Serenity (Inevitable #5)(114)

Matthew paled visibly, and his hands were trembling as he placed them on either side of his head. "And just when I think this situation can't be any more fucked up than it already is," he muttered bitterly. "Instead of just muting my phone yesterday afternoon, I should have turned it off. That way we would have kept our date, you would have told me you were moving in, and all of that would be resolved now."

Sasha looked at him sadly. "You know it's not that simple. Whether you heard the news last night or this morning about Hayley, you'd still be going to her now. Turning your phone off would have only postponed the inevitable for a few more hours."

She walked on bare feet back into the living room to get her bag and shoes, not glancing behind her to see if Matthew followed. She had her hand on the front door when he said her name, and she turned to look at him one more time.

"Take care of yourself, sweetheart," he whispered hoarsely. "I have no idea how I'm going to go on without you, but I realize now how selfish I'm being to expect you to put up with all this crap."

"You're not being selfish," she replied sadly. "I think maybe I'm being the selfish one. But I'm not strong enough to handle this, Matthew, not strong enough to have my heart broken night after night. I'm sorry it has to be this way, but it's the only way I know to save myself."

Matthew nodded sorrowfully. "I won't stop thinking about you for even a minute, Sasha. Or loving you."

She closed her eyes for a moment, summoning up the will not to have an ugly breakdown right here and now. "Same here," she whispered, before walking out the door.





Julio knew the moment she walked through the front door that something was really, really wrong, and if Sasha had held out even a smidgen of hope that she could hide what had happened from her overly astute landlord, it was crushed into miniscule pieces within seconds.

"Querida," crooned Julio, already enveloping her in a comforting hug. "What's wrong, baby? Tell your big brothers what's bothering you."

In reply, Sasha let her bag slip through nerveless fingers to land on the floor of the foyer, then promptly sobbed on Julio's shoulder as though her heart was breaking - which it definitely was.

Once Julio had settled her on the living room sofa, sandwiched between him and Chad, Sasha tearfully choked out all that had happened. Her landlords let her talk, which was a small miracle for the chatty Julio, only offering her an occasional pat on the back or a low murmur of sympathy.

"I - I did the right thing, didn't I?" sniffled Sasha. "I mean, should I have stuck by him, waited to see how this thing played out?"

"Absolutely not."

"Possibly."

Predictably, the spouses had differing opinions on the situation, with Julio remaining adamant that Sasha had done the right thing, while Chad continued to ponder the matter more closely.

"Well, I can tell you right now, that if my man told me he was going to move back to the same house where his ex was still living, I would have told him to kiss my ass," declared Julio. "I don't care what he might have told you about how things have been over for a long time, and that he's only doing this for his kids. Bitch is still sharing an address with him, isn't she? Who knows how long it will be before she starts sharing other stuff again."

Chad thwacked his husband on the forehead with his open palm. "Very sensitive of you to bring that up right now," he chastised. "Don't listen to him, Sasha. He's been watching too many episodes of Scandal lately. As for your Matthew, there's no denying that he's crazy in love with you, girl. I'm sure it's killing him inside right now to have to do this, to have to make this choice. But I also understand your point. He's cancelled enough dates with you these past few weeks that even a saint would be pissed off and fed up."



       
         
       
        

Julio wrapped an arm around Sasha's shoulders and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek. "She is a saint, Chad. And I don't blame her in the least for finally setting her foot down. Matthew could have dealt with the problem child without moving back in with la familia. He's feeling guilty right now, and responsible. And I'm guessing that little brat is taking full advantage of poor Daddy and putting the pressure on him. But something doesn't feel right about this whole thing, you know? I can't put my finger on it right now, but it will come to me eventually."

Chad exchanged a knowing look with Sasha. "Told you he's been watching too many soap operas. Speaking of which, we need to get your mind off of all this for awhile. How about we order in from that Indian place you love, and then we can watch one of your favorite movies?"