Learning To Love (The Griffin Brothers Book 4) (25 page)

“Sure.”

I grab my purse off the
coffee table and take out my wallet. I hand her the cards. “Please
give these to Luke.”

“These are Luke’s?”

“They’re the cards
for our joint accounts.”

She looks conflicted
for a moment, but when I don’t move, she nods and takes them from
me. “I’ll give them to him.”

We talk for a few more
minutes and then she hugs me before leaving. I feel like a weight has
been lifted off of me. I’ll at least have a car and a place for my
furniture and things. I still don’t know where I’m going to live
or how long I’ll be able to live there, but at least I’ve got
those things taken care of. I go back to packing and manage to get
most of it done before curling up on the couch and falling asleep.

Luke

Rose and I have fallen
into an easy rhythm over the last two weeks. Alex picks her up for
school every morning. After school, they either hang out here or at
my parents’ house. I’ve been spending most days at Goolsby, where
I’ll be teaching in the fall. I wanted to get to know my co-workers
and the kids a little. The second grade teachers have let me shadow
them and introduced me to the kids, some of whom will be in my class
next year.

I’ve had lunch a few
times with the librarian, Nikki, and one of the other teachers,
Michelle. They’re great, although they keep asking when they’ll
meet my wife. I’ve been wearing my ring ever since the party, and I
told them a little bit about Olivia at lunch one day. I didn’t tell
them we aren’t together, because I’m really hoping that we will
be again soon. I said they could meet her at the graduation party, so
they’re both planning on coming.

Rose talks to her
sister every day, and I can tell she’s worried about something. She
won’t talk to me about it, though. It’s only one week to the
party, so I hope whatever it is isn’t bad enough to stop her from
coming. I don’t really think anything would stop her from seeing
Rose graduate.

I finish out the day
and call Rose to tell her I’m going out with a few teachers for
Happy Hour. She says she’ll be fine and that I should have a good
time. The bar is nice. I’ve never really hung out in a regular bar
before, since I used to just go to clubs. It’s a different vibe but
not necessarily a bad one. A few girls try to hit on me, even with my
ring on, but I shoot them down. It’s crazy that some girls wouldn’t
care that I’m married, but I guess some guys would still go for it.
Not this guy, though. I’d never cheat on my wife, even if we aren’t
currently together.

I get home a few hours
later, and as soon as I walk inside, I hear Rose yelling. I run down
the hall, ready to bust into her room, when I realize that she’s on
the phone. I shouldn’t listen, but I do.

“
Liv, please
call Candi. She’ll help you. She said she would.”

“
I know you
don’t want to be a burden, but I’m scared for you.”

“
I guess I
can’t change your mind. Please be careful, though. I love you.”

I have to know what the
hell’s going on. I knock on the door. “Rose? Can I come in?”

“Just a minute.” I
wait and then she opens it. She’s been crying again. “Hi, Luke. I
didn’t hear you get home.”

“What’s going on,
Rose. Something’s wrong with Olivia and you need to tell me what it
is.”

“I-I can’t. She
made me promise.”

“Dammit, why not? I’m
her husband.”

“Are you?”

“What the hell kind
of question is that? You were at the wedding.”

“She’s not here
with you, though. You kicked her out, you won’t talk to her, and
you took back your credit and debit cards.”

“I told you I’ll
talk to her at the party. I want to straighten it all out, Rose. I
do.”

“The party may be too
late, Luke. That’s all I can say.”

“Too late? What are
you talking about? Is she in some kind of trouble?”

“I
can’t
tell you.”

“I’ll ask her
myself, then.” I take out my phone and call her, but it goes to
voicemail.“Is she at her apartment?”

“No. She had to move
out. She’d already given notice.”

“Where is she, then?”

“I don’t know.”
She starts crying then, and I reach out to hug her. “She wouldn’t
tell me. I’m so scared.”

“She’ll be at the
party, right?”

“She said she would.”

“It’ll be okay,
Rose.”

