by the detached attitude, my phone suddenly went hurtling across the room – and into a wall. A move I immediately regretted as I eyed the aftermath scattered across my carpeted floor. I strolled the short distance and squatted, scoffing at my idiocy as I gathered up every last piece. I didn’t gain anything by doing it, but as usual, my temper had gotten the better of me all because of one woman. A woman I happened to love deeply.
Tucking the sim card into my trouser pocket, I shifted my tense-filled shoulders and rose, straightening before returning my contemplative gaze to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Once again, finding myself staring out at a cloudless blue sky filled by a plethora of towering skyscrapers with no end in sight.
It’s a turmoil I’ve faced since we began stepping precariously through the muddy waters of Teddy’s past. Once all was out in the open, I naively thought the life we shared would become less complicated, calmer. More importantly, her needs and desires would lessen. Instead, her moods have sent me delicately walking through a minefield. From one day to the next, we seemed to be locked in an endless loop either battling our expectations or pushing one another's buttons, ultimately leading me to question everything about her, about us.
I blew out a disparaging sigh as Asher’s advice came back to haunt me. Perhaps taking a break from one another wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
Whilst that sounded ideal in theory, it was a decision that had my head at war with my heart as I listlessly wandered back to my desk wondering if separation, temporary or not, was the solution. I’d mull over it later with a few glasses of bourbon.
But even as I slogged through the backlog piled beside me, the burning urge for bourbon rose with each maddening thought. One was the revelation that my uncle was the culprit, an unexpected confession that initially left us speechless. After that, something inside of me snapped. In truth, I went ballistic, breaking a statue as well as another priceless relic, leaving them both scattered in pieces over the floor. The repercussions of my actions, along with the repair bill, weren’t well-received at all.
My outburst naturally astonished everyone involved. Teddy and my mother expressly as they both hysterically pleaded with me to stop my trail of destruction whilst my father desperately tried to hold me back. A less than stellar behaviour that led Teddy down the self-recrimination path as she revealed Emmett’s recent conduct at Bricks and Mortar.
“It’s my fault! By not running from him, I allowed that animal to hurt me and to act out whatever sick fantasy he had planned in his disgusting mind!” she had screeched as heart-wrenching sobs wracked her entire body.
Her upset state then led me to confront my father over Emmett’s assertions, regarding his familiarity with her whereabouts.
His aggrieved response came swiftly as he steadfastly refuted Emmett’s claims, “I did no such thing! And how dare that lying sack of shit slander my good name in pursuit of his own twisted agenda!”
Adding to our discontent was Teddy‘s admission she had caught him weeks beforehand in the garage below Bricks and Mortar, flagrantly watching her from behind a concrete pillar. It had taken a lot of restraint on my part to table my feelings after that little disclosure.
It's not that I doubted her version of events, I just needed to see for myself, thus requesting the CCTV footage from Spencer. Naturally, he happily obliged, and thankfully without the intrusive questions. My anger unearthing as the footage confirmed the bastard’s insidious tendencies for stalking her, for possibly months by the looks of it. Above all, the vision also explained Teddy’s bizarre behaviours from thereon in.
Right alongside Therese, the depraved prick had skyrocketed to the top of my shit list. He was a dead man.
Regardless of the bumps in our relationship, I still loved Teddy with every fibre of my being, and moving forward was a given. However, before doing so, it required us finding resolve as well as us learning to compromise over our issues. With any luck, our therapist might offer the solution we so desperately sought in our upcoming appointment. Until then, I had a promise to uphold, or World War Three may end up raining down on me instead.
Chapter Two
GATHERING BY THE DELIGHTFUL smells wafting as I promptly arrived at Teddy’s, my timing was perfect. But as I strolled up the footpath and onto the front porch, my stomach flopped. The nerves for some ridiculous reason had set in as my imagination began running amok with every possible scenario over the greeting I may or may not receive. I located one of the antique metal chairs beneath the verandah and gently lowered myself into the soft cushions. My chin brushing the delicate petals of the two-dozen pink tea roses clutched in my shaking hand as I sat down — flowers I’d thoughtfully purchased on the way over to ignite forgiveness, both ways. That was the plan anyway.
A shuddering breath expelling, I steeled myself for the inevitable and pushed back to my feet. But upon opening the door and entering the foyer, I heard the magical sounds of piano from Teddy’s compiled playlist flowing amongst the high-spirited laughter, making me realise my fears were unfounded. Given a rush of confidence, I closed the door behind me and made my approach towards the kitchen with strides matching my equally widening smile.
It was a blossoming state that was short-lived.
The second I heard the name Damien Rivers pass my sister’s lips in her typically fast-paced manner, my broad smile morphed into a hardpressed line, and my evenly paced footfalls slowed. Of all people, and more importantly, why did it have to be that little charmer? Didn’t he learn the last time I belted him? Memories I intended to recreate if he came anywhere near Dominique again. It seemed my idiotic sister needed a timely reminder as well.
But upon marching into the kitchen, my aggrieved steps immediately faltered in the doorway. Anguished tears misted my mortified gaze as I surveyed an emaciated Teddy flit between the elaborate gas cooker and the island bench, passing piping hot trays filled with homemade gourmet pizzas to Poppy. She spotted me before Teddy, offering a token a smile at least.
“Hey, Ari,” she addressed, slicing through each pizza meticulously with the stainless-steel pizza cutter she wielded.
“Um…hi, Poppy,” I spluttered as I scrambled to collect my thoughts. But having heard our awkward greeting, the room suddenly converged into an ominous silence as anxious gazes observed, clearly waiting for the tense exchange between myself and Teddy as she finally looked up.
Holding my dazed expression, she brusquely shared her discontent, “It seems I’m not worthy of a hello.”
Ashamed over my apparent lack of attention, I ducked my head, avoiding everyone's judgemental gazes. My jaw ticked, and my eyes darted as I self-depreciated: how had I not noticed her pain or the fact she hadn’t been eating or sleeping? And how had I selfishly determined my feelings preceded hers? Putting it simply: I had failed her. Perhaps, if I’d spent less time wallowing, and more time paying attention, she wouldn’t appear to look so pained.
“Ari, are you, all right? You look pale.” Hearing her sweet voice along with the sound of her bare but soft footfalls walking over the timber boards towards me, jolted me awake.
I was about to express similar words when wisely, I thought better of it. I was here to make amends with Teddy, not argue with her, so I purposely dropped the bouquet onto the bench before promptly sweeping a surprised Teddy into my arms, laying a wet, hungry kiss to her lips all the while breathing in her perfumed scent. Oh, how I had missed this, missed us.
Underappreciating us had cost our relationship significantly. If anything,
