against the hardwood as he bounded toward his toy basket. Finch leapt down from the back of the couch and wound around my ankles like nothing was amiss. Daisy gave a soft, low whine, though. My special girl knew.
Shealwaysknew.
I toed off my sneakers and stepped inside. That's when I saw it.
The space along the hallway wall where the modern art piece Oscar had given me for my birthday had hung was bare. The extra pair of sneakers he'd kept here that normally lined up by the door was gone. It all amounted to a bunch of little things,but together they built up to quite a bit, and I felt it more than I thought I would.
I stood there for a long moment, stomach knotted, until the truth sank in.
