I’m not sure if Harold was right when he told me to allow my personal situation to influence my writing because for the past five days I’ve made no progress on my books. The exchange with Heath is still fresh on my mind. I can’t seem the shake the betrayal that I feel. I know this funk is part of the problem. I haven’t had a case of writer’s block in months and now is not the time for my brain to shut down.
School is back in session in two days, and the time I thought I had to make a dent in what my editor needs from me is almost gone. Ruby insisted that she take the kids over the weekend so I can work. It’s not that there’s a problem with having them here, they don’t need the constant watchful eye like they did when they were younger, but it’s the noises. The occasional laugh or burst of anger. The opening and closing of doors, or the muffled murmurs of their conversations that bother me. I need quiet, and sometimes that’s not possible with two teenagers at home.
I hear the jiggling of keys in the front door, and then I hear it click closed. Wondering what the kids want, I place my laptop on my bed, swinging my legs to the side.
“Whit?” Heath’s voice sounds a bit shaky.
Padding over to my door, I swing it open to find Heath, looking ragged. His hair’s in disarray, there are dark circles under his eyes, and his typically clean-shaven face is sprinkled with salt and pepper flecks.
“What are you doing here?” I keep my posture rigid, hand gripped firmly on the door because I don’t want him thinking that he can walk into my room like he did before my trip to New York.
“I’ve been calling, and texting you for the past few days, since we last talked. You haven’t been answering.”
“What?”
“Why haven’t you been answering?”
“I didn’t know you called. Hold on.” I turn around and grab my purse, fishing for my phone.
“Is this about those papers? I thought everything was all right.”
“Everything is all right,” I call from over my shoulder as I take the phone from my purse. I turn around, showing Heath my phone. “See, no calls.” I turn the phone back around, unlocking it. “Not since…” my voice trails off as I scroll through my phone. I have nothing from Heath. No calls, no texts.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“I blocked you.” I laugh.
“You what?” He takes a step into my room, an inquisitive look on his face.
I sigh, thinking this is way too funny, “There’s an option on our phones where you can block callers so they don’t disturb you. I guess I blocked you.”
“I can’t believe you blocked me.” His voice goes up an octave.
I brush past him, leading him to the living room. “I didn’t do it on purpose. Geez.”
“So we’re okay?” he calls after me as I head into the kitchen.
“Yes. Fine.” I pull open the fridge to grab a couple of teas. When I turn back around, I take in his appearance again. “Is that why you look like death warmed over? Because I haven’t answered you?” I ask as I hand him a bottle of ice tea.
“Yeah.” He twists the cap, bringing the bottle to his lips, and I watch the movement of his neck as he swallows the liquid down. He moans in approval as he drinks. When he brings his head back down, his eyes meet mine, and he gives me a knowing look. The dismal Heath has the gleam in his eyes back. He was honestly bothered by my lack of communication. Five months ago, I don’t think it would have mattered to him if we hadn’t talked in days.
“It really bothered you, didn’t it?”
He licks the tea from his lips. “Hell yes, it bothered me.” He takes a step towards me, setting his tea on the counter. His hands wrap around my hips, tugging me to him. “Do you know how hard it is to give you the time and space you need while at the same time freaking out because the last thing I want is to be away from you? At least when you answer my calls or text, I get bits and pieces of you. These past few days have been hell.”
“Whitney?” Liam’s voice travels from the front door. “Your door was open. You need to keep that locked.” His gaze lands on Heath, traveling down the length of our bodies and stopping where Heath’s hands are. “Hey, Heath.”
“Hey,” Heath says, not letting go. When he turns his attention back towards me, his face softens a bit. “I need you to take Harper for a couple weeks.”
“Oh, okay, why?”
“I have a job out of town, and I leave early tomorrow morning.”
“Okay, no problem. I’ll come by and grab her if that’s all right.”
“She’s in the truck. I thought it would be easier for me to bring her to you. I’ll go get her.” He nods towards Liam, and leaves the house, closing the door behind him.
“I’m sorry, Whitney. I honestly didn’t know that he was here.” Liam turns back to the door. “I saw your door ajar, and I was worried.”
“No, it’s fine. I didn’t know Heath was coming over. He just showed up.”
I hear Heath’s voice as he tries to control our dog. There’s a few ‘no’s’ and ‘settles’ before Heath pushes through with Harper in the lead. Her tongue is hanging out, clearly excited. When she sees me, she tries to wiggle her way from Heath’s grip towards me. She pulls on her leash, whimpering when he won’t let her go.
Walking over to her, I bend down to pat and kiss her head. “It looks like you’re staying with me for a while, huh, baby?”
“I know you don’t have much of a yard–”
I stand, still petting Harper’s head. “No, it’s all right. Between the kids and me, we’ll make sure she gets enough exercise.”
“I wouldn’t mind walking her either,” Liam says as he takes a step towards her, reaching his hand out so she can sniff him. “I’m sure Talia would love hanging out with her. She loves dogs.”
“Who’s Talia?” Heath asks as he lets Harper’s leash slack a bit.
“She’s my four-year-old daughter.”
Heath nods at that piece of information, and then turns his attention to me, pushing her leash in my direction. “I need to go grab her food and dishes.”
“Okay.” I take the time to walk Harper through the condo, showing her around and finally letting her out to the backyard so she can get her sniffing out of the way. Liam is standing in the kitchen, hands crossed over his chest with a concerned look on his face. When I close the door, I face Liam.
“Did you need anything?”
“I saw you the other night.”
“What do you mean?”
“The other night when you came home. You were crying. I called your name, but you ran into your house. Heath came barreling around the corner soon after you made it inside. I was worried, but I didn’t want to pry.”
I wish he didn’t see me like that. “Thank you.” I take a step towards him, needing to tell him, but not wanting Heath to hear. “I found divorce papers–”
“Here’s everything,” Heath says as he enters the room. Setting a very large bag on the counter, he steps back and looks between Liam and me. His finger dances between the two of us, “What’s going on?”
“You filed for divorce?” Liam stands at his full height as he questions Heath. “How the fuck could you let a woman like Whitney go?”
“Liam–” I try to stop him, but Heath beats me to it.
“Not that it’s any of your damn business, but I’m not letting my wife go–quite the opposite, actually. I didn’t file for divorce–”
“So she finally decides not to be shit on by an undeserving husband, and instead of fighting–”
“Fuck you, man. You have no business in this,” Heath barks.
“Like hell I do. Whitney’s my friend, and it’s about damn time someone thinks about her for a change.” His fists are clenched at his side, jet set like stone as his stare hardens.
“Stop it,” I scream, done with listening to this pissing match. “Neither of you are thinking about me right now. Liam, I wasn’t able to finish what I was trying to tell you, so please drop it.” I turn to Heath. “I’ll take care of Harper, no problem. Don’t worry about the kids. They’ll be fine.”
His chest is slightly heaving when he looks at me. Taking a deep breath, he calms himself. “I’ll call you.” He takes a step towards me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a hug. When his arms fall to his sides, he turns around leaves the condo without another word.