It has to be. I won’t
forgive myself if it isn’t. I should’ve just talked to her
instead of letting my fear and pride get in the way. I’ll take her
back even if she tells me the disowning came first. I want my wife. I
need
my wife. It can’t be too late for us.

* * *

Olivia

I’ve been living in
my car for a week now. I was going to stay at a weekly motel, but
when I tried to check in, my debit card was declined. I couldn’t
figure out why until I checked my bank app on my phone. I’d set up
automatic payments for my phone bill as well as the electric and
water bills for the house. They all came out when I wasn’t paying
attention this week, along with my final payments for the apartment
utilities and cable. I was lucky to have just enough to eat and gas
up the car.

All week I’ve managed
to find places I can sleep for a couple hours without being noticed.
Mostly in casino parking garages. I park on the employee levels when
I can since friends have told me they sometimes nap in their cars on
breaks. I thought I could blend in and I did. Plus, I cover myself
with clothes and only sleep two hours at a time. I’ve used hospital
parking lots, too.

For food, I eat mostly
instant ramen. If I leave water in the car with me, it gets hot
enough to pour into the little cups. I’ve splurged a couple times
on fast food, but that’s a luxury I really can’t afford. So,
ramen it is. I’ve got about thirty packets left so hopefully I can
find a job soon. It’s going to be hard with no address, but I’m
not giving up.

My problem today is
that I need a shower. It’s Rose’s graduation day, and I can’t
go like this. My hair is greasy, and although I don’t smell
horrible, I don’t smell great, either. I saved just enough on my
last credit card to pay for a shower at one of the truck stops. When
I’m paying though, I realize I actually didn’t save enough.

Tears well in my eyes
as I ask the clerk if I can come back with the difference. He says
he’s sorry, but no. I look around, but everyone else in line just
averts their eyes from me.I don’t know what to do. I can’t be a
mess for Rose’s graduation, and I don’t want Luke to see me like
this. The cashier has just asked me to move along when I hear the one
person I would never expect to be here—and I’d never want to
see—speak.

“I’ll pay for the
shower, Olivia. And it won’t cost you much, either.”

“I have no money,
Blaine. What exactly would I pay you with?”

“Just a kiss.”

“Never.”

“You must not want to
look clean at your sister’s party badly enough. Okay then.”

“Wait. Just one
kiss?”

“Yep.”

I swallow down the bile
in my throat that’s making me want to throw up at the thought of
kissing
any
man who’s
not Luke. I turn and lean to him with my eyes open to give him a peck
on the lips. Blaine pulls me tight against him and attacks my lips. I
refuse to open my mouth for him, but I let him kiss me. He lets me go
after a minute with a smirk on his face.

“See, that wasn’t
so bad.”

He pays for my shower
and then saunters out the door. I can’t look at the cashier or the
other customers as I head to the women’s showers. I just sold a
piece of myself for a shower. I don’t think I can sink much lower
than this. I wash myself up and I feel somewhat good again. I just
have to forget that kiss. It was nothing. It
meant
nothing.

I put on my blue satin
dress with the sheer overlay and silver belt that I bought months ago
for the party, along with silver heels. It’s loose since I’ve
lost weight, but it doesn’t look too bad. I’m too dressed up for
the graduation itself, but I won’t have anywhere to change in
between. I’m glad I bought Rose and Alex presents before everything
happened, too. My sister deserves the best, and Alex has always been
a good friend to her.

I arrive at the
graduation and find a seat in the back. I cheer for both girls and
then wait outside once it’s over. I see the Griffins come out, but
I don’t join them. My last name may be the same as theirs, but they
don’t want me. Alex and Rose run up to them a few minutes later.
Everyone hugs them and then Rose starts looking around. When she
spots me, her face breaks into a big smile.

“Liv!”

I meet her halfway as
we run to each other. I pull her into a hug, which she returns for a
few seconds before stiffening in my arms. She pulls back and then
looks up at me. “Have you been eating?”

“Of course I have,
silly girl.”

“You’re really
thin.”

“Is that a bad
thing?”

She starts to cry.
“What are you eating?”

