Chapter Eight

 

I kept checking my rearview mirror for Theo, but he wasn’t behind me. My heart felt heavy in my chest as I pulled into the parking spot in front of his house, our house. His car wasn’t there.

A cold shower cooled me off a little and left me with a clear mind. This feeling I got in the pit of my stomach with Theo was the same one I’d gotten with Mac towards the end. I wasn’t sure that it’d ever go away, or that I’d ever trust him. Lark was right: if we weren’t living together, I wouldn’t be pushing for a label on our relationship this soon. And, if we weren’t living together, I’d never have gotten close enough to him to develop feelings. He would’ve been left on stage for his groupies to fight over.

Lark answered after three rings. “Are you done with your meeting?” I asked.

“Yes. On my way home now; what’s up?” she asked.

I hesitated, partly to figure out what to say, and partly to fight back my tears. “It’s Theo,” I finally gasped.

“What happened?” she asked with concern.

I told her the whole story, from front to back. She didn’t offer any advice while I spoke, letting me get everything off my chest first, which I appreciated. “Willow, what if he was just being polite after being put on the spot and took the number?” she asked.

“If he didn’t want to tell her he had a girlfriend, or that he’s seeing someone, then he doesn’t, he isn’t,” I scoffed.

“I get that. But, these are your friends. Have you told Benny, Samson, or Paul about you two?” she asked.

“No,” I admitted, feeling that burning in my stomach return.

“He may have told you about it later and let you handle it how you wanted,” she advised, making me feel even worse.

I sighed, taking in everything she said, and trying to put myself in his shoes. “No. If one of his buddies came onto me, I would at the very least say I was seeing someone, period,” I insisted.

Lark was a hopeless romantic, but I was a realist. There was no gray area to this topic. It was black or white, right or wrong.

“What are you gonna do about your living situation?” she asked.

The burning pit in my stomach grew like a forest fire after a long, hot summer drought. “I guess I’ll talk to him. If having sex is a stipulation for living here, then I’ll move,” I said sternly.

I didn’t want to move. The thought of moving made me ill. But, the thought of staying, and not being with Theo, that made me ill, too.

“Can you handle that?” Lark asked.

I couldn’t. I knew that, and she knew that.

“It doesn’t matter. If he’ll let me stay, I’ll have to try,” I sighed.

My phone beeped with a call from an unknown number. “I’m getting a call,” I told Lark, quickly saying our goodbyes.

I clicked over to the waiting call. “Hello?”

“Is this Willow Banks?” a woman asked.

“Yes, it is. How can I help you?” I asked.

“We’re having a family reunion in the Hamptons with everyone arriving tomorrow morning and staying for two days. I realize this is short notice, but our photographer canceled last minute and a mutual friend gave me your number,” she explained.

“Would you need me there for the entire three days?” I asked.

It was an unusual request, but not unheard of. People with money found millions of ways to squander it, including hiring a professional to photograph their day at the zoo. “Yes. There are six generations, all showing up this year. I’m afraid for the oldest generation it will likely be their last trip. We just thought it would be special to have those precious last moments together memorialized in photos that we could all share,” she said.

The thought of leaving without talking to Theo both upset me and gave me pleasure. Let him suffer, wondering where I’m at. But, then again, he may decide to throw me out while I’m gone.

I needed time to think, regardless. And after our spat, we both could use some time apart. “Yes. I’d be delighted to do it,” I agreed.

We worked out the details with payment, accommodations, and transportation, and then hung up. I was to leave early tomorrow morning with a car service picking me up to deliver me by nine.

I called Lark back, told her about the job, and she agreed that time apart might do us both some good. She was still hopeful this would all work out, but I was done. I couldn’t continue to torture myself any longer.

Every car door, every set of headlights, brought me to the window looking for Theo. Each time, it wasn’t him.

It was getting late, and I’d convinced myself he was out with someone else, probably Jeanette. I had given up hope of seeing him before I left at six in the morning for the Hamptons when the doorbell rang.

I’d been there a month, and it was the first time I’d heard the customized ‘Stairway to Heaven’ tone from inside the house. It may be the last, Willow.

I opened the door to find Benny on my stoop with an obviously drunk Theo leaning against the red brick entrance. “I’m sorry, Willow. I don’t know what’s going on, but he just kept saying you told him not to come home,” Benny explained, helping Theo inside.

Theo grinned when our eyes met, a vindictive grin, not one I’d consider friendly. “You need a shower, man,” Benny said, offering me an apologetic glance before helping Theo up the stairs.

I heard the water running, and bottles falling from the shelves to the shower floor. After a few minutes, the water stopped, and I could hear voices coming from the top of the stairs. I felt helpless down there while Benny helped Theo. I hated to see him in that shape, and even though I was still angry, I ached for his pain to go away.

Benny came downstairs after about thirty minutes. “Wow. I haven’t seen him that drunk since his twenty-first birthday,” he sighed, falling onto the couch beside me. “What happened between you two?” he asked.

“We’ve been—uh….” I stammered.

“I know. That’s all he’s talked about,” Benny laughed.

I was surprised that he knew, and that Theo had talked about it, about us. “I’ve been burned by his type before,” I said quickly.

“His type?” he asked, his eyebrows lifting high on his forehead.

I swallowed hard, realizing the type was musicians, and Benny was one as well. One that was about to be married.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean any disrespect to you or Kayla. It’s just, Theo has a lot of temptations surrounding him, and I worried he couldn’t handle them. Today, I witnessed that he couldn’t,” I explained.

Benny looked surprised, his eyebrows still lifted high on his face, and his eyes widened. “Wow. That surprises even me. I’ve known Theo a long time, and that’s just not his style. Are you sure you saw what you saw?” he asked.

I forced a smile. “I saw what I saw.”

It was too familiar. Mac with his pants undone, a brunette on her knees when I caught him backstage after a gig; it was the same thing. “It’s not what it looks like, baby,” Mac said. Ugh. I was over having a man tell me I was crazy, that I didn’t see what I knew I saw.

“Well, maybe talk to him and work it out. Like I said, I’ve known Theo for a long time. He’s a good guy, one of the last good ones. Give him a chance to explain, at least. He’s been so happy. It just blows my mind that he’d do anything to destroy that,” Benny said softly, standing from the couch.

He opened his arms and gave me a big hug. “Talk to him, before it gets out of hand,” he suggested.

“I have to go out of town in the morning for work. I’ll be gone a few days,” I said, concerned now that maybe I hadn’t seen what I thought I saw. No. Don’t get sucked in, Willow. But Benny was right. I did need to talk to Theo.

“Well. He’s pretty drunk now. Maybe you’ll have time in the morning,” he said, giving me a quick hug before heading out the door.

I turned off all the lights and headed upstairs. It was late, and I had to be up early, but if Theo was awake, I’d at least let him know my plans.

Upstairs, Theo’s loud snores echoed down the halls. I peeked in his room, finding him lying on his back wearing only a pair of basketball shorts and his hair still wet from the shower.

His abs rippled down his chest like a beautiful ocean tide that I wanted to swim in. My heart fluttered as I stared at the man I’d fallen for, and the one who had made me fall for his lies.

A part of me still wanted to crawl into bed with him, to curl up and feel his warmth. I walked into the room quietly, pulled the blankets over Theo, and fought the urge to lean in and give him a kiss on those perfect lips.

I started to walk away when a grip tightened around my wrist, pulling me back towards the bed. “I love you,” Theo mumbled, his eyes barely open.

My heart ached, wanting to fall into his arms. His eyes fell closed again, and the snores continued.