AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My stomach twisted in knots, and I wanted to throw up, but I’d do this for Theo. He needed someone looking out for him, and I volunteered.
“Audrey.” He frowned, his face paling. “I did. I-I stopped.” He glanced around, his face red.
“No. I saw you with a someone.” My throat felt like I swallowed an entire pillow. There was no saliva in my mouth, and I could barely get my words out. “You were huddled with some woman at the diner today. You held her hand. You told Theo you were caught up at work!” I whispered. “You weren’t. You were caught up with her.”
He blinked and held up his hands, shaking his head hard. “What? No, that… please, don’t?—.”
“I won’t tell him, if that’s what you’re worried about. I won’t do that to him. Not your selfless, incredible son.” I sniffed as angry tears welled up. “You can’t do that to your wife or your son. Please. Stop the affair.”
“It’s not what you think—” He shook his head furiously. “No, Theo, it’s not true! Audrey’s misunderstanding, I promise. She doesn’t know.”
“What?” It took my brain a second to realize he wasn’t speaking to me. Instead, his gaze was over my shoulder. Theo. No, I didn’t want him finding out about this. A spike of panic clawed at my throat. It would kill him. I spun around, but Theo wasn’t glaring at his dad. He stared at me with accusation all over his face.
My stomach heaved. Why would Theo be mad at me? I blinked, tears prickling at the angry gaze aimed at me. “Wh-what—what’s wrong?”
“You weren’t going to tell me?” He pressed his lips together as his jaw ticked. “That’s what you just said. You had no plans to tell me my dad was cheating again? That’s what you lied about earlier.”
“I’m not cheating, Theo! I swear. She saw me with another woman today?—”
“So when I asked you what was wrong before the game, that’s why you were acting weird? Because you knew this and didn’t want to tell me?”
There was an icy coating to his words, and they felt like little icicles stabbing my chest. I’d never heard this directed at me before, and my knees shook. “I-I wanted?—”
“No.” He shook his head, his nostrils flaring. “You kept it from me. I asked you if something was wrong, and you lied. The one thing… so what? You were hoping to confront my dear old dad and keep it from me?”
I nodded as the ground swallowed me up. “I didn’t want to upset you before?—"
“There’s nothing to be upset about,” his dad butted in. “She misunderstood. The woman she saw me with wasn’t?—”
“So she did see you with someone?” Theo arched a brow. “Unbelievable. I have a shit game and then this… I need some space. I just… gotta go.”
He marched by us without another word and disappeared through the exit. My chest ached as a horrible pang took hold. A part of me knew we wouldn’t last, that this had an end date. We didn’t make sense on paper, but my god, it hurt. The look on his face. The coldness to his words.
I was gonna lose it.
My chest heaved as a warm hand landed on my shoulder. Theo’s dad.
“Audrey.”
I flinched and jerked away from him. I didn’t want him to yell at me too. “I’m s-sorry. I was trying to protect Theo because I love him, and he doesn’t need any more pain. But I lied to him after he asked me not to.” Fuck. My jaw trembled, and tears fell now.
“I know. I understand why you did what you did. Theo will too. Just give him some time. It’s important for you to know that the woman was my new therapist.”
“Therapist?”
He nodded as a sad look crossed his face. “She specializes in helping partners whose spouses go through life-changing injury. Today was our first meeting face-to-face. It wasn’t an affair. I stopped that night I told Theo.”
“You’re seeing a therapist?” My stomach bottomed out. “Oh god. I was wrong. I’m so sorry. I messed this up. All of it.”
“Hey, it’s alright.” He patted my shoulder again. “I’m glad Theo has someone looking out for him.”
I had to get out of here. I assumed my plans with Theo were done. “I should go, yeah. Bye.”
“Auds,” a familiar voice said my name. “I’ll walk you home.”
My brother joined me as I left the stadium, and I didn’t have the energy to worry over what he saw or heard. I was just glad to not be alone. We walked in silence back to my dorm, and once I was inside, alone, I broke down.
I’d remember my time with Theo in the future and smile, but right now? It felt like dying. Each breath hurt as I crawled into bed and cried.
