Page 69 of Falling for the Unexpected

That was enough to set off the waterworks. My soft cries soon turned into gasping sobs and I couldn’t seem to stop.

“Oh shit, what happened?” Trent asked, pulling me into a hug.

“Your brother happened,” I managed to get out, not hiding the venom in those three words.

“What do you mean?” he asked slowly. He pulled back, a hard look on his face. “What did Brad do this time?”

He placed Stella on the couch so she could continue watching her movie. Then he guided me over to the dining table so we could talk freely. Once I was able to speak through the sobs, I told him every embarrassing and humiliating thing about my fight with Kyle. I told him about Kyle finding the drugs in the storage closet and then the texts that Brad sent over when we questioned him about the drugs. I was so embarrassed sharing the details of my behavior from that night three years ago, but once I started I couldn’t stop.

Once I was finished I couldn’t look up at Trent. I was completely humiliated and the silence between us was making me even more uncomfortable. I was just about to stand up and go to my bedroom when Trent finally spoke.

“Simone, I’m so sorry,” he said, placing his hand on mine. “I’m not excusing Kyle’s behavior, and he should have stayed and talked things out with you, but you have to understand his childhood screwed him up more than he is willing to admit. Finding his mother after she had OD’d gave him serious trust issues. She had promised him that she was clean and he believed her whole-heartedly. This has less to do with you and more to do with what he’s been through.”

“I understand that. I really do,” I said, wiping at my hot face. I felt like I’d been crying for hours. “But it’s still painful knowing he didn’t trust me enough to believe me when I told him it was a one-time thing. It hurts even more that he walked out on Stella.”

“Just give him some time. I know he loves you. It’s obvious to anyone who sees the two of you together. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually,” he urged, kissing me on the top of the head and squeezing my shoulders.

I wanted that to be true. Even though I was mad at Kyle for walking out, if he came over right now I would welcome him back in a heartbeat. I loved him that much. I’d give Kyle a second chance. Not just for Stella, but for me because this whole thing was messed up and it was Brad’s doing. I had to remember that his goal was to destroy what I had with Kyle any way he could, probably just to spite me for messing up the easy life he had before I came into it.

Trent stood up from the table and walked back to the living room. “Hey, munchkin, you ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house?” he asked Stella.

“Yea,” she answered, a little uncertain and looking back at me. Obviously I wasn’t doing a good job of hiding my heartbreak from my daughter.

I gave her a weak smile. “Go get Mr. Animal, okay?”

With another uncertain look, she walked over to me, and gave me a hug when I pulled her into my arms. “Wuv you, Mama,” she said so sweetly that I nearly started to cry again. But I didn’t. I set her on the floor and she ran off to grab her favorite stuffed animal.

“Do me a favor,” Trent said, turning his attention back to me. “Go out for a walk or something after I leave. I don’t want you sitting around here crying. That isn’t good for you. I’d take you with me to my parents’, but you don’t need the third degree from Mom and I think you need some time to yourself. Plus… Kyle might actually realize he’s being an ass and come back. Though it’d serve him right to find an empty apartment…”

I smiled up at him. It was nice to hear his anger on my behalf. “I may go out and get myself some dinner, but I can’t promise I won’t spend the night crying,” I told him. “But I’ll try, for you.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “What a mess,” he bemoaned. “Fucking Brad. I can’t believe we share the same DNA.” His grimaced then forced himself to calm down when Stella came back with Mr. Animal. “Well, if you need anything, please call or text me. I’ll be here if you need me.” He gave me a hard look until I gave him a nod of obedience. “Good.” Then he picked Stella up and headed to my door. I picked up her bags and handed them to him, which he easily handled on top of an excited two-year-old toddler.

“Thank you, Trent,” I said, and he smiled back at me. I gave him another kiss on the cheek and then kissed my daughter’s face. I waved, and watched the two of them go down the stairs then closed the door behind them.

As soon as I sat down on the couch I heard my text alert go off again. Hoping it was Kyle, I grabbed it and turned it on only to see a text from Brad.

Brad:Kyle deserved to know the real you. You’re always trying to act better than everyone else. You both needed a reminder of your trashy past.

That was a low blow. Brad knew that my background was a sore subject for me. During our relationship he often reminded me that I was unwanted and undesirable. I had worked hard, with the help of my therapist, to try to overcome the many terrible things I had been through in my childhood and marriage.

But now, sitting here by myself, I was reminded that no one would stick around forever. I was truly alone in this world except for my daughter. Yes, Brad’s family was kind and treated me well, but if I didn’t have Stella I’m not sure they would have stuck by my side.

A few minutes after Trent left, I went out to my favorite Mexican restaurant and got dinner to go. Unfortunately, once I got home, I realized I didn’t have much of an appetite. Instead, I lay on my couch and turned on the television. It didn’t matter what was on because I wasn’t really paying attention to it. I could feel the tears streaming down my face. I didn’t bother to wipe them away or make an effort to stop them. It was a waste of time anyway. Nothing was going to stop me from crying at this point. I grabbed my phone again and started to type out a message to Kyle. But then I thought if he wanted to talk to me, he would have reached out to me. He said he needed some time to think. I owed it to him to give him that time. I was so exhausted that I fell asleep on the couch.

Abruptly, I opened my eyes, feeling heavy and disoriented. I pushed myself up and looked around my apartment, seeing that it was dark. I had no idea how long I had been asleep. I looked out my sliding door and could see a hint of soft light coming over the horizon so I knew it was early in the morning. My throat was sore from my sobs, my nose was stuffy, and my eyes felt so swollen it hurt to open them all the way.

I got up off the couch and walked down the hallway to the bathroom. When I looked in the mirror I was horrified by my reflection. My mascara had made large tracks down my face. Not only were my eyes swollen, they were also red and I had ghastly dark circles under my eyes.

I hopped in the shower in an effort to clean up a bit and hoped it would make me feel a bit better. I washed my hair and took time rinsing the shampoo out. I let the hot water run over my head and down my face for several minutes while trying to clear my mind of any thoughts of Kyle.

I managed to get myself dressed and made some toast and coffee. I still wasn’t hungry, but figured I needed to eat something since I had skipped dinner. Walking into the living room and seeing all the Christmas decorations we had worked on together made me start crying all over again. I really needed to get a grip. I was heartbroken that Kyle left me, but I was a strong woman and I had a daughter I needed to take care of. I would allow myself to mourn the loss of our relationship today while I was by myself but as soon as I had Stella back I was going to make an attempt to just focus on her.

I knew in my heart that it was unlikely that I could get over it that quickly, I just had to make an effort. Sitting around and crying over Kyle wasn’t going to bring him back. He needed to figure things out on his own and decide if he wanted to continue a relationship with me.

Later that afternoon, I drove over to Jim and Marla’s to pick up Stella. I was dreading going over there since I had no idea if Trent had shared anything with them regarding Kyle and me. I knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.

The door opened and I made eye contact with the last person I expected to see today.