“Don’t cry, Rose.
Please. This is your day. I’m fine.”

“You’re not. What
are you eating?”

I look away. I have to
answer her because I know she won’t let it go. “Mostly ramen.”

“It’s that bad? You
need some real food. I can sneak some out of the house.”

I bring my gaze sharply
back to hers. “No. I won’t take anything from Luke. I did this to
myself, and I’ll get out of it myself, too. I can’t have you risk
him getting angry at you, either. I’ll be able to eat at the party,
so it’s all good.”

“But, Liv…”

“Just go back over
there. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

She reluctantly nods
before hugging me hard again. I watch her walk back over to the
Griffins, and Candi catches my eye. I give her the best smile I can
and start walking back to my car. I make it almost all the way there
when Luke catches up to me.

“Is everything okay,
Olivia?”

He keeps calling me
‘Olivia’ and then wants to ask if I’m okay? “Sure.
Everything’s fine.”

“Rose is crying every
night, and she was just crying now. I need to know what’s going
on.”

I ignore his question
and just focus on what’s most important. “Thanks again for taking
care of her. Please just keep doing that. I’ve told her not to
upset you.”

“You think I’d stop
taking care of her if she upset me? I’d never do something so
horrible. Why would you think that?”

“That’s what
happened to us, isn’t it? I upset you, and you threw me away?”

I look up at him and
see the shock in his eyes. “Ollie…no…I mean…”

“I’ll see you at
the party, Luke.”

I turn and walk away,
getting in my car and driving out of the parking lot. I hold myself
together for a few blocks and then pull into a strip mall and park. I
allow myself to cry for a few minutes and do my best to fix my makeup
in the rear view mirror before I get ready to leave. I turn the car
back on and drive to the party, no longer looking forward to it but
just hoping I can survive.

* * *

Luke

Olivia’s words are
tearing through me as I drive to the party. Rose wanted to ride with
Alex, which is probably a good thing. Seeing her struggling while I’m
struggling, too, would have been too much. Becausewhat Olivia said
was true. That’s what I did, isn’t it? I gave up on my marriage
because I was upset. Granted, I had something big to be upset about,
but I gave up.
And
threw my wife away.

I’m going to fix this
today. Even if I have to throw Olivia over my shoulder and carry her
with me somewhere. We’re going to figure this out. With any luck,
she’ll be moving back in tonight. That thought makes me smile, and
I’m actually in a good mood when I get to my parents’ house.

My mood darkens a
little when I see Blaine and his parents in the backyard. I’m
guessing they were invited back when Rose’s parents were still
involved with the party. I see Nikki and Michelle as well, though,
which perks me back up a little. Blaine’s mom sees me and comes
over to talk.

“Hi, Luke.”

“Hello.”

“I heard that Rose
has been living with you.”

“Yes, she has.”

“It’s going
alright?”

“Yeah. She’s great.
I mean, I never expected to have a teenager living with me, but we
get along and I can easily support her financially, so it’s all
good.”

“I was sorry to hear
about you and Olivia. She’s a great girl.”

“Yes, she is. I’m
hoping things will still work out for us.”

“I’ll be hoping for
that, too. If you need anything, please reach out. I know my son is
difficult
, but I like
you.”

“I like you, too, and
thanks.”

I keep to myself for
the next half hour as I wait for my wife to arrive. When she does,
she takes my breath away. For both good and bad reasons. I mean, she
looks beautiful, but she also looks too thin. I was so happy to see
her earlier that I didn’t notice it. I do now. Has she not been
eating? I’m going to ask her about it right after we straighten
everything else out.

I’m walking towards
her, but Blaine gets to her first. “Well, don’t you look good,
Olivia. I guess my kiss earlier did wonders for you.”

My blood starts to
boil. “He kissed you?”

“Oh no, Luke.
She
kissed
me
.”

“I can explain.”

“Did. You. Kiss.
Him?”

She closes her eyes and
I know the answer before she even says it. “Yes.”

“This is just great.
I was willing to talk to you and work things out, and you go and kiss
another guy.
Him
.”