Page 81 of Committed to You

She slides off me, and I carefully remove the condom and tie it up then wrap it in a tissue. I throw it into the garbage can and pull the covers back. “Scoot under.” Once she’s beneath the covers, I turn the lights off then join her in bed.

I kiss her forehead. “This was the best surprise ever.”

Vivian snuggled into my arms “I figured I owed you paybacks for worming your way into my bed.”

I freeze then pull her chin up. “I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” she says quickly.

“No, it’s not,” I insist.

She sighs then adjusts her body into me. “Chase, I shouldn’t have said that to you about scraps. Just forget I said it.”

“No. I can’t and won’t forget it. You were right, and I…” I pause, not sure how to tell her I know about her childhood.

She tilts her head. “What were you going to say?”

I remain silent.

“Chase?”

Taking a deep breath, I slowly say, “I spoke with Dawn…”

“At the event?”

I shake my head. “No, several times this week.”

She furrows her brow. “About?”

Suddenly, I’m really nervous and wonder if she is going to be upset with me.

I have to tell her I know.

“I wanted to know more about what you had done and were doing with the initiative.”

“Okay. That’s okay.” She strokes my temple.

I know I can leave it at this, but it’s the easy way out, and I’m not choosing the easy way out anymore. I’m only doing what I think is best regarding Vivian or our relationship. So I take another breath and say, “I felt horrible that I did that to you before I spoke with Dawn, but when she told me what you went through as a child, it hit me on a different level.”

She looks in my eyes, and as she realizes that I know she was homeless, she looks down.

Oh shit. Maybe I should have just waited until she told me.

Neither of us moves, and I wait for her to speak, not sure what she is thinking or what I can even say.

Minutes pass, I finally kiss her head.

She looks up at me. “Exactly what did Dawn tell you?”

“She said your landlord didn’t fix your roof, and it collapsed. Water destroyed everything, and you only had the clothes on your backs.”

She bites her lip, hesitates then says, “I was sleeping, and my room caved in on me. My parents had to dig through the debris to get me out of my bed. The sky was lit up with lightning, and rain was pouring in everywhere.”

Chills run through every bone in my body. I tighten my arm around her. “Were you hurt?”

“No. It was a miracle. I should have been dead.”

“How old were you?”

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