Forsaking All Others (From This Day Forward Book 2) (6 page)

“You have no right to contest this, David. No right!”

He slams his hand down on the table next to the sofa. “That’s where you’re wrong. I have every goddamn right. You are my wife! I fucked up, I’m well aware, but I’ll be damned if I let you go without a fight!”

And right on cue, here come the waterworks. Why can’t I just be angry? Why do I have to cry? I need to end this fight now. I don’t have any energy left to expend here.

My voice comes out much softer than I anticipated, “Please, David. Please don’t make me relive it. I don’t want to see Jess every time I look at you—just like you don’t want to look at me and see Landon. We’re poison to each other, you and me.”

He moves around behind the sofa, and I’m not sure if he’s aware that he’s just placed a barrier between us.

“Beth, I love you. I love you so damn much and I’m not signing the papers. I’ve got sixty days, the way I see it. Sixty days to make you see what a mistake this is.”

Damn.
He’s been doing his research. The sadistic side of me thought he’d sign the papers and run off to start a new life with Jess. My inner romantic hoped he’d do exactly what he’s doing now. To say I’m experiencing internal conflict would be putting it mildly.

I sit down on the floor, my legs suddenly refusing to cooperate anymore. “You’re really going to fight me? You want to go before a judge to settle this?”

Please say yes.
What? No. I meant please say no.

He nods at me, “If that’s what it takes. In the meantime, be prepared to see a lot of me, baby. Because I’m not going anywhere.”

I can’t think straight anymore. My head is swimming in anger and lust. “Get out, David.”

The fight goes out of his eyes and I breathe a sigh of relief. I can’t handle any more drama today.

“So, I guess you’re taking a raincheck on sex tonight or is that still on the table?”

My inner romantic peeks out from behind the bedroom door. I cannot help it. His comment is so out of left field that my mouth hangs open and I can’t find the words.

He smiles at me, the cocky son-of-a-bitch. “Should I alert the media that I’ve rendered Beth Greene speechless?”

He’s still leaning across the back of the sofa and I’m mentally cursing it for blocking my view of his body. Not that I’m going to cave in to his demands, I just want to see the effect this conversation is having on him. That’s it. It’s purely for research purposes.

I frown at him so he knows I mean business, “Good night, David. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.”

My phone rings less than a minute after he leaves. I answer with a groan, “David. I can’t talk to you right now. I already told–”

Lauren’s laugh travels through the phone. “You do realize it’s 2014 don’t you? I mean technology has come a long way. We have this new thing known as caller ID. It actually shows you who is calling. All you have to do is look at your screen and voilà.”

I groan, “Okay, smartass. I get it. Why are you calling?”

Her voice gets higher, “I just wanted to check in on you. Maybe I’m in the neighborhood and wanted to stop by.”

I go to take off my glasses so I can rub my eyes before realizing I made myself wear contacts today.

“Why are you lying? Did he call you? Tell you I needed company?”

“Well, in the year of our Lord, two thousand fourteen, we also have this newfangled technology that allows us to send mini emails directly to another person’s phone. They call it texting. Silly me, I didn’t clarify what emails are. When—”

I interrupt her technology rant, “I get it. Just come over. I don’t care anymore!” I say the last part with laughter though.

Lauren arrives within five minutes carrying a couple of grocery bags. She pulls out ice cream, yogurt, milk, and four different packages of cheese. There’s sliced cheese, cubed cheese, a wedge of cheese, and even shredded cheese.

I look at her questioningly. “Laur—what is all this?”

She grins proudly, “I’ve been doing my research into this pregnancy business. And, calcium is extremely important during pregnancy. You need to be consuming at least a thousand milligrams daily. What—why are you laughing at me?”

“I’m laughing at the fact that the woman who relies on restaurants for the majority of her meals is lecturing me on the importance of calcium. Thank you for bringing all of this.”

She comes over to where I’m standing and hands me a container of yogurt, “Okay. Now that we got that out of the way. Spill it. Why is David texting that you need me?”

I grab a spoon from the drawer and sit back down at the island. “He was, um, here earlier,” her eyes widen and I nod, “Yeah, he was here to discuss the divorce. We discussed it and he’s very willing to sign everything and just move on.” My voice has taken on the same higher pitch that Lauren’s did on the phone earlier.
I’m a terrible liar.

She holds the spoon, the same spoon that she’s been using to sample the ice cream, out at me like a weapon. “You’re lying! Spill it now, girl. I want the details!”

