Healed (Scarred #2)(25)
Author: J.S. Cooper

“I’ve known him for a while.” She giggled.

“Who is it, Mom?” I feel my blood run cold as I think of Bryce’s dad. Please don’t let it be the mayor, please don’t let it be the mayor, I thought to myself.

“Nate Forester,” she giggled.

“Your boss?” I frowned. “I didn’t even know you were dating him.”

“We weren’t, but he loves me and he says that he wants to take care of me.”

“So what are you going to do mom?” I frowned, worried that I wasn’t going to like what she was going to say.

“I’m going to move in with him of course. After we get married.”

“What about me?”

“You’re a big girl.” She ruffled my hair.

“What am I supposed to do mom, where am I going to live?”

“You can live here.”

“I can’t afford the rent by myself mom.” I felt like I was about to come apart inside.

“You don’t have to pay rent, silly, we own the house.”

“No, we don’t.” I frowned. “Mom, we pay rent.”

“No, we don’t.” She peered at me curiously and shook her head. “You really don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

“He gave me the money. He said to use it to buy the house. I thought that was quite rude. I really wanted a new outfit, but he said he spoke to the landlord and asked how much it would cost to buy the house.”

“He gave you the money?” I looked at her in shock.

“Yeah, I figured he felt guilty or something. So I bought the house.”

“Oh my God, Mom. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was embarrassed. I…” I didn’t hear the rest of her words because I was running out of my house and to my car, with my heart beating fast. Bryce had given my mom the money to buy the house. He must really love me, I thought. I knew he was most probably trying to atone for the hurt his father had put my mother through.

I felt disgusted with myself. I couldn’t believe that I had betrayed him like this, when he had been working behind my back to make everything right. I knew that I had to put him first. I had to put him before my own personal feelings. I already knew that it was unlikely that I could be fixed, I was most probably destined for a life of not feeling quite whole, but at least I could be there for him. That would be enough for me. That could be a life I grew to love.

My heart hurt thinking about never being with Luke again. But I knew it was the best for him as well. He needed someone better than me. He needed to go to Boston and follow his destiny. I was only holding him back. And I couldn’t do that. I knew that I loved him enough to set him free. No matter what he was hiding from me, I knew that Luke was the kindest man in the universe. He would always be in my heart, but I knew that Bryce needed me more and I owed him. We were linked together now, forever. He’d put too much out there on the line for me. I couldn’t leave him in his time of need.

***

I drove with the radio off. I didn’t feel too much like singing. As I drove past the psychic’s house, I realized she had taken her signs down from the road and the top of her house. I wondered to myself how she had gotten up there. She seemed a bit too old to be going up a ladder.

I was just about to round the corner, when I saw Luke on the next block up, talking to an older man. I pulled over to the side of the road quickly, thankful for once that I lived in a quiet town that didn’t have much traffic. I watched as the two men talked animatedly. Luke was shaking his head back and forth and he looked upset. I felt something in my stomach tighten. I’d never seen him look so angry before. The man placed an arm on Luke’s shoulder and he shoved it off. I picked up my phone to call Luke to make sure he was okay. I was glad to see that he answered it, instead of just ignoring me. I always knew I could count on Luke.

“Hiya, sweet pea,” he purred into the phone. He was a better actor than I thought. I could see that he was still glaring at the man he was with.

“Hey, I was just thinking about you,” I said, breathlessly.

“I’m glad you called me then.” He paused. “I wanted to talk to you about Boston again.”

“Luke, I don’t want to discuss this right now.” I sighed. “I’m not going to let you not go.”

“Oh Lexi.” I could hear the frustration in his voice. “I never want to be where you aren’t.”

“We can’t always have what we want.” I bit my lip. “Can I come over now so we can talk?”

“I’m just at the store.” He lied easily and I gasped. “But maybe you can come over in about an hour?”

“What are you getting at the store?”

“You know, the usual: chocolates, wine, cookies. Everything you love.”

“Huh—it sounds awfully quiet in Hy-Vee today.”

“Well, you know. Everyone must have gone shopping on Saturday,” he said, smoothly. “But I have to go now. See you later.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you later.”

“I love you, Lexi.”

“I love you too, Luke,” I said, sadly. I couldn’t believe that he had lied to me again. It was as if the universe was telling me that no guy was good and that I should honor my commitment to Bryce, even though we didn’t have any formal commitment really.

I sighed and watched Luke continue talking to the men and then, finally, the man took a folder out of a brown leather bag and handed it to Luke. Luke seemed happy then and shook his hand. I watched him look around quickly before quickly walking back to his car. I sat frozen in my car as he left and watched as the older man walked into a building. As Luke drove off, I put my car into drive again and drove up slowly to see which building the old man had come out from.

I was surprised to see a lawyer’s sign on the front. Why would Luke need to see a lawyer? It had to be something important for him to have looked so anxious and angry. And why would he lie about it? What was it that Luke didn’t want anyone knowing about? And why had he and Bryce been at the hospital together? Had it been a coincidence that they had both been there at the same time? My mind was rambling with questions and I was determined to get some answers.

I looked at my watch and pressed my foot down on the acceleration. I was late. I drove quickly to make up time and arrived at Harpers Creek about fifteen minutes late. Bryce was already out of his car when I got there and I jumped out and ran to the riverbank to meet up with him.