Page 94 of All That Remains
There was another pause.
"I dunno...some buildin'. Babe, I just drove...then I had to pull over for a bit."
"When'd you find out?"
"A minute ago. It's been a little while. She came by...and just started freakin' the fuckout. Screamin', cryin', throwin' shit. I've never seen her so mad before. She broke the window in the bedroom, then smashed the rear window of my car. I couldn't figure out what was wrong at first, ‘til she said your name."
I cringed, squeezing my eyes shut. "Fuck’s sake."
It was over. Just likethat. I’d gotten him back, but now he was being taken from me in an instant. And worse, we hadroyally fuckedourselves in the process. She woulddestroyus with this information. My mum always told me: Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,and I feared we were about to become intimately acquainted with the notion.
Her initial tirade would only be the beginning. From her perspective, it wasallbad. Not only had hefuckedsomeone else in their bed, but he’d also fucked anotherdude. There was no coming back from this, for any of us—especially not her. Her ego wouldn’t tolerate it. By all accounts, she had been fatally wounded.
"Rafe...it's gonna be okay."
He was changing his tune now. My silence must've gotten to him. But his optimism was limp and unconvincing. Just horrific.
"Babe, I'm gonna take care of it..."
What the hell did that even mean? I dared not ask.
"Rafe, I mean it. I'm not gonna let anythin’ hurt you...or us, okay?"
"Rome...I wanna believe you, I really do…" I ran a jittery hand down my face. "Fuck, mate. How'd she even find out?"
"Can I come over? I need to see you."
"Yeah...yeah, alright. C'mon. I'll text you the address."
***
Within the hour, he buzzed the intercom and I opened the gate. Now I hurried outside to meet him, and we clung to each other like we'd gotten news of someone's death. Inside, we went straight to my room and laid down fully clothed.
When he was finally able to speak, his voice trembled with the tears he refused to shed. I nuzzled the back of his neck to remind him I was present, and that he wouldn't have to face any of it alone.
"I was expectin' her to come over anyway," he began. "We were meetin' up for lunch with her mum in a bit...probably do a bit of shoppin'. But…when she got there, she...she sort of rammed her car into the side of mine. I heard this crazy crash....and I, uh, ran outside, and she was just kickin' the shit out of the Benz. And her truck was just smashed into the side of it. I'd never seen anythin' like it in me life. Then she threw this giant rockinto the rear window."
I'd seen the damage when he pulled up. The glass didn't shatter completely, but it now featured a giant indentation. The fender was completely smashed on the driver's side, making it difficult to open the door. Having to help him yank it open broke my heart and made me want to hunt her down, but now wasn't the time to mete out petty vengeance. It was time to let cool heads prevail, since she had us both over a barrel.
"I’m just so happy you weren't in it when it happened," I muttered.
"Me too."
"She hit you?"
"Yeah," he chuckled mirthlessly. It was a defeated sound. "Yeah, a few times."
“I’m so sorry, mate.”
"It’s fine. I’ll live,” he uttered. “But still, worst day of my life, by far. Even worse than the day I left Seoul. I'm gutted for betrayingher. Know what I mean? But even more so, I'm gutted for I guess...beingsloppy? For being stupid? I feel like I exposed us."
"Don't feel bad.Youdidn't do anything that wasn't natural. Your feelings got the best of you...the best of uz. She must've been spying on uz or something? Only question is:why? What gave her the suspicion to begin with?"
He sighed and turned over, slinking into my arms. Now we lay face-to-face.
"M'sorry," I murmured.
"Me too."