I fill her in and although I try to leave out the part where we kissed, she catches on and I have to start over from the beginning. Once I finish, she takes another bite of ice cream and immediately starts trying to talk around it.

“Gah, it’s cold! So, he went all caveman on you.
You wife. Never leave. Stay with David forever
. Did he drag you by your hair back to his cave?” she giggles at her own joke.

I smile. “He was very much the alpha male. I’m just glad he didn’t pee on my leg to mark me as his for all eternity!”

“I’m pretty sure he did mark you, babe.” She gestures to my stomach, “He just doesn’t know about it yet.”

I sigh and place my head in my hands on the island. “Don’t remind me. This pregnancy is wreaking havoc on my emotions and my libido. He kissed me and I was all set to run away to an island with him where we could live happily ever after. It’s just the pregnancy hormones—not him.”

She nods sagely, “So you feel turned on like this around every male you encounter? Wait—that means when you saw Landon earlier you wanted to jump his bones!”

I make a noise of protest followed by laughter. “Lauren, no one says ‘jump his bones’ anymore. I think that slang went out of style like ten years ago. And to answer your question—no, I did not want to have sex with Landon when I saw him earlier. The guy still gives me the creeps and I don’t fully know why.”

She jumps in, “No way. A lot of people still say they want to jump someone’s bones. And as far as Landon goes, you might be getting a weird vibe from him because the man is a creep. After the scene at
Nick’s
that night when he grabbed you—it still gives me chills. David thinks he’s the one that broke in to your house.” She slaps a hand over her mouth as if that will erase what she just said.

“Lauren,” my voice is very calm, “What do you mean David thinks Landon broke into the house? Have you been talking to him behind my back?”

I was almost one hundred percent certain that it was Landon, but it surprised me that David shared that suspicion as well. Back to the most pressing question of all, how does Lauren know this?

“Elizabeth, I shouldn’t have said anything. Let’s talk about something else. I know—how about those Rangers? I mean, they beat the White Sox last night, but boy has this season been rough. And they’ve got the Astros in a couple of days, it doesn’t look good right now.”

I push my chair back, the legs scraping loudly on the tile floor. “You’re talking to David behind my back aren’t you? What have you told him? Does he know I’m pregnant? Dammit, I trusted you, just like I trusted she who shall not be named. This is how you repay me?”

She comes after me as I storm out of the kitchen. “Wait! Elizabeth, wait. Just calm down!”

“Calm down? I need to calm down because yet another friend of mine has fallen under the spell that is David Greene?”

She holds her hands up and yells, “Stop shouting! It’s not what you think. I swear I haven’t been talking to David—his text to me tonight was the first I’d heard from him since everything happened!”

I’m practically panting with anger at this point and I push the words out through clenched teeth. “Then how do you know what David suspects in the case of the break-in? The only logical explanation is that you’re talking to him.”

“I’m sleeping with Mike!” She yells the words out over the last of mine and we stand in complete silence, staring at each other.

I cringe, “What? Oh my God. Laur—I’m sorry! And, congratulations? How long has this been going on? And why didn’t you tell me?”

“We’ve been sort of dating since the night we all went out together. And I was going to tell you, but I worried about what you’d think—worried we’d end up like this.”

I grab her in a rough hug, “I’m awful—I’m sorry. I’m not even going to try and blame this on pregnancy. It’s just that I lost one friend already and I couldn’t bear it if I lost you too.”

“I know it’s only been a couple of months, but I think I love him.”

I grin at her through tears, “That’s awesome news. He’s a good guy. What did you mean by ‘sort of dating’ though? It seems like you’re legitimately dating him if you ask me.”

She moves away from me and sits down on the sofa. “Well, we didn’t know how either of you would take it, so we’ve kept everything very low key. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it anymore. Let me see the pictures of my future niece or nephew again.”

I go into the bedroom and retrieve the pictures, handing them to her as I sit down in my chair. “Laur—I know you don’t wanna talk about it anymore, but seeing as to how my soon to be ex-husband left me with a severe case of female blue balls—is Mike, um, big everywhere?”

Her eyes widen, “Elizabeth Greene, you did not just ask me if my boyfriend is ‘big.’ Dear lord, you really are letting these hormones take over aren’t you?”

I groan, “Yes. If I’m not puking, I’m dreaming up ways to seduce David. So, in light of the fact that some of us are going through a bit of dry spell, you owe me. I guess just tell me how the sex is.” I sigh as though I’m exasperated before winking at her.

