Joey put up his finger. “There are actually some issues with the club to talk about. Later. You know, whenever you get a chance.”
“Of course there are.” I gathered all of my things once again and headed for the door.
20
Lizzy
I kicked open the stuck door of the motel room with my bags in hand and was hit with a wall of musk and mold. I stepped into the dark room and noted the stained carpet and torn wallpaper. One look at the bed and I instantly regretted not packing my own sheets.
“Home sweet home,” I sighed. “At least for a little while.”
My old car, which was really only suitable for short trips around Cherry Falls, had made it five towns over before it started to sputter. So I decided this would be where I would settle down. There was a diner down the street with a hiring sign in the window, which seemed like a good omen.
I tossed my bags into the corner and fought back the urge to start crying again. I didn’t have time to break down, which was obvious from the state of the cheap room. I couldn’t have a baby here, and I wasn’t even so sure I should be in here at all while I was pregnant. The pungent odors in the room definitely didn’t seem safe. Which meant I had less than eight months to save up for a new place.
I sat down on the edge of the bed and held my phone in my hand, rubbing the screen with my thumbs. I hadn’t told anyone I was leaving. At some point, I’d have to talk to Del and Angel to let them know I was okay. Imagining how it would go left me with the empty feeling of knowing that Damon wouldn’t be looking for me. He had that other woman to keep him busy now.
A million questions rolled through my brain...like when and how did he meet her? Had that been who was blowing his phone up in Maldives? Did he know he was going to beg her to be with him before or after the trip? Before or after he said he loved me?
I wanted to fall back across the comforter, but it was too gross. No matter how exhausted and heartbroken I was. An empty, dripping mini-fridge sat in the corner that I knew I needed to fill with some kind of food. I hadn’t eaten all day and felt faint. The last thing I wanted to do was get back into my car after the long drive, but these things weren’t going to take care of themselves.
I pulled myself up and grabbed my things to drive to the store. The town was small, like Cherry Falls used to be before the big population boom. I decided this was for the best. I could raise my child in a little town just like where I grew up. But nothing would ever replace home. I worried that no one would ever replace Damon either.
I felt like a zombie walking through the aisles of the store, grabbing random things to toss into the cart. I needed to save every penny I could, so even a new set of bedding was a stretch for my wallet. But that was one thing I just couldn’t skimp on.
I returned to the hotel with my shopping bags and put the car in park. After taking the key out of the ignition and glancing toward the door, I jumped at the sight of a figure leaning there. But I quickly gathered it was Damon, standing out front, waiting for me with flowers in hand.
Closing my eyes, I flung back my head and groaned. Not this. Not now. I was already too tired, and I didn’t want him to know where I was. But I flung open the door and stepped out to face him. I didn’t have a choice.
“What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
“I showed up at your place right as you were leaving. I saw your car drive off.”
He held up the flowers, which I swiftly swatted down onto the ground. “You followed me the whole way here?”
He stared back at me with deep concern, and I caught the briefest flash of his eyes down to my stomach. I wrapped my arms around myself as a shield and stepped back. He knew.
“Who told you?”
“Nick,” he replied, stepping forward to try and pull me into his arms.
I pushed past him to unlock the door. “So...what? You felt sorry for me? This doesn’t change whatever is going on with you and that girl. I don’t want you to have anything to do with me and this baby if I have to watch you be with someone new. If you’re even capable of being with just one person, which I guess you’re not. Or maybe just not me.”
“Lizzy.” His fingers wrapped around my hand on the doorknob. “Can I come in? We need to talk.”
I looked into his eyes and wanted to slap him. The last thing I wanted to do was let him in and listen to whatever lies he was planning to tell to try and save himself. But he was already here.
“Fine. But if I have my way, we’ll never see each other again. So this is your one shot at saying whatever it is you think you need to say.”
We stepped inside and closed the door behind us.
“So, she basically stole her friend’s kid to get money out of you?” I marveled as I tore the old sheets off the bed.
Damon worked on the other side to help me put the new ones on. “Well, she didn’t physically steal the kid. But definitely stole his photos and tried to pass him off as her own. I was hours away from handing over the money too. I guess she was planning to get a big sum off of me, but when it came down to me meeting the kid...she’d be long gone.”
I thought back to exactly what I heard Damon telling the woman and realized it was all totally feasible. It would have been a pretty crazy thing to make up. And I had Joey and the other guys to confirm the story for me if I ever asked. Plus Del, who I knew wouldn’t lie to me.
With the new comforter spread out across the bed, I could finally sit down and relax. I’d just have to try and forget about the nasty mattress underneath it all. Damon sat down beside me, staring me down intently.
“I guess you probably think I’m no better than her,” I stated, feeling guilty. “I was about to do exactly what you thought she had done. Of course, I never would have come after you later for money.”
He looked around the room, twisting his lips. “You might have after a few months of living in this dump.”
I shook my head, trying not to laugh. “Not funny.”
His hand reached across the bed and spread across mine. “Lizzy, I know why you felt the way you did. I basically set you up to be paranoid and not to trust me. I wasn’t so sure I trusted myself. But I never should have made it seem like the idea of being with you was daunting. It wasn’t. This past month-and-a-half has been one of the best times of my life. I was lucky to have you. And I meant it when I said I loved you.”
I lowered my head, dropping my eyes to the floor. “But now…”
“But now...what?”
“I’m sure you don’t feel the same,” I said with the rise and fall of my shoulders. “I know you’re not ready for a family if you have a choice in the matter. And I don’t want to force you into something only to have something like what I thought was happening earlier...happen for real. You can’t force yourself to be happy with something...or someone.”
He stood and walked over, stopping a few feet in front of my perch on the bed. “You see these pants? You know how much I love them? You know how much they cost?”
“Yeah? So?”
“Good. Then you’ll appreciate the gravity of what I’m about to do.” He eyed the dirty carpet and braced himself before dropping down to his knees, walking them up to me to take my hands in his. “Lizzy Martinez. I don’t have to force myself to be happy with you...or to want this baby with you. I may not have thought I was ready for a family, but now that one’s been handed to me...I couldn’t be happier.”