Fleeting Moments(32)

“Have you got someone in there?” he demands.

I turn to him. “I have a visitor, yes.”

“Who? Is it your imaginary friend?” Heather scoffs.

Gerard snorts.

That makes me angry. So angry. I cross my arms, and even though Heath has asked me not to, I snap, “Yes, actually.”

Gerard’s eyes flare, and he shoves past me, Heather in tow. I let them. I hope they go up there and find my naked man in bed, looking as gorgeous as he is, then they’ll wish they’d never doubted me. I follow them up the stairs, a grin on my face, and enter the room.

Gerard turns to face me. “There’s no one here?”

I narrow my eyes, and look around him. The bed is made. There is not a trace of Heath. Fucking. Asshole.

“He was here all night,” I say, rushing into the bathroom and shoving the door open. Not a trace.

“I see you still haven’t gotten help,” Heather snaps. “I think we need to mention that to the lawyers. She’s asking for more than she’s entitled to, but until she gets help, I think we should definitely fight it.”

Gerard looks sadly at me. “I agree.”

“I’m only asking to keep my car!” I cry.

“The car that belongs to Gerard,” Heather points out. “It’s in his name.”

“He has a work car.”

“We’re not discussing this with you,” she hotly informs me, crossing her arms.

“Gerard,” I croak, looking to him. “Surely you’re not going to be this cruel.”

He looks miserable. “Listen, I need the car okay? I don’t want this to get messy, Lucy. I care about you enough to not want that.”

“You’re supposed to love me.”

“Yeah,” he says. “And you’re supposed to love me but you just happily told me you were sleeping with someone else, real or not.”

He has a point.

“I don’t want this to get ugly, please. We spent so long together; we loved each other so fully. Can we end this . . . cordially?”

He opens his mouth to speak, but Heather cuts him off. “We’re not discussing this any further.”

“Gerard,” I whisper.

“Sorry, Lucy, I think she’s right. I think you need help. I’m really worried about you.”

I study him. “Please leave my house.”

“If you just give me the car, I’ll—”

“Leave, Gerard. Go ahead and do whatever you think you have to. That’s my car, and I have no money to buy another one.”

“But—”

“Leave or I’ll call the police.”

“Let’s go, Gerard,” Heather says, snatching his arm into hers and pulling him out of the room.

I watch him go, my eyes holding his. He looks like he wants to say something more, but he doesn’t. Once again, he lets his sister speak for him.

When they’re gone and I hear the front door slam, I turn and study the room. I walk over to the bed and jerk the covers back. A small note flutters out. I pick it up, staring down at the neat but masculine handwriting.

Sorry, Lucy girl, I couldn’t stay.

I’d bet about fifty that you brought them upstairs to prove a point?

Yeah. You did.

I wrote my number on the back.

H x

I can’t help but roll my eyes, and maybe I smile a little.

“You’re a dick, Heath,” I mutter to the piece of paper.

But dammit.

I can’t get enough of you.

***

I make myself a coffee, have a shower and get changed before I decide to text the number Heath left me. I know he’s a savvy texter when his phone is actually turned on; I witnessed it at the baseball stadium. I think about what I’m going to say to him, and then smile slyly when I figure it out.

L – Asshole.

I send the message with a triumphant smile, and go to place my phone down but it buzzes in my palm almost instantly.

H – I’m not sorry.

I laugh softly.

L – That’s the worst part. I looked like a crazy person.

H – From what I recall, you are.

I flush.

L – Thanks for last night. I’m locking my windows from now on.

H – There are many other ways to get into your house.

Jerk.

L – I’ll lock them all. When will I see you again?

H – I don’t know. I’ll call you when I can.

L – Okay well, go and fight crime, GI Joe.

H – Later, honey.

I put my phone down and get ready for work. I’m doing a lunchtime shift today, so I get ready a little quicker than usual, considering I slept in. I grab my things, lock the house, and head out, trying to take my mind off everything. Mostly, Gerard. I hate fighting with him. I hate that things have gotten so cold between us. I never wanted that. Not even for a second. I know things deteriorated after the attack, but I didn’t think that we’d ever look at each other the way we do now.

Then there’s the guilt over having Heath in my life.

It’s been such a short time since Gerard left, and while I know it’s for the best and that we were never going to make it through, I can’t fathom the fact that I already have feelings for another man. I don’t know the depth of my feelings for Heath; I just know they feel real and that I can’t stop thinking about him. Being with him last night was hands down the best experience of my life and that scares me, because it was so intense, so incredible, that I have to wonder if it was the situation making it seem like something it wasn’t.