She leans back into the sofa, laughing. “It’s a good thing I like so you much, you pervert. If you need to excuse yourself to take care of your ‘situation,’ I’ll just play Candy Crush on my phone while I wait. Oh and to answer your question—phenomenal. It’s absolutely phenomenal.”

Wait, what?

“You’re killing me. That’s all I get? Phenomenal?”

She wipes away tears of laughter. “If I say anymore, I’m afraid you’ll spontaneously combust in your chair!”

“How am I going to make it through the next thirty-one weeks of pregnancy if I’m in this constant state of arousal?”

“You’ll be rubbing up against strangers on the street!” She snorts with laughter and falls apart all over again.

“You laugh now, Lauren. You won’t be laughing when I move my chair over right next to you at work and hump your leg!”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

It’s in this moment that I realize losing Jess isn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened. I’d clung to a friendship with someone who constantly needed the spotlight. And for a while, I was fine in the shadows. Since the accident though, I’ve been making my way into the light. It’s nice, you know. I’m enjoying the freedom of not living in someone else’s shadow and enjoying the warmth of the sun on my skin. Lauren isn’t necessarily someone I would’ve grown close to had everything not imploded with Jess. I’m thankful for that, even though it meant losing David.

As we sit and poke fun at one another, I think that I’ll be okay. I’ll make it through this loss and emerge stronger. It’s just impossible to imagine a future that doesn’t include David.

“So, David, what brings you here today?” The man sitting across from me reminds me so much of my dad that it’s hard to gather my bearings at first.

I knew it was going to take more than just deciding not to drink to win Beth back, so I reached out to Dr. White. She couldn’t see me due to it being a conflict of interest, with her being Beth’s therapist. She did, however, refer me to Dr. Alan Gregory though.

He doesn’t really resemble my old man, but there’s something about him that just makes me feel like opening up. He’s probably in his mid-sixties with long, graying hair that he has tied back in a ponytail. He’s wearing jeans and a Polo—not quite what I expected, but considering I’m as blue collar as they come, I appreciate the fact that he’s not in a suit. I think that was my biggest fear in coming here, feeling like I might not be able to open up and be myself.

Dr. Gregory—or Alan, as he’s asked me to call him—asked for me to plan on being here for about two hours, with it being our first visit. I’m glad as I spend the entire first hour recounting the events that led me here.

I told myself I wouldn’t bring up my dad, yet it’s the first thing out of my mouth. I’m pouring my guts out to a relative stranger and in a weird way, it feels so good to get it off my chest.

He just listens intently to me and encourages me to continue when I get quiet.

“D—Alan, I’m telling you things I never even told my wife. That’s a little unnerving, you know?”

He chuckled, “David, sometimes it’s easier to talk about the difficult things in a setting like this. There’s no fear of reproach or condemnation. You have the floor during our time together. I will offer my thoughts when necessary, but right now you’re getting your story out in the open. In order for me to best help you, you have to tell me your story in your own words. From there, we can sift through it and extract key pieces.”

I leave his office feeling lighter than I have since I lost my old man. I’m scheduled to meet with him again in a week.
No wonder Beth wanted to go to Dr. White.
She was probably able to finally open up about all the negative surrounding us.

I pick up my phone and tap her name in. I look over at the clock in my truck and see that it’s almost noon. She gets off work early on Fridays and I need to see her. It’s been over a week. I also don’t have anywhere to be this afternoon as my foreman assured me everything was under control on our current job site.

Me:

Good afternoon, baby.

Can I pick you up for lunch?

Beth:

Baby? Are you day drinking now?

Did you forget we’re getting a divorce?

Me:

Like I told you the other night, I’ve got sixty days.

And if I remember correctly, you seemed to be having second thoughts as well.

Beth:

David—I can’t. It’ll just make it harder.

Me:

Funny, you did that the other night too!

Seriously, just let me take you to lunch—one lunch, Beth.

Beth:

Fine. One lunch, but this doesn’t change anything.

That’s where you’re wrong, baby. It changes everything.

I pull up and park in her office parking lot. I find that twisting my wedding band in circles around my finger is a good distraction. Alan didn’t say anything in regards to my contact with Beth, but I need this to go well. I need for her to see how good we are together and I’m under a tremendous amount of stress out of this fear that I’ll screw it up.

