Page 74 of My Heart Belongs to You

“Bad? You hid a baby from me. For months, you have acted as if nothing new is happening in your world. Why would you string me along, knowing this would end?”

“It doesn’t have to. Me and Ashley aren’t together. We’re figuring it out.”

“Figure it out without me.” I stood from my seat. Joseph grabbed my wrist, anchoring me beside him.

“Robyn, wait. Let me explain.”

I pulled my arm from his grasp. “No need. There’s nothing you can say to change my mind. Forget about me and find peace in knowing there was no scenario where I’d stay with you after this.”

Joseph sank into the booth looking like a sad puppy. I stalked toward the exit and never looked back. I should’ve listened to my gut and broken up with him via text.

The moment I hit the driver’s seat, my phone was in hand. I sent my girls a voice message detailing my conversation with Joseph. At the end, I promised to tell the full story in the morning. Raven responded with a thumbs down and Adrienne sent the face palm emoji.

Next, I texted Nadir that I was on the way. I contemplated whether to tell him about tonight. My biggest reason to withhold this information was fear of judgement. Nadir had told me repeatedly that Joseph didn’t deserve me and I could do better. Once again, he was right. I dropped my phone into the cupholder and drove off. After stopping by my place to pack a bag, I'd be on my way to Nadir, where I belonged.

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

ROBYN:

On my way....

Ismirked then put my phone down beside me. For the past hour, I’d been on the couch surfing through streaming apps for something to watch. I wasn’t really in the mood to watch TV but I had nothing else to do. Laundry was done, dishes were washed and away, and my cleaning lady had my place spotless. The longer I spent navigating through the same show offerings, the more annoyed I became. There had to be something for me to do aside from waiting for her.

My stomach growled, prompting me to warm up leftovers. It was a little after ten on a Wednesday night and I was at home, bored. Shaking my head, I thought about all the late nights I spent at Ray’s to avoid this feeling. It was only recently that I started coming home at a reasonable hour. A year later, the silence of an empty home still bothered me.

I missed the pitter-patter of Avery’s footsteps, Vanessa yelling for Avery to be careful, toys scattered throughout the house, and some kids’ show blasting on the television in the living room. Their presence in my life was massive. Each day without them allowed the wound to shrink in magnitude. However, in quiet moments such as this, I felt their absence. I used the hair tie on my wrist to pull my hair back. I leaned against the counter; the hum of the toaster oven was background noise to the blaring thoughts in my mind.

What would be the benefit of seeing Avery for the last time? My eyebrows rose as I remembered the diamond necklace I bought. Unlike Vanessa’s ring, I never returned it. I think deep down, I hoped for the opportunity to give it to her. My heart ached thinking about how much she’d grown within the past year. What if she didn’t remember me? Facing rejection from her would crush me.

My thoughts were interrupted by the incessant vibration of my phone on the couch. I ran across the room in hopes of it being Robyn. I’d give anything to have her here right now. She’d know what to do to ease my mind. I sighed when I saw it was, according to Summer, the last person I should be talking to. Alexa calling was sort of ironic since I’d been meaning to hit her up. I wasn’t sure about her motives behind sending funny memes and videos, but I needed to make sure my intentions were clear.

“Hey, boo,” she said when I answered the call.

“Wassup, Lex. Everything cool?”

She sighed. “Yeah, just got home from work and was thinking about you.”

I hated that Summer was right. She was going to have a good laugh when I told her about this call.

“Really? Why?” I went back to the kitchen to check my food. The aroma wafted through the air, hitting my stomach, which growled again.

“I want to talk to you about something. It’s been on my mind since seeing you at the Springville Festival.”

My chest tightened. Here we go.

“What is it?” I paced in the kitchen. Anxiety swirled in my stomach and settled as a lump in my throat.

“I feel like I didn’t get my chance all over a misunderstanding.”

In a state of disbelief, I stopped in my tracks. A sharp pain shot up the back of my neck. “Nah, Lex.”

“Yeah, Nadir. Once I shared with you that I confronted your friend, that was it for us.”

“I broke up with you because we argued too much and it seemed to spill over to people I care about.”

“So she was more important than me?”