Tossed Into Love
Page 35
“It will be okay. One way or another, it will be okay, Libby. That I can promise you.”
Grabbing her hand, I pull it away from my mouth. “What if he doesn’t forgive me?”
“Then he doesn’t deserve you, and you will find someone who does. Someone who will cherish you exactly like you deserve.”
“What if—”
“Enough with the what-ifs, child.” She lets me go and stands. “Right now I’m going to make you some tea. Then you’re going to go upstairs, wash that makeup that’s running down your face away, and go to bed. Tomorrow you’re going to start a new day knowing that, one way or another, things will work out.”
“Okay,” I agree, watching her walk slowly to the kitchen.
When she comes back, she hands me a cup of tea that smells like peppermint. I drink it while she watches in silence. My mind is in turmoil.
“Is she sleeping?” I swear I hear my sister Fawn, but I know I must be dreaming.
“Her eyes are closed, so my guess is yes,” Mac answers.
I frown. Why am I dreaming about my sisters?
“Should we wake her up?” At that question, I blink my eyes open and stare at my sisters, who are both standing over my bed. “Never mind. She’s awake now,” Fawn says, and her face softens. “Hey.”
“What are you guys doing here?” I ask, looking between my sisters. They both have concerned looks on their faces.
“Mom called us,” Mac answers, taking a seat on the bed. She jumps up a second later when she accidentally sits on Pool, who was under the blankets.
“You got a cat.” Fawn picks up the kitten and holds him against her chest.
“That’s Pool,” I tell her, feeling my chest get tight.
Why did I let Antonio name him? Now I’m going to be reminded of him every time I say the name.
“He’s cute,” Mac says, taking him from Fawn.
“Why did Mom call you?” I ask, bringing the situation back into focus.
They both look at me.
“Miss Ina called her last night and told her what happened.”
“Great.” I close my eyes, wishing that I could go back to sleep and wake up with last night being nothing but a really bad dream.
“How are you doing?” Fawn asks, sliding my hair away from my face.
My heart feels like it’s been ripped out of my body and stomped all over, then run over a few times. I open my eyes and sit up.
“I’m okay. You guys didn’t need to come over.”
“We’re your sisters. Of course we needed to come over.” Mac sighs as Fawn walks around to take a seat next to me on the bed. “We know we’ve sucked lately. We’re sorry for not being here for you.”
“You both have your lives to live. I get it. It’s okay,” I say quietly as my throat starts to get tight.
“It’s not okay that we’ve gotten so caught up in what’s going on in our own lives that we’ve neglected our baby sister,” Mac says, picking up my hand and giving it a squeeze. “What happened?” she asks.
I drop my head forward and look at her hand holding mine. Then I tell them everything that’s happened between Antonio and me—including the fact that I gave him my virginity.
“I really am a jerk,” Fawn says when I finish. “I had no idea you were going through so much.”
“I didn’t tell anyone.” I shrug, and she leans into my side while I keep my eyes on my lap.
“I know. But I also didn’t ask. I’m sorry,” she says quietly.
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” Mac says.
I lift my eyes to her when I hear the angry tone in her voice.
“I knew something was going on with you and Antonio, and I didn’t ask you about it. I should have asked you about it.”
“I don’t know that I would have told you anything—even if you did ask,” I admit. Her face softens. “Now I don’t think it matters anyway, since I doubt I will ever see him again.”
Hearing Fawn snort, I look over at her. “Once he cools off, he’ll come around.”
“He was really mad.”
“Yeah, and he has a reason to be mad. But he will realize that he overreacted and come around. Just give him some time.”
I don’t think that she’s right. He was good at pretending to hate me for years—and that was before I ever gave him a real reason to dislike me. Now that he has ammunition and a reason for why he shouldn’t trust me, I have a feeling that he’s going to use that to stay away from me for good. I don’t know exactly what his ex did, but I’m sure that, in one way or another, she lied to him and kept things from him. He’s probably put me right into the same box he put her into.
“I think you need alcohol,” Mac says.
I look over at the alarm on my bedside table. “It’s nine in the morning.”
“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” Fawn sings, and I laugh. “Come on. Get dressed. I’m going to search and see what I can find in your kitchen.” She shoves me out of bed, then scoots out behind me.
I grab a pair of sweats and one of my old shirts, then go into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. When I look in the mirror, I groan. I didn’t do as Miss Ina suggested and wash my face when I got home last night. Instead, I got into bed and held Pool while I cried some more. Grabbing a face wipe, I clean my old makeup off my face, then tie my hair up into a ponytail before I get dressed. I head into the living room and find Fawn in the kitchen, cooking. Mac is opening the bottle of white zinfandel that was in my fridge. Looking down when Pool circles my feet, I smile, pick him up, and kiss the top of his head.
