"Deal." I added.
He hovered above me for a bit, staring down at my face he smiled,
"And just so you know, all the journals have ample mentions of you. What else do you think I write about?"
"Trees." I said without missing a beat, "And bushes. Maybe some deer."
He dug his fingers into my sides,
"Comedian we have here, ladies and gentlemen." I squealed and wriggled beneath him, begging him to stop. He finally pulled his fingers out of my side. He studied me closely as I came down from my giggle fit. His gaze was appreciative and sweet. Like he was making a memory of how I looked while I laughed, "I write about you beneath trees...and bushes...and near some deer." I giggled as his mouth covered mine in a deep kiss.
But he never connected. My Skype was empty. No incoming calls. I hadn't bothered to get naked, something told me he wouldn't be in the mood. But it didn't matter. Because he wasn't there to see anything anyway.
I hung my head. The silence was deafening. Lucy was asleep and I hadn't turned the TV on or anything. I wanted to make sure we were solely focused on each other.
But it didn't make a difference.
If this was even a small smidgen of how he felt for the last 5 years when I was treating him like he didn't exist then I was a horrible person who deserved every bit of this. This was hell. It was a good thing I had a 5 year old dependent on me or I was quite sure I would've let the darkness overtake me the minute he left the house and didn't turn around.
-----------------------
Jessica watched me from across the table at her favorite restaurant. It had taken her another 2 days to get me to agree to go and have lunch with her.
I had scheduled a day of self pity after having once again been blown off by Harry after he spoke to Lucy that morning. The worst part was that it was a FaceTime phone call. I'd been so excited when I saw it pop up on my phone I almost dropped it on the kitchen tile.
When I answered it he looked less than thrilled and refused to even look at me. He kept his head turned to the side, typing away on his computer. I didn't even bother to try to get him to talk to me. I didn't want to see the look on his face if I tried.
The minute he heard Lucy though he turned to the screen and smiled a big, bright, toothy grin that assured me Lucy was his sole focus at the moment.
And now Jessica was studying me like I was a Trigonometry problem. I shook my head as I stared down at the menu in front of me,
"Stop looking at me like that."
She stirred the sugar she'd just put in her unsweetened iced tea,
"Looking at you like what?" She asked innocently.
"Like you're trying to see what I'm thinking. Why do you order it unsweetened if you're just gonna put sugar in it when it gets to the table?"
"I'm trying to understand why you're taking this lying down." She answered, "And I like to be in control of my sweetened/unsweetened situation."
I set the menu on the table and looked up at her, letting out an exasperated sigh,
"What?" I asked, annoyance dripping from every letter.
She shrugged,
"I mean...you don't seem like a girl who doesn't fight for what she wants. You seem like quite the opposite. And granted I haven't known you for long but..." She shrugged, "It doesn't make any sense. The day I approached you on the sidewalk you were confident and and fearless. I was putting your family in danger and you were not having it. I was scared of you that day."
Chapter 20
Start bij het begin
