Chapter 19
She brought her dad back home four days later, and it had been nearly a week since she last saw Theo. Nora could sense that he had been avoiding her. Every time she left the hospital and returned, her dad said that Theo had visited him. It was almost like he’d been keeping an eye on the hospital to make note of when she wasn’t going to be there, so that he wouldn’t have to bump into her.
Now that her dad was back in the house, Theo had practically no choice but to see her again. Nora opened the door when he knocked that evening, and he was standing on the other side with his hands thrust into the pockets of his jeans.
Nora felt a wave of emotions when she saw him. She was relieved and excited to see him, instantly aroused by just his sight and at the same time she was embarrassed and angry.
“Hello, Nora. You look well,” Theo said in his usual deep smooth voice which prickled her skin.
“Hi,” she replied meekly and tucked some of her blond hair behind her ears.
“How is Andy?” he asked, stepping into the house and Nora closed the door behind him. She was in a loose navy striped t-shirt and was wearing small denim cutoffs underneath. She noticed how his eyes travelled down her legs and back up again. He couldn’t help himself, just like she couldn’t help staring at him either. Now she knew exactly how his body moved, how his skin felt against hers, the strength in his grip…she gulped.
“Dad is fine. He’s in his bedroom now, with the TV on. The doctors have advised him to take it easy for a few days,” she said, following Theo into the living room.
“You’ll have to enforce the rules around here,” he said with a casual smile and their eyes locked and Nora looked away. She couldn’t stop herself from blushing while he stared at her, drinking her in.
“Nora, I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you these past few days,” he said and she shook her head, trying to make him think she didn’t care as much as she did. “But I needed time away from you to think and clear my head. Do you understand?” he spoke like he was speaking to a child and Nora glared at him. She didn’t need him to explain what was happening. She knew already!
“I spoke to your wife. Or rather, she spoke to me,” Nora said and folded her arms over her breasts. She noticed the way he followed her movement and his gaze settled on her breasts for a moment and then he looked away again.
“Violet spoke to you? Where?” he asked, crossing his brows.
“We bumped into each other at the cafe and she insisted that we have a little chat,” Nora said and Theo took in a deep breath.
“What did she say?” he asked and Nora could already see the rising anger in his eyes.
“She suspects that something happened between us on the night that dad had his stroke. And she threatened me to stay away from you,” Nora said and saw that Theo was now clenching his fists and his jaws. He was pissed off.
“She is vile,” he said through gritted teeth and shook his head. “I’ve lost count of how many men she’s slept with over the course of our marriage,” he said and Nora’s eyes grew large. That wasn’t what she was expecting to hear.
“Violet’s cheated on you?” she asked and Theo threw her an angry look.
“At least a dozen times, as far as I know,” he replied and Nora felt confused again.
“And you both are still together!” she said and Theo gritted his teeth.
“I keep forgiving her and she keeps begging for forgiveness. Not that what happened between us is somehow all right just because Violet cheats on me,” he said and Nora gulped. She could feel her heart beating fast, her knees feeling weak. What gave him the right to be this righteous? Why couldn’t he for once do what felt right and not what he thought was the right thing to do?!
“Theo…I…” she began to say, with a tear rising in her voice and he threw her another threatening look.
“I’ll deal with Violet, don’t worry. I’ll make sure she never harasses you again, Nora,” he said in a kinder voice and she shook her head. Facing harassment from Violet was not the problem. The problem was that she didn’t want to stay away from him. The past four days when she didn’t see him was torture, and he didn’t seem to understand.
“Okay, but…” she tried to say again but Theo interrupted her.
“You don’t have to worry, Nora. I’m sorry about all this,” he said and stepped towards her. Nora’s heart raced in her chest as she anticipated being in his arms again. She stepped towards him too and when they were inches away, they heard footsteps on the stairs.
“Theo, is that you? Come look at the tray of medications I’m supposed to be taking!” her father’s voice blew in and Theo backed away from her.
“Be right up, Andy!” Theo called out, keeping his eyes locked with hers. She bit down on her lip, suppressing a cry of anguish as she watched him walking away from her.
“Take care of yourself, Nora,” he said before he left the room.
She sank down on the couch. The very one they had made love on and she could hear his voice upstairs as he laughed with her father. She covered her face with both hands as she tried to think what the best thing to do would be. Leave, that would be the best option.