“Here.” Mac hands me a glass full to the top with wine. I take it from her and raise a brow. “Drink up, sister.”
“I should probably call Martina before I get too drunk and explain to her what happened,” I say before taking a large drink of cold wine.
“Do you think she’s going to upset you more if you talk to her?” Fawn asks, looking troubled.
I shake my head.
“She knew I didn’t want to tell Antonio about purchasing the shop. I asked her and Tony not to tell him. I don’t want him to get to them before I have a chance to tell them that he knows and that he’s pissed, though.”
“I still don’t really understand why you didn’t want to tell him,” Mac says, studying me.
“That’s because my reasons were totally stupid—in hindsight.” I set down my glass of wine and grab my cell phone from my purse. When I turn on the screen, I see that I have a few missed calls from my mom and sisters. Ignoring my mom’s calls for now, I dial Martina’s number. I put my phone to my ear as I take a seat on the couch, keeping hold of Pool.
“I knew this would happen,” Martina says when she answers. My eyes slide closed. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I whisper.
“Oh, cara. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not, but it will be,” she says as I bury my face against Pool’s soft fur.
“Have you seen him? Is he okay?”
“He stopped by this morning to talk to me and his father. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to anything we had to say, so he left.”
“I’m sorry I dragged you and Tony into this stupid mess.” I sigh.
“It’s fine. I still don’t understand why you didn’t want to tell him, but Tony says that he does. Maybe I will try to have him explain it to me.”
“Maybe he can explain it to me, too,” I mutter.
She laughs. “Are you going to be okay, cara? Do you want me to come over?”
“My sisters are here with me, but thank you. I’m glad you’re not mad at me.”
“Of course I’m not mad at you. Us women need to stick together. My son will come around—just give him time.”
Give him time . . . I swear if I hear that one more time, I might lose my mind.
“I’ll give him time,” I agree, thinking that he’s got all the time in the world. I did wrong. I messed up by keeping something from him. But shouldn’t he have at least taken the time to listen to me when I tried to explain things to him? He should have known after all the times I tried to talk to him about the shop that I had a good reason for doing so.
Grabbing her hand, I pull it away from my mouth. “What if he doesn’t forgive me?”
“Then he doesn’t deserve you, and you will find someone who does. Someone who will cherish you exactly like you deserve.”
“What if—”
“Enough with the what-ifs, child.” She lets me go and stands. “Right now I’m going to make you some tea. Then you’re going to go upstairs, wash that makeup that’s running down your face away, and go to bed. Tomorrow you’re going to start a new day knowing that, one way or another, things will work out.”
“Okay,” I agree, watching her walk slowly to the kitchen.
When she comes back, she hands me a cup of tea that smells like peppermint. I drink it while she watches in silence. My mind is in turmoil.
“Is she sleeping?” I swear I hear my sister Fawn, but I know I must be dreaming.
“Her eyes are closed, so my guess is yes,” Mac answers.
I frown. Why am I dreaming about my sisters?
“Should we wake her up?” At that question, I blink my eyes open and stare at my sisters, who are both standing over my bed. “Never mind. She’s awake now,” Fawn says, and her face softens. “Hey.”
“What are you guys doing here?” I ask, looking between my sisters. They both have concerned looks on their faces.
“Mom called us,” Mac answers, taking a seat on the bed. She jumps up a second later when she accidentally sits on Pool, who was under the blankets.
“You got a cat.” Fawn picks up the kitten and holds him against her chest.
“That’s Pool,” I tell her, feeling my chest get tight.
Why did I let Antonio name him? Now I’m going to be reminded of him every time I say the name.
“He’s cute,” Mac says, taking him from Fawn.
“Why did Mom call you?” I ask, bringing the situation back into focus.
They both look at me.
“Miss Ina called her last night and told her what happened.”
“Great.” I close my eyes, wishing that I could go back to sleep and wake up with last night being nothing but a really bad dream.
“How are you doing?” Fawn asks, sliding my hair away from my face.
My heart feels like it’s been ripped out of my body and stomped all over, then run over a few times. I open my eyes and sit up.
“I’m okay. You guys didn’t need to come over.”
“We’re your sisters. Of course we needed to come over.” Mac sighs as Fawn walks around to take a seat next to me on the bed. “We know we’ve sucked lately. We’re sorry for not being here for you.”
