She closed her eyes and when she opened them there was a resolve that chilled me to the bone. “I’ve asked you to leave, Robert.”
And that was that.
She had shut down. She was past hearing me now. I didn't want to leave, but I wouldn’t push her either. I knew that once I walked out that door, that was it. We were finished. And that was something I would never, ever accept.
Except it’s what she said she wanted.
And her wants and needs would have to matter more than my own.
I dropped my hands and with a final pat on Edgar’s large head, I stood up. “I love you, Skylar. Don’t ever forget that,” I said quietly as I headed to the door.
As I drove down the driveway back to the main road, I knew that I had left my heart behind and I’d never get it back.
Chapter Fifteen
Skylar
“Come on, Sky, you need to get out of the house. You’ve been wearing that same PJs for a week and a half now,” Meg complained, pulling on my arm. I weakly got up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed.
“Maybe I like being depressed,” I moped.
“Don’t make me call in Lena. She’ll pin you down and cover your face with makeup before forcing you into a skimpy dress and making you go to Sweet Lila’s. I’m much nicer than she would be,” Meg warned.
It had been exactly nine days since I broke up with Rob. Nine whole days of feeling like absolute crap. I had been so sure I had made the right decision. What future did we have if I couldn’t trust him?
But then the doubt set it. Was I being unfair? He shared some really painful stuff with me, and I essentially threw it in his face. I had thrown him out when he was at his most vulnerable.
Maybe I was the asshole in this situation.
No. He had lied to me. I couldn’t be with someone who would keep things from me.
He’s not Mac. He would never hurt you like that.
It didn’t help that Robert had gone radio silent. I had secretly hoped he’d hound me with texts. Love bomb me with flowers and pleas of forgiveness. But none of that had happened. It seemed as if he had accepted our breakup and was already moving on.
How could he move on so quickly? What the hell was wrong with him? I got angry all over again, which was a lot easier. I preferred the rage to the depression, which is where I found myself now. I was missing him. I wanted to call him and tell him I was an idiot and that we belonged together. But pride is a horrible thing. It really gets in the way of prostrating yourself on the ground in front of your recent ex, begging him to take you back.
So instead, I decided bed was the place for me. It stopped me from looking pathetic by showing up at Rob’s office in seven-day-old dirty pajamas. And it stopped me from throwing dishes against the wall when I remembered how he had lied to me so many times.
I was a mess.
Meg had called rather innocently last week to see if Rob and I wanted to come with her and Adam to dinner at a new restaurant in the next town over.
“We broke up,” I had told her in a worryingly nonchalant way.
“What?” she had shouted in my ear. Thirty minutes later she showed up at my door with three pints of ice cream and enough alcohol to sedate an elephant. “Adam is on Tyler duty,” she explained after pouring me a pint glass of beer and all but shoving it in my hand. “Now talk.”
I wanted to unload on her, but how could I? I couldn’t share Robert’s story; it wasn’t mine to tell. How could I explain why I had kicked my otherwise perfect boyfriend to the curb?
“We were too different,” I had lied.
Meg had looked at me like I had grown a second head. “Too different? Are you kidding me? I’ve never met two people more suited for each other.”
“He lied about stuff,” I admitted.
“What stuff?” Meg had asked.
“Just stuff,” I replied vaguely.
“I need more than that if I’m going to burn his effigy in the backyard,” Meg exclaimed.
I had to give her something. My best friend wouldn’t take evasive answers. She’d want concrete reasons. So, I gave her something. “You know that lady that bought all that land and sold it to the developer? Tiffany Hardwell?”
Meg nodded. “Adam told me the other day that they’re no longer representing her. Something to do with sketchy financials. She sounds shady.”
“Yeah, well she’s Rob’s ex,” I told her.
“Are you serious? She's a lot older.” Meg’s eyes widened dramatically. “I mean she’s really good looking for her age. But she has to be what? In her late fifties? When did they date?”
“When he was in law school.” I started chewing on my thumbnail.
“God, that means he was at most twenty-three and she had to be in her late thirties. That’s almost gross.” Meg made a gagging noise and I had to laugh.
“Yeah, well she came to Southport to be with him,” I went on.
“Oh my god, did he cheat on you? I can’t believe Robert would do something like that,” she gasped on the other end of the phone.
“No, he didn’t cheat on me. He just wasn’t...he wasn’t truthful about who she was. And I can’t be with someone who isn’t upfront with me.”
Meg was quiet for a while. “I know for a fact Adam and Jeremy don’t know this otherwise Adam would have told me.” I could practically hear her thinking. “There has to be a reason Rob wouldn’t tell people. Otherwise, why would he let Wyatt represent her?”
“They have a shady history from what he told me,” I said.
“Makes sense with what Adam learned about her financial situation. Seems she was involved