The side door of the office building opens up and out walks Beth. She’s wearing a long black tank top over white capris and her hair is again pulled up in her signature messy bun. The sun glares off of her glasses and she raises a hand in an attempt to shield them. I can’t take my eyes off of her. She scans the lot before she sees my truck. I can’t help it, I’m fucking giddy when I see the smile on her face.

I get out and go around to open the passenger door for her. I end up wrapping my hands around her hips, lifting her up into the truck as she looks up at me with a smirk.

“I was promised lunch with no strings attached. Might you know anything about this?”

I settle her into her seat and press my lips to hers before answering, “Yep, just lunch between friends—no expectations.”

Her eyes darken and her lips part slightly, “Just lunch,” she repeats before snapping out of her stupor and continuing, “I’m starving—where are we headed?”

I drive us to a little café that we used to frequent when we were first married. I watch her face for signs of recognition and I’m a little disappointed when there are none. I know she’s still regaining her memory and the doctor said it would take some time, but damn do I wish she could remember us—and not just the bad parts.

“Where are we?”

I clear my throat, “Just a little place I think you’ll like.”

We head inside, out of the blazing heat, and over to an empty booth tucked into the corner. The red leather is worn and the entire place could probably use a good updating—in my head, I decide which walls I would tear down. I think these are the original booths from the late sixties, but they serve the best chicken fried steak around so I can overlook the décor.

A television is on in the corner, broadcasting the local news to the handful of people joining us in the café.

Beth sits down across from me, seemingly lost in thought, so it surprises the hell out of her when I reach across the table for her hand.

She gives me a warning look, but doesn’t pull away. It’s yet another confirmation in my mind that we can come back from this. I run my thumb along her wrist, enjoying the feel of her soft skin against my callused fingers.

Our waitress comes up to get our drink orders. She looks every bit the café waitress. Her gray hair is up in a tight bun, a pencil tucked behind one ear. Her old-school black glasses sit perched on her nose as she holds her notepad in one hand. “What can I get you two lovebirds?”

Beth pulls her hand away and I’m about to protest when I see her eyes are glued to the television set. The news anchors are showing a picture of a woman that I don’t recognize, but Beth sure seems to know who she is. She stands up and moves closer and I order two waters before following her.

“We are bringing you the case of a missing person this afternoon. Katya Egorichev, age thirty-two, was last seen on August 7th. She is 5’11” and has brown hair and green eyes. Egorichev, originally from Colorado, was in the area visiting friends when she disappeared. Her car was found at the hotel she had been staying at, along with her cell phone and personal belongings. If you have any information on the whereabouts of Katya Egorichev, you are urged to call the Crimestoppers hotline at—”

I tune out the rest and focus on Beth. She looks like she’s seen a ghost and nearly jumps out of her skin when I touch her.

“Beth, who is she? Do you know her?”

Her voice is barely above a whisper, “It’s Katya—Landon’s ex-girlfriend. He told me they broke up—back before the accident. I ran into him last Thursday.”

My blood runs cold. I knew he was shady, but this is putting him into a whole other category. This is Ted Bundy crazy—I just wonder if the police department is aware he’s the man they need to focus in on. I’m just thinking I need to call Mike when I see Beth’s face has drained of all color.

“I’m not feeling very well, David.” I place my arm around her in an attempt to get her back to the booth when she goes limp in my arms. I sink down to the floor with her, never letting go.

“Help me!” I call out to the waitress as I cradle my wife’s limp body in my arms.
She fainted—literally passed the fuck out from seeing that.

“Beth? Open your eyes, baby.”

The waitress, Deb, comes back over with a wet towel and a glass of water.

I place the towel on her face, hoping it will jar her back to consciousness and I’m instantly rewarded with the sight of those big baby blues.

She blinks a few times before she realizes she’s lying on the restaurant floor.

“What happened?”

“You fainted after seeing the news story on that missing girl. How do you feel now?”

She closes her eyes again and I worry she’s fainted again on me when she finally speaks. “Truthfully? I feel pretty damn embarrassed. Any chance that everyone in the restaurant left and no one saw?” Her eyes open again and fixate on me.

Another customer chooses that moment to interrupt. “Do you need me to call an ambulance? Is she going to be okay?”

I nod at the man, “She’s going to be fine. Her blood sugar got a little low and left her lightheaded. Thank you for your concern though.”

She smiles at me as he walks off, “Thanks. Any chance we can get our food to go?”