Cherié

Chapter 17

She missed his touch in the month he’d been away. His body was her refuge and she needed shelter from this storm. “Why did you f**k her? It would have been around valentine’s day. Why the hell did you do that to me? You promised to be honest. You promised it was only me you were in love with. But she’s having your kid. Congratulations.” She didn’t hold back. “And you told her about my baby. I… how can you come here and think I want your help. I want you to get away from me and I never want to see you again. I resigned from the library, and I'm getting expelled. I’m not playing this game you two have going on. Our baby was a sign that this wasn’t meant to be.”

He was furious. “I lo”-

“Don’t do that to me. Don’t you dare say that. If you can’t show it, you don’t get to tell me that.”

“I’m not going to let you get expelled. You don’t need to quit,” the determination in her eyes told him she was going to leave regardless of what he said. She was fully committed to having a life without him. That pissed him off. “I guess you didn’t give a f**k about our kid then. If this is so easy for you to do to me. Fine we’ll do this. But you’re not throwing away your future over this.”

“Then I’ll withdraw. I’m not staying here with you.”

He caressed her cheek. Her heart stopped as she looked into his pained eyes. He could see his girl shining back at him. She was his everything and he wronged her in the most unforgivable way. “I want you to finish your last semester. Do it at UCL.”

The University College London, had the best program in the world. There was no way they’d take me. She thought to herself. “That’s impossible.”

“Say the word and you’ll be transferred and you’d finish spring and do a summer session and be graduated with your peers at the end of your summer session.”

She shook her head yes. “I wanted our baby. And I wanted you. I still want both those things. Please, remember that I was never toying with you and I didn’t intentionally sleep with Siva. I was drunk and you were still in the hospital and she came out of the blue. And I woke up and she was laying on me naked. I didn’t do it on purpose. She took advantage of my altered state of mind.”

Cher walked to the door and opened it. He followed soon after. He stopped to say a final goodbye. Cher kissed his cheek. “Be well.”

He shook his head and told her. “I’m really sorry that I put you in this space… again. Please, don’t give up on your work.”

End flashback

I looked her over. She was in a committed relationship with her department head, and she had gotten pregnant by him. Then he cheated on her as she recovered from a miscarriage. He was a piece of s**t. And I could see he still held a piece of her heart. These things still connected her to him. Did she miss him? Still want him? Dr. Toller transferred to UCLA with his wife and there was a big good bye party for them over the summer. Cher was probably still in London.

“Do you still want to be with Dr. Toller.”

She studied my eyes and I knew there was something she could see. Something she admired. I wonder what it was. “I enjoy annoying you.”

I kissed her forehead and held her close. “I’m never going to do that again. Please, forgive me.”

She looked into my eyes and asked me the last thing I ever thought she would. “Tell me about your wedding day.” It was a fair question.

I didn’t know what to say as it took the air out of me. That was a memory I actively tried to avoid at all cost. “I knew she cheated on me, but not that she planned to use our honeymoon tickets to leave me. She booked an early flight and no one knew where she went. We called the police and filed a missing person report. It took five hours for the police to track her ID scan at the airport. I rushed there with Elio and we found out she had left at 7:15 that morning.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you. You deserve better than her.”

“I think I found it.” She let me kiss her and I attempted to subdue her as I laid her body on the bed.

She pushed me away. “I have to get back to Ally and Bobby.”

Fuck, her friends were still there and completely trashed. I held her hand and we laid next to each other for a moment.

I spent that night alone. They all crowded into Cher’s bed and I tried not to be annoyed but I was. Sundays had become a day of just being together. There wasn’t always s*x, but it was always me, that laid beside her. At least it’s them and not anyone else. I said as I tried to comfort myself.

It was hard to sleep without her soft snores and her erratic movements. I became used to her sleeping habits I needed them to relax and fall asleep.

“Hey,” she said as she snuck into the bed. I was faced away from her and I remained still and quiet.

She laid her head on my pillow. She wrapped her arm around my waist and it didn’t take long for her soft snores to sang me to sleep.