“You both have your lives to live. I get it. It’s okay,” I say quietly as my throat starts to get tight.
“It’s not okay that we’ve gotten so caught up in what’s going on in our own lives that we’ve neglected our baby sister,” Mac says, picking up my hand and giving it a squeeze. “What happened?” she asks.
I drop my head forward and look at her hand holding mine. Then I tell them everything that’s happened between Antonio and me—including the fact that I gave him my virginity.
“I really am a jerk,” Fawn says when I finish. “I had no idea you were going through so much.”
“I didn’t tell anyone.” I shrug, and she leans into my side while I keep my eyes on my lap.
“I know. But I also didn’t ask. I’m sorry,” she says quietly.
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay,” Mac says.
I lift my eyes to her when I hear the angry tone in her voice.
“I knew something was going on with you and Antonio, and I didn’t ask you about it. I should have asked you about it.”
“I don’t know that I would have told you anything—even if you did ask,” I admit. Her face softens. “Now I don’t think it matters anyway, since I doubt I will ever see him again.”
Hearing Fawn snort, I look over at her. “Once he cools off, he’ll come around.”
“He was really mad.”
“Yeah, and he has a reason to be mad. But he will realize that he overreacted and come around. Just give him some time.”
I don’t think that she’s right. He was good at pretending to hate me for years—and that was before I ever gave him a real reason to dislike me. Now that he has ammunition and a reason for why he shouldn’t trust me, I have a feeling that he’s going to use that to stay away from me for good. I don’t know exactly what his ex did, but I’m sure that, in one way or another, she lied to him and kept things from him. He’s probably put me right into the same box he put her into.
“I think you need alcohol,” Mac says.
I look over at the alarm on my bedside table. “It’s nine in the morning.”
“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” Fawn sings, and I laugh. “Come on. Get dressed. I’m going to search and see what I can find in your kitchen.” She shoves me out of bed, then scoots out behind me.
I grab a pair of sweats and one of my old shirts, then go into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. When I look in the mirror, I groan. I didn’t do as Miss Ina suggested and wash my face when I got home last night. Instead, I got into bed and held Pool while I cried some more. Grabbing a face wipe, I clean my old makeup off my face, then tie my hair up into a ponytail before I get dressed. I head into the living room and find Fawn in the kitchen, cooking. Mac is opening the bottle of white zinfandel that was in my fridge. Looking down when Pool circles my feet, I smile, pick him up, and kiss the top of his head.
“Here.” Mac hands me a glass full to the top with wine. I take it from her and raise a brow. “Drink up, sister.”
“I should probably call Martina before I get too drunk and explain to her what happened,” I say before taking a large drink of cold wine.
“Do you think she’s going to upset you more if you talk to her?” Fawn asks, looking troubled.
I shake my head.
“She knew I didn’t want to tell Antonio about purchasing the shop. I asked her and Tony not to tell him. I don’t want him to get to them before I have a chance to tell them that he knows and that he’s pissed, though.”
“I still don’t really understand why you didn’t want to tell him,” Mac says, studying me.
“That’s because my reasons were totally stupid—in hindsight.” I set down my glass of wine and grab my cell phone from my purse. When I turn on the screen, I see that I have a few missed calls from my mom and sisters. Ignoring my mom’s calls for now, I dial Martina’s number. I put my phone to my ear as I take a seat on the couch, keeping hold of Pool.
“I knew this would happen,” Martina says when she answers. My eyes slide closed. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I whisper.
“Oh, cara. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not, but it will be,” she says as I bury my face against Pool’s soft fur.
“Have you seen him? Is he okay?”
“He stopped by this morning to talk to me and his father. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to anything we had to say, so he left.”
“I’m sorry I dragged you and Tony into this stupid mess.” I sigh.
“It’s fine. I still don’t understand why you didn’t want to tell him, but Tony says that he does. Maybe I will try to have him explain it to me.”
“Maybe he can explain it to me, too,” I mutter.
She laughs. “Are you going to be okay, cara? Do you want me to come over?”
“My sisters are here with me, but thank you. I’m glad you’re not mad at me.”
“Of course I’m not mad at you. Us women need to stick together. My son will come around—just give him time.”
Give him time . . . I swear if I hear that one more time, I might lose my mind.
“I’ll give him time,” I agree, thinking that he’s got all the time in the world. I did wrong. I messed up by keeping something from him. But shouldn’t he have at least taken the time to listen to me when I tried to explain things to him? He should have known after all the times I tried to talk to him about the shop that I had a good reason for doing so.
