Page 112 of Moonstruck at Midnight
Me:That won’t be necessary, Aaron. I’d like to be alone if that’s okay. I’ll carry my phone and let you know if I need anything.
I needed to breathe.
Did I hope for William to show up like he always did?
I didn’t know anymore.
Did I honestly think he would?
Never!
The irony … We kept sayingnever,hoping for always,and now its meaning had come to life—it was sneering back at me, mocking me—ready to eat me alive.
Almost two months before, I stood on the same rooftop, picking up flowers to place under my bed. To dream of him. What a different night that had been.
I rested my arms against the farthest end of the rooftop for a while. I focused on my breathing and tried to keep my thoughts in check, and my tears locked in place.
In through my nose,out through my mouth.
It was one of those gut-wrenching nights, I’m afraid.
The rooftop door closed with a thump, but I didn’t want to look back. I couldn’t. I kept breathing in and slowly out through my mouth.
A hand delicately grasped my shoulder. I still refused to turn around.
“Hey, Red.”
As soon as I saw him, my sobs ran loose and rushed into the haste of the city’s skyline. I disarmed myself because I knew it was Caleb, my friend. Not Caleb, my bodyguard.
He ripped off his earpiece, letting it hang over his shoulder, and pulled me closer to his warm embrace. He intended to hold me until I was done crying—we were going to be there for a while.
“Thank you,” I muttered under my breath, looking straight into those warm hazel eyes that took my breath away, reluctant to break away from his arms.
I crushed my face back into his chest and took a deep, gasping breath. “I never had the chance to thank you. You saved my life the day of the fire. I was such a fool, and I’m still so embarrassed I—”
“Hey,” he interrupted me, softly brushing my hair away from my face. “Stop. It was an accident. There’s no need to feel embarrassed about anything.” I was probably ashamed about more than a few things, not just about burning the cake that day.
“I guess you were right about Thomas. You’re always right. I—I should’ve listened to you,” I cried, looking up to meet his eyes once again.
Caleb held his grip around my shoulders and shook his head. “That guy isobsessedwith you. I never liked the way he looked at you, the way he talked to you. I don’t like him near you,” he said with a scowl. I wiped the tears off my face and kept staring at him afterward. He wasn’t done talking.
“He makes me feel … uneasy. But oh, how I enjoyed being able tothrowhim out,” he confessed with a pursed smile. “What happened? Did he have one of his jealous fits?”
I knew it must’ve been one of Caleb’s favorite days in his life, but I hadn’t enjoyed having to throw Thomas out one single bit. It had caused me pain to hear him say the things he said and see him act the way he did. I was having trouble forgiving him for that.
“Yup. A jealous fit,” I replied, unlocking myself from his arms. “Not only that, but he also threw somebigaccusations at William and me.”
Thomas had finally shown his true colors. I knew he was repressing a lot of feelings, emotions—words even. And that night, he had the perfect excuse to unleash himself on me. On everyone.
There was no way I would ever take him back, and the sad part was that I’d loved him, but he kept pushing me out and away in his attempt to prevent losing me, which was paradoxical.
“Hmm. So … false accusations?” Caleb asked with curiosity, standing next to me as we both looked into the shimmering city lights. He wanted to know where I stood with William, but there was no ground to stand on.
“Veryfalse accusations,” I replied firmly.
“What’s up with him, anyway?” he asked, wanting to sound casual.
“Nothing’s up. You saw it for yourself. He got what we wanted, so he turned around and walked away at the first chance he got,” I answered bitterly, unable to swallow down the growing lump in my throat.
