Promises (TP 6)

41 - Nightmare

Double update today.

Patrick looked at Tessa's face, even with the pain etched across it. She was beautiful.

"How did you meet?"

He had finally confirmed she lost her husband, not that it was the same. He had three years to say goodbye to Erica. Although living with a death sentence was hard, to never expect it must have been devastating.

"At a coffee shop. I never understood why he picked me. There were millions of single girls in the city.

He smiled. "That's not a mystery."

"I don't understand you either."

"I felt that way about Erica. I felt like the lucky one. Maybe when you both feel that way it's real."

"I thought he would take me out a time or two and move on. I was not in his league. His family was... is wealthy, and I was far from it."

"You both worked hard."

She nodded. "We worked a lot, but we socialized too. It was the norm to let the nanny raise your kids. All our friends were the same. It was insane, but I didn't realize it. David. David was trying to make partner at his law firm. His only day off was Sunday, but not always. He tried to at least work from home."

"When I was a resident. I was hardly home. It put a huge burden on Erica. One baby was hard, but then we had two in a new city. I'd be gone for forty-eight hours at a stretch, only to come home to sleep. I honestly expected her to take the kids back to California."

"I was nobody with a horrible job just scraping by in an apartment with three other girls. I was close to packing it in and moving back home."

"But you didn't."

She shook her head. "He used his influence to land me the job at the agency. I worked with a group of young people in the social media department. I promoted our clients' products online. I could have been online twenty-four-seven just keeping up. It was exciting and full of pressure to succeed. We were both under pressure, but his was intense. He had a huge case. It would make or break his career. It went on for over a year. The client was guilty and David knew it. His job was to get him off. It meant compromising himself, and in the end he failed. It was awful. We needed to reevaluate our lives. We were expecting Chloe."

He didn't want to interrupt her. He lifted her hand and kissed it. She looked right through him as if he wasn't there. When she spoke again, her voice was detached and emotionless, almost like a robot.

"He wanted to go talk to his father. At least that's what he told me. I wanted him to stay home and relax. I thought if he spent time with me and Maya, we could figure it out together. It was January, and I didn't know the road conditions were so bad. I lived in the city and never drove, although we had cars. He should have taken the SUV, but he took his Porsche. He was probably blowing off steam, taking the long way to his parents. I'll never know."

"What happened?" Her stoic face cracked and was replaced with anguish. "Forget it. Don't upset yourself."

She shook her head. "Once you know, we'll never have to talk about it again. I don't like to."

"Come here." He pulled her up onto the bed. Both were on their sides, face to face. He rested one hand on her hip and held her hand with the other. She looked at his chest, not his face.

"I didn't hear from him and he wasn't answering his phone and so I called his mother. She said he hadn't arrived at her house. It had been too long, and I was frantic. It took two days before they found the car down an embankment. I can't talk about it. I'm afraid the nightmares will return."

He pulled her close and held her while she sobbed. He felt numb. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like for him to be missing for two days and then to find out he was gone. No wonder she kept it to herself. She lived through a nightmare and somehow survived.

"You are so strong. You've been raising your girls and they are special. I just met them and I can tell."

She shut her eyes. "He never met Chloe."

"Oh, God!" He had missed that detail. "How long after?"

"About two months. I can raise this baby alone, but I can't deliver it alone. I can't go through that again."

"Never. No matter what happens with us. I promise you I will be there to support you every second." He kissed her forehead and her eyes and her cheeks wet with tears. He planned to brush her lips and move on, but she parted her lips for him. Kissing her was like a drug, the more he did it the more he wanted. He ignored the stirring inside him. She was in pain. He couldn't seduce her. Even when her hands found their way to his bare back, he was determined to resist. He groaned when she stroked the front of his shorts.

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