“I quit. Effective immediately.” She turned to Frank. “I’m done.”
With that, she left the office, and Rex looked at the test. He had memorized the box. Two lines. She was pregnant.
Rushing out of his office, he ran toward the elevator. There was no sign of her on it, or of it going down. Opening the doors, he heard her rushing downstairs, and he heard her tears.
“Nora!” He yelled her name, rushing downstairs trying to catch her. She didn’t stop for him, and kept on going. He had hurt her with his words.
He didn’t stop though. It didn’t take him long to catch up with her. He was faster than she was. He caught her at the bottom just as she was about to leave.
“Please don’t leave,” he said.
“This was wrong. This was a big mistake. I never should have gotten involved with you, and I should have walked away when I had the chance.”
“No, don’t say that.”
“What do you want me to say?” she asked. “You’re a horrible person. I thought you had changed, and you’re just the same man.”
“We’re about to have a baby, Nora.”
She shook her head. Tears swimming in her eyes. “No, I’m about to have a baby. You stay the hell away from me. I’m done being bullied by you when you can’t handle your own crap.”
With that, she pulled away, taking his heart along with her.
He had seriously fucked up, and what was worse, he didn’t know if he would ever win her back.
Chapter Nine
Nora didn’t stay in her apartment. She couldn’t. If she stayed there he’d want to talk, and she didn’t want to talk. She wanted nothing to do with him, so she went home. After calling her parents, she let them know she would be staying in their house over the holidays. They warned her she would need to go shopping, which she didn’t mind.
There was money in her savings account, so she could afford to feed herself. She’d take one of the job offers in the next couple of days. Frank would be a great reference. She wouldn’t take any maternity leave either. No, she would work all the way up until the baby dropped out of her.
Working in a new office she was going to have start all over again, and she hated that. The following morning, she picked up her cell phone to see that it was bombarded with texts, missed calls, and phone messages.
Rex: I am so sorry, baby. Please, call me. I need to hear your voice.
Rex: I need to know you’re safe.
Rex: You’re not answering at your apartment. Where are you? It’s not safe for a woman out there all alone.
Rex: I’m an asshole. I admit it. Frank looks like he wants to kill me.
Rex: I didn’t want to do this over text. I love you. I’ve always loved you.
Rex: I know I’m an asshole, but I’m not always. I was so angry at Carl, and myself. Please call me.
There were a lot of texts. Most of them calling himself an asshole. She didn’t need to see it in texts to know he was one. He had been so angry last night, and his words had hurt. It had made her realize that no matter what happened, he was no different than the man she had worked for.
The sex they had, that was all it was.
“You’re hating me right now, and I get it. I handled this so wrong. I didn’t tell you I never used a condom, and I didn’t want to. I want us to be happy. Please let me know you’re safe, baby.”
“Okay you’re not answering anything and I get that. Just let me know you’re all right. I don’t know if you’ve read my texts, but I’m going to tell you here, I love you, Nora. I love you, and I want us to be a family. You, me, and the baby.”
Tears fell down her cheeks. She wanted to believe it. More than anything did she want to believe that he was capable of love.
“Frank’s going to kill me, and this is already killing me. From the first moment I met you, Nora, I wanted you. I don’t deserve you, I know that. The past couple of weeks, they have been heaven for me. Being near you, inside you, loving you. It’s what I want, and I’m not going anywhere. I will fight for you.”
Nora deleted the last of his messages, not wanting to answer anymore. Making her way downstairs, she started to make herself a lemon tea. It was the only thing that she had found settled her stomach. Tea and toast. She had already been sick.