Page 2 of Committed to You

I step back. “Get out of my house.”

Jennifer stands up, naked, and tries to find her clothes. “Chase—”

“Don’t.” I cut her off. “You both have ten seconds to get out of my house.”

“I live here. You can’t just kick me out. Let’s talk about this,” Jennifer pleads with me.

I sneer. “There is nothing for us to talk about. Get out.”

“Chase—” Matt tries as he grabs his clothes off the floor.

“Don’t you ever talk to me again. Get out.”

Sadness passes through his eyes, but he walks past me with his clothes in his hands.

“Please, let’s talk,” she pleads.

I point to the door. “We are done. Out.”

Sadly, she throws on her clothes. “This is your fault. If you hadn’t been working so much, I wouldn’t have felt so lonely.”

Enraged, I yell, “Working so much? I was working to pay for a ring. One that I picked up today.”

Shock registers on her face then she steps closer to me and puts her hand on my arm. “We can get past this.”

I pull my arm free. “It’s over. Get out.”

“Let’s try. We can’t throw away five years.”

I snarl, “You threw it away when you slept with my best friend. Now get out.”

“We can still get married,” she says quickly.

I shake my head in disgust then walk out to the main room. “Both of you better be gone by the time I get back.” I pass Matt, whose face is bloody and swelling, and I’m tempted to beat him again, but I’m afraid I’ll kill him.

I get into my car and drive off. As the shock and anger wane, grief replaces them. About a mile away, I pull over and park at the back of the grocery store lot. Tears flow out of my eyes so fast, I sob.

At this moment, the wall forms. I create a lie. My new truth seems honest. I tell myself it’s to protect my heart.

Unfortunately, my new reality is an invisible toxic web, but I can’t see the poison that I weave.

1

Vivian

Present Day

Quicksand sucks you in,trying to submerge you entirely so you can’t breathe or move away from it. Its victims are powerless. They struggle to free themselves, but that only immerses them deeper into the deadly grasp.

Chase Monroe is my quicksand. I need to figure out how to pull myself out of his hold.

Several times I escaped him. Or so I thought. He always comes back, piercing me deeper.

“Chase and Jamison are in town this weekend. Come out to Club D with us Friday night, so I’m not by myself,” the text from Piper says.

My heart is a mix of flutters and dread. I should not see Chase anymore. We cannot be, and every time I am near him, I only want him more.

“You’ll have Noah,” I text Piper, stalling while I debate in my head if I should go or not.

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