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.Keeping my mom in the dark gave me the upper hand in this situation.She was way craftier than I had ever imagined.How could she choose Heather over me? I was disgusted by my own mother.It made me wonder what else she was capable of doing.“Well, I’ll let you get some rest.Has any of your memory come back, spending time with Kate and Charlie?”“No.”“Have you taken your pills?”“I did.Good night,” I said curtly.“Good night,” she said, quietly closing the door behind her.Chapter 29: CharlieI wasn’t ready to go home, so I texted Kate I was coming to her house.I needed to talk to her and not on the phone.I also needed Neil’s advice about what I had done.As soon as Kate opened the door, I started talking.“I don’t know what you said to him, but I think we have a chance to get our life back.”“Oh, Charlie, I’m so glad.”“We’re going to see each other on Friday night.Who knows, maybe by then the meds will have helped his memory.I just need this nightmare to be over.” We sat on the sectional in her living room and Kate had a huge smile on her face.“Me too.I want this all to be over so we can get back to planning your wedding.”“Thanks, Kate.I’m so grateful to have you.Thank you for getting through to Mitch,” I said, placing my hand on hers.“Of course.You two are meant for each other.I really believe it’s all going to work out.”“I hope so, but a couple of things have happened that I haven’t told you about.”“Good things or bad things?”“They’re both bad.I’m going to need some advice from Neil.Is he home?”“Yes, he’s in his office.I’ll get him.”Kate went to get Neil and I contemplated what I was going to say.I knew Kate wouldn’t judge me, but I didn’t know how Neil was going to react to my news.I hoped he would be understanding and be able to tell me what I should do.“Charlie,” Neil said as they both returned.“It’s good to see you.Kate told me things are looking up.”They both sat next to me holding hands.I was really anxious about telling them what I had done and my stomach was twisted in knots.“I’m just going to come right out with the first problem.Garrett stayed with me last night and I had sex with him early this morning.”“Oh Charlie, what?” Kate asked, her eyes widening.Neil didn’t say anything.“I thought he was Mitch.It was dark, I’d had so much to drink, and I really thought…” I couldn’t finish, covering my mouth with my hand.My eyes filled with tears.“How did you and Garrett leave things?” Neil inquired.“He wanted to comfort me, but I made him leave.He told me he’s in love with me.”“Oh, shit.Charlie, this is a complication you just don’t need,” Kate interjected.“I know.I’m so angry with myself.I shouldn’t have had so much to drink.But when I saw Mitch and Heather, I had to drown the pain.I just couldn’t stand it.But all I managed to do was hurt Garrett and possibly ruin my relationship with Mitch.I don’t know what to do.”Kate and I both looked over at Neil, who sat there with his brow furrowed.“I’m not going to lie to you.It won’t matter to Mitch that you thought it was him and not Garrett.You slept with his brother.Chances are, he knows his brother has feelings for you.Mitch is really good at reading people,” Neil said somberly.“I know,” I said.“Should I tell him and beg his forgiveness?”“Normally, I would advise you not say a word, but it’s all going to unravel if Garrett ends up telling him.”“I know.I need to talk to Garrett.I hope he understands.”“Has Garrett had feelings for you for a long time?” Neil continued.“Yes.Years.”“Obviously Mitch doesn’t know right now, but I wonder if he knew before the accident.”“I need to find that out.I’m going to text Garrett and suggest we get together,” I said.“Clearing the air would be really good right now.If he tells Mitch it’s going to be really bad.Mitch might not forgive you.”“Charlie, I’m so sorry all of this is happening.What’s the other bad thing you wanted to talk about? Is it as bad as this?” Kate asked.“I saw Eric.”“No.Where did you see him?”“Who’s Eric?” Neil asked.“My abusive ex from high school.We broke up the day I met Mitch.”Neil nodded.“He was in line at the Mexican restaurant when I went to get dinner.”“Did he see you? Talk to you?”“Yes, we had a conversation.He knows about Mitch’s accident and that we aren’t together right now.”“But…how?” Kate questioned.“He’s the pharmacist where Mitch got his prescription filled.I guess Heather took him to get it and he talked to Mitch.I was really stunned to see him and he asked me out for coffee, saying he had been to anger management classes.”“What did you say?” Kate asked.“I told him I couldn’t right now because there was too much going on.”“What does your gut tell you? Do you think he was sincere?” Neil asked.“I had the chills the entire time I was talking to him.I couldn’t wait to get away from him.”“That’s bad, too.He didn’t follow you, did he?”“I don’t think so, but I really have no idea.He’s very crafty.” Glancing at my phone I realized it was getting late.“I better go.It’s late and we all need to get to bed.”“Why don’t you come over for dinner tomorrow night and we can talk more?” Neil suggested.“That would be great,” I said getting up.We said our goodbyes and I headed home.Just talking about what had happened had drained all my energy.I was grateful neither Kate nor Neil had judged me for what I’d done.I was the worst judge of myself anyway.I couldn’t take their anger too.***I wasn’t home for more than two minutes when I heard a knock.I walked to the door, looked through the peephole, and saw Garrett staring back at me.Looks like we’d be clearing the air sooner than I thought.I opened the door and let him in.“Garrett.Come in.Beer?”“I’d love a beer if you have it.”“Coming right up.” This gave me a moment to gather my thoughts [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]