Meet Me Halfway(63)

I couldn’t help it; I’d never had a man dote on me without expecting something in return. But he’d never hinted at anything or acted put out even though he had to have missed work today. If fact, he’d almost seemed to grow irritated each time he caught my wide-eyed stare, as if my disbelief irked him.

I sat all the way up, leaning against my pillows and looking across the room only to jolt back when I noticed the hunched figure sitting at the end of my bed. I pressed a hand to my heart, hoping to keep it where it belonged.

“God, you scared me.”

His shoulders tightened at the sound of my voice, but he didn’t raise his head. He was sitting at the edge with his hands dangling between his knees, his neck lowered and eyes closed.

“Garrett? What’s wrong?”

He laughed then, or what might be called a laugh. It was more like an angry huff. He rolled his neck, cracking it, and I realized he held something in his hands. I couldn’t see much past his legs, but it looked like a stack of papers.

“Layla swung by to check on you. She was heading to pick up Jamie and take him to grab some dinner. How are you feeling?” He still hadn’t looked at me.

I’d slept all day? No wonder I felt rested. “I feel better. Pretty sure my fever broke.”

Why wasn’t he looking at me? Hell, who was I kidding, he’d missed an entire day of work because he was afraid to leave me alone. Of course, he was irritated.

“I’m sorry you had to see all that and be here.”

The pages in his hand crinkled, accompanying a heavy exhale. “You know, I thought about going home earlier, but I was afraid you’d get sick again. So, I left you to rest, and I watched a movie in the living room. I found your phone sitting on the floor next to the couch. I’m guessing you dropped it when I showed up.”

He crunched the papers farther. “I brought it in here so you’d have it when you woke up, but I couldn’t find your charger.”

I stared at his lap, brow creased, trying to figure out what he was holding and why he was upset. “I keep it in my nightstand when I’m not using it because I have to use the same outlet for my laptop.”

“I know,” he snapped, “I found it.”

Why was he so angry…oh. Oh. I looked at the pages in his hands again, at the stack containing the screenshots and messages, photos and medical visits.

The blood drained from my body as ice filled my veins instead. “Garrett—”

“What the fuck are these, Madison?”

Oh God. I was going to hyperventilate. He should never have seen those. God, why did I even still have them? I should have thrown them away the day I’d realized I no longer needed them.

“They’re records.”

He heaved a breath as if he was in physical pain. “Madison Walsh,” he spit, and I flinched like he’d struck me. “That’s the bastard’s name. Aaron Walsh.” The words were laced with so much hatred, I was sure if words could kill, Aaron would be bleeding out somewhere.

“Yes.”

“Explain to me why some of these are from the time you were together, and some are only a few fucking years old. Because I’m really struggling to wrap my fucking brain around it.”

I crossed my legs, tucking the comforter around me as a makeshift shield. Not from Garrett, but from the topic. I knew Garrett’s anger was directed at my history and not myself, but uncovering my past was agonizing.

“Aaron asked to meet up when the divorce was finalized under the guise of giving me some of the things I’d left. They were sentimental items I couldn’t replace like Jamie’s baby photos, so I agreed. But he showed up wasted. I should’ve known better.”

I looked down at my lap. It wasn’t the first time Aaron had convinced me to do something I knew better than to do, but it had certainly been the last.

“That’s why Jamie’s so fucking defensive of you, why he shoved me away that day. He saw this shit, didn’t he?”

Goosebumps covered my entire body at the pure venom staring back at me from his eyes. I couldn’t get my mouth to form words, so I nodded.

He cursed, ducking his head down and clasping a hand over the back of his neck. “I’m gonna fucking kill him.”

I lurched forward, stretching a hand out and placing it on the bed. “Aaron may have been the one to hurt me, Garrett, but I was the one who invited him to an apartment my child was at, knowing what he was like. I’m not saying what happened was my fault. It’s taken me a long time to accept it, but it wasn’t. But that doesn’t make me completely innocent either.”

“That piece of shit knows where you live.”

I pulled my hand back, snapping, “I’m well aware.”

He held the bent papers out, “Why are these printed out, sitting in your damn nightstand like bedtime reading material?”

I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting against the tears his question brought to the surface. He could’ve had me butt ass naked, and I wouldn’t have felt as stripped bare as I did in that moment.

“I started logging incidences and printing things while we were together. I couldn’t seem to find the courage to leave, so I tried to force courage by manipulating my fear instead.” My voice shook, and I took a deep breath, wiping away a tear that slipped free.

“Every time I second-guessed myself, I’d pull them out and remind myself why I needed to leave. Because it was hard, Garrett. Leaving him was one of the hardest, most terrifying things I’ve ever done.”