It had been three days and his smell still lingered on her pillow, the soft scent of wood and leather. She burrowed her nose into the cotton and closed her eyes. It was distinctively Drake and one whiff made her feel safe and secure, like he always had.

Being with Drake, being loved by him, was like a Pandora’s box. She’d let him into places she didn’t realize she had. He’d opened up a part of her that was under lock and key. It was magical and terrifying at the same time. How could she live without that? She loved him so much, she literally felt an ache low in her belly.

She checked her phone every minute, hoping to see a message from him. Even a one-word text would be okay. The first day, after she’d told him it was over, they’d run into each other at the hospital. He’d brushed past her, going out of his way to avoid eye contact, acting almost as if she was contagious.

During morning rounds, he’d busied himself talking to a first year resident with big boobs and a huge crush on him. Love wanted to choke her. She couldn’t avoid the whispers, the stares. Everyone was speculating the worst—that he’d cheated on her, which couldn’t be further from the truth. So she’d called in sick the next two days. She was a coward.

Lana had texted her, phoned her, then finally burst into her room last night. Her cousin ordered her to “get her ass out of that bed,” but Love simply rolled over and turned up the television. Eventually, Lana relented, giving her another day to sulk before she called in the big dogs. Not that Love knew who the “big dogs” were. Not even her mother could get her out of her room, and she’d tried countless times.

“Lovely?” I spoke too soon.

Gloria limped into the room and sat beside her on the mattress. Love felt bad that she’d basically ignored her mother for two days, especially since she was still a sick woman. Love wanted to be there for her. Tomorrow. Yes, she’d get up and go to work tomorrow.

Familiar hands massaged her shoulders, rubbed her back. “You have to get out of this bed. You’ve been in here for two days.”

“I will, Mom. I’ll get up tomorrow.”

Gloria let out a heavy sigh. “Your father called.”

“I don’t want to talk to him.” She was pissed at her dad.

After Drake moved out, her father had called and asked her for forgiveness. Confused, Love had played along, asked him why he did it, as if she knew what “it” was. She had no idea what he was talking about. When he’d confessed to coaxing the admissions department at Johns Hopkins to consider Drake for the fellowship, her anger had soared to new heights. It was the first and only time she’d ever cursed at her father, then she’d hung up on him.

“You may not believe him, but he is sorry.”

Love looked at her mother. “Why are you defending him, Mom? He doesn’t deserve that from you.”

Gloria tapped her foot on the carpet. “Love, what happened between me and Leon wasn’t all his fault. You know that? It takes two people to make a marriage work and two people to destroy it.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. One person can ruin a relationship.” She should know. She’d just done it. “He cheated on you, Mother.”

“Yes, and that sucked. But our marriage was over a long time before he cheated. We just hadn’t made it official, because of you.”

Love gasped. “What? You two seemed so happy.”

“Because that’s what we wanted you to believe, babe. Sometimes a relationship is not meant to last a lifetime. Talk about two people whose lives were going in different directions. We grew apart. By the time he cheated on me, I’d already fallen out of love with him. I was just biding my time.”

The revelation shocked Love to her core. She’d blamed her dad for being a cheating jerk. Well, he still was a cheating jerk.

“When I talked to him today,” Gloria continued, sweeping a cookie crumbs and empty Fruit Snacks wrappers into her hand and throwing them into the small wastebasket beside the bed, “I told him to forgive himself, because I already did. Your father isn’t a bad person. He’s just misguided.”

“And controlling,” Love added.

“Very. But his heart was in the right place. He was really worried about you. He apologized to Drake.”

Hearing that he’d done so meant a lot to Love. She was sure it made Drake feel better.

“I did light into him, though.”

Love wiped a tear from her cheek. “Why did he do it?”

“I’m not even sure he knows. I think what it boils down to is you’re his baby girl. No one will be good enough for you in his eyes. All he sees is the potential for hurt, and when you were born he made a vow to never let anyone hurt you.”




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