Love’s Suicide(95)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I laughed. “Yeah. I do.”

“Anyway, that’s not the best part of the story. While he thought he’d damaged my ego, I laughed, thinking about the two times that I’d been with you and nobody knew about. Then I said the first thing that popped into my head. I asked him if he was alright with knowing that when you were with him, if it bothered him that you pretended it was me.” He started laughing. “You don’t have to tell me if you ever did that, but it made me feel better saying it to him.”

“I’m sure it pissed him off.”

“Yeah. It didn’t matter. I left and he got to be with you. He got to live with you and spend countless hours in your presence, while I was so far away from everyone.”

I felt so sorry for Brooks, especially knowing that I’d never been truly happy with Branch. I knew that now. “How did you get through it?”

“I thought of you. I drew pictures of you and wrote you letters that I never sent. I hooked up with a few cadets, but they weren’t anything spectacular. To be honest, I stayed busy most of the time. It wasn’t until I was in bed thinking of you that it got hard.”

I looked right into his eyes and swallowed the lump in my throat. Sure, I heard the part where he’d hooked up with other woman. He had every right to, because I was involved with his brother.

“It broke my heart when you left. I felt like I was being punished.”

“My brother fooled us both. Don’t let it get to you. We’re together now, Kat.”

“Please be patient with me, Brooks. I know I said I couldn’t move forward, but I also can’t lose you. I just feel like I ended his life. I feel responsible and I’ve got to work that out on my own. You understand don’t you?”

“You hurt me earlier. I keep letting myself fall harder for you each time. The thing is, when I do that and you push me away, it hurts worse.” He shook his head. “All I can tell you is that no matter how many times I’ve tried to not love you, it’s never happened. So you can push me away. You can tell me you don’t want to be with me, but I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stalk you if I have to.”

I giggled. “I told you where I hide the house key. You’ve been invited in.”

“Good because I was planning on having a copy made in the morning.”

“Promise?”

He looked right at me and smiled. “Yes, I promise.”

It was the reassurance that I needed. Things certainly weren’t worked out for either of us, but at least we knew that neither of us was giving up.

I closed my eyes, feeling comfortable against his body. Falling asleep was easy, even after he started to snore.

His alarm on his phone woke us both up and I realized that we’d slept the entire time. Brooks slid off the couch and covered me back up with a blanket. He kissed my forehead. “I need to go to work.”

I grabbed his hand as he started to walk away. “Will you be back later?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve got a hard day ahead of you. Are you sure that’s what you want?”

I nodded.

He let out an air-filled laugh and scratched his head. “Woman, you’re so confusing.”

“Please?”

He leaned over and kissed me again. “I’ll see you later. I love you. Give B a kiss and tell her I’ll be here after work.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life. No matter what happens, you’re always there to protect me. Sometimes I think my parents made you that way, like they somehow connected us so I’d never be alone.”

“I hate to break it to you, but I loved you way before they died and I promise that they didn’t put any spells on me. It happened because I wanted it to. There’s no other reason that I want to be there for you. No one makes me do it. I do it because it makes me happy. It makes me feel close to you, even when you’re not paying attention.”

He winked at me before walking out of the room.

I watched him go out the door before I closed my eyes again. Brooks hadn’t left me like I’d thought. He’d come back just in case I needed him, in which I did. I would always need him and knowing that made me more determined to get through whatever was happening with me.

Chapter 55

B woke me up a few hours after Brooks had gone to work. She came running up to the couch and started poking at my face. “Mama, get up.”

I sat up before I remembered that my body was still in a bit of pain. The first thing I noticed was that my head was pounding. I scooted my feet to the floor and grabbed the sides of the couch to pull myself up. B watched and waited for me to go into the kitchen.

I had no idea that Danica would be sitting in there already waiting for me. “Good morning, Katy.”

I smiled and looked down at the floor, unable to hold my emotions in at all. “Good morning.”

“Did Brooks get off to work okay?”

She knew he’d been there the whole time and had probably heard our entire conversation. “Yeah. He said he’d be back when he gets off.”

I put my coffee cup under the instant maker and pushed the button before I could turn and look at her. She came over and waited for me to be finished making it before she carried it over to the table. After making B some oatmeal, she joined me back at the table. “I was wondering if you’d like us to come along today when you visit your friends?”

I shrugged and traced the outside edge of the coffee cup. “I don’t know. The truth is I don’t even think we’re friends anymore. Sarah made it clear that she wants nothing to do with someone that runs away from her marriage. They weren’t even on my side when he used to hit me. I’d just assume to not contact them after all this is over.”

“I’ll keep B here and get some more cleaning done.”

I reached for her hand. “Danica, you don’t have to do that. I’ll call a company to come out and clean and then another to start doing repairs.”

“If you fill out a police report your insurance would cover the damage.”

I smiled and thought of Bobby. “No. This was his way of punishing me. I don’t want to put a claim in so soon after moving in. It will only hurt my premiums. I’ll deal with it. Mostly it’s cosmetic. We can fix the walls and replace the carpet. I can buy new furniture and curtains.”

Danica squeezed my hand. “I hate that this has happened to you.”

I looked over at B, who had no idea what was happening. Not only had she never mentioned or looked for Bobby, but even after hearing other people talk about him, she seemed unfazed. “I’m just glad she’s too young to know what’s going on. He was good to her, even when he wasn’t to me. He really loved her.” I started to tear up. “It really breaks my heart.”