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“So, I won’t see the little man for a few weeks?”
“I’ll still come over for Friday dinner, so you’ll see him then.”
“Is Chase coming too?”
“He might,” I say noncommittally. “His schedule is all fucked up at the hospital, so maybe not.”
After she reassures, we rejoin the kids and sit and chat for another half hour. She told me she gave CJ a bottle at 4:00, so he should be good to go for a little while longer. It would give me time to get to Chase’s apartment before I would need to feed him again.
On the way there, once I’ve told Lexi again that I’ll be okay, I keep looking over my shoulder. No one should have to live this way. I feel like it’s all I’ve been doing today, wondering when someone will be after me. I wonder if Barrett is lurking around or what he would do if he caught me. I breathe a sigh of relief when I arrive at Chase’s building. I don’t know if he’s home yet, but I take the elevator up.
With my key, I let myself in, but the first thing I notice makes my mind reel. Coming from the master bath is a woman’s singing voice. Following it, my heart drops into my stomach when I spot women’s clothing spread out on the bed, with a suitcase open at the foot of it.
What the fuck is going on? In a daze, I search for Chase, but he isn’t there. No wonder why he didn’t want me around; he’s cheating on me! What a fucking idiot I am. The shower turns off, and I quickly move towards the door. Not locking the door behind me, I power down the hall. As I near the elevators, a second card dings in arrival, and Chase steps out.
CJ babbles, unbothered, as Chase turns to see us.
“Megan, what are you doing here?” he asks, sounding surprised.
“I needed you, but I see you’re busy.”
“Busy with what? I just got here.”
“So, you don’t know anything about the woman showering in your apartment?” I hiss.
“What? No. Who the fuck is in my apartment?”
“That’s what I’d like to know! Goodbye, Chase,” I seethe, jamming my finger on the lobby button once I’m inside the car. The doors close before he can get his hand between them. I hear him calling my name as the car begins its descent.
The doors open, and I dart out into the lobby, jostling the stroller, which causes CJ to start crying.
“No baby, it’s okay. Mama’s sorry.”
I hurry out of the building and onto the street, turning down the first side street I come to and tucking us behind a garden planter in front of one of the residences. I don’t want a confrontation with Chase out in the street. I also need to calm CJ before I head home.
I feel sicker to my stomach than I did when I spoke with Cindy. This day has been one big clusterfuck, and for the first time in months, I think about drinking more than one glass of wine to steel my nerves. I realize that I’m on my own.
Who knows how long Chase has been cheating on me! What a fool I am for not figuring it out sooner.
I practically run the fifteen blocks home to my apartment. It starts to drizzle just as I get inside the doors. My chest burns from lack of conditioning, and I promise myself to change my habits. I need to for CJ because I’m all that he has now. I don’t want Chase anywhere near him if he’s willing to hide things. If he lied to me now, who knows if he lied to me about being with others while we were sleeping together.
Once inside my place, I take care of CJ first. He needed a diaper change and a feeding before we left Chase’s. My phone keeps going off, but I ignore it. I know who it is, and I don’t want to speak to him. CJ is my priority, so I bathe him, then get him ready for bed. I hold him in my arms, rocking him and smelling his sweet baby scent that helps calm my nerves. He’s almost asleep by the time I put him in his crib.
Trying to hold onto that feeling, I sit in the rocking chair in his room and wait until he’s out before I head to the kitchen for a glass of wine or two. First work and now Chase—my nerves are shot. All I need is one more thing to push me over the edge.
I’m on my second glass of wine and dozing on the couch when I hear the key in the lock. The door flies open, and there’s Chase, standing in front of me, soaked to the bone from the rainstorm outside. I ignore him as he closes the door and takes off his t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and socks.
I want to yell at him to leave, but I know that once I start, I won’t stop. I also don’t want to upset CJ by waking him from a deep sleep. Chase approaches as I take another large gulp of wine. In only his boxers, he hovers over me, waiting. The second I put the glass down, he takes it to the kitchen and pours whatever is left out into the sink.
“You shouldn’t have left,” he says through gritted teeth.
“You should have told me I wasn’t the only one.”
He kneels in front of me, and I refuse to look at him. Chase cups my chin and forces my head to turn towards him.
“You’re the only one, not one of many. I love you.”
Scoffing, I wrench my face out of his hand and slide away from him to the other side of the couch.
