"You should have told me, Lena. I would have come home to take care of you." His voice dropped low, and in years past it would have turned me on instantly. A month ago, even, had Derrek joined me in the shower, pressing his naked body against mine, I would have welcomed him and a chance to save our marriage, but now it was a lost cause. It took all my strength not to yell and scream at him that I knew the truth, I knew he was cheating and I had moved on as well. I bit my lip to keep the admission inside, but holding Preston's name inside me hurt almost worse than the grip Derrek had on my arm.
"Where were you all weekend, Derrek? Surely you couldn't have been at work this whole time?"
"Of course I was. I have spent the last seven years building this life for you, for us, and you couldn't be more ungrateful."
"I didn't want this life. I wanted you. I wanted the man I married, the man I fell in love with. But somewhere along the line he went away, abandoned me. So, excuse me if you're not the first person I call when I need someone."
"Who is the first person you call then, Lena?"
"Sam." My answer was quick, but I knew my eyes were darting back and forth between both of his. I was never a good liar and I was sure he didn't believe me.
"I wonder what Sam would say if I called her and asked her how she'd spent her weekend."
My heart rate sped up at his words. He couldn't get to Sam before I had a chance to talk to her. "She'd tell you exactly what I have. Now, please, let go of me so I can go to work." I wrenched my arm away from him and held in a sigh of relief when he let me go. I dashed out of the shower, grabbed my towel, and proceeded to get ready for work the fastest anyone ever had in the history of man. I was dressed and heading for the door before Derrek had even left the shower.
I nearly ran to the garage door, hopped in my car, and peeled out of the driveway before he could catch me or make me stop. When I was a mile or two away, I pulled into a parking lot and found a spot, parked my car, and let out a loud breath.
Then I had a breakdown.
My heart was pounding, hands shaking, breaths coming faster and faster. I grabbed my phone and called Sam.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Have you heard from Derrek?" I asked.
"Lena? What's wrong? Are you okay?"
My terrified voice had given me away. "Did Derrek call you?"
"No. What's going on? Where are you?"
"I'm on my way to work. I was at home and Derrek showed up asking me where I had been all weekend." I took in a staggering breath, trying to get all the words in my brain to make their way out of my mouth. "I told him I was with you all weekend. Please, Sam, please, if he calls you I need you to tell him I was with you. Tell him I came over Friday night, and stayed until this morning."
"Of course. Whatever you need. I'll do anything, but you have to tell me what's going on."
"I can't right now. But I will. I promise. But remember, if Derrek calls you, please tell him what I told you."
"You're scaring me, Lena."
"I'm fine," I lied. "I'll be okay." I sighed and wiped a tear that had escaped. "Can I call you later? I need to get to work."
"Of course. Any time. Be safe, okay?"
"I will, and thank you for everything."
We hung up and I put my car in drive, continuing my drive to work.
A few hours later, after countless sideways glances at my appearance and a few comments from concerned co-workers, I took my lunch break in a private conference room and called Preston.
"Sweetheart," he said in greeting. It sounded as if just saying that word was a relief to him, as if it was a release.
"Preston," I countered, suddenly very close to tears. "I don't think I can wait until eleven to see you." Perhaps I sounded needy and insecure, but that was exactly what I was feeling at the moment so it was useless to hide it.
"What happened?"
"Derrek came home this morning while I was getting ready for work."
"Shit."
I didn't really know what else to say, but just speaking those words to him was already making me feel better.
"Did he touch you?" Preston's voice was hard and deep. He felt very far away and I knew if I told him the truth about what had happened he would snap. I didn't want him turning into a loose cannon if I could help it.
"No," I lied.
"Don't lie to me, Lena. Don't you fucking cover for him."
"Preston," I whispered. I shouldn't have called him. "I'm sorry, I have to go."
"So you're choosing to protect him?"
"I'm not protecting him. I'm trying to protect you. I can hear how mad you are and I don't want you doing anything crazy. I can't win here, Preston. Either I tell you what happened and you fuck everything up with your temper, or I keep it all inside and Derrek wins again. I can't take this anymore."
"I'm coming to your work."
"Please don't. Everyone here already thinks I'm crazy with the way I showed up this morning. I just wanted to hear your voice. I thought maybe it would calm me down."
He was quiet for a moment and all I could hear were his rapid breaths, but with each passing moment, they slowed. Then, finally, he asked calmly, "Can I pick you up when you're off?"
I sighed in relief at his voice, soothing and warm. This was the Preston I'd wanted to hear from, the man I thought could make me feel better about the terrible morning I'd endured.
"I'd love that," I whispered.
Later I received a text message from Sam.
**That fucker called me at work this morning asking how I'd spent my weekend.**
**What did you say?**
**I told him to go fuck off.**
I laughed, a real, loud, therapeutic laugh. I felt more tension lift from my shoulders and smiled, looking down at my phone.
**You just made my day.**
**Are you ready to tell me what happened between you two?**
I sighed, because I really wasn't. I wanted to tell her, eventually, but I'd just managed to calm down and focus on my work.
**Can we meet for lunch tomorrow? I just need a day to let my mind wrap around everything.**
**Sounds great. But call me if you need anything before then. I know you're going through a lot right now. I just want to make sure you don't push me out of your life.**
Her words made me frown. I was going through a lot and perhaps I needed a little space to figure everything out, but Sam was my best friend and I couldn't imagine going through life without her.
**I would never push you out, Sam. I need you more now than ever. Just bear with me for a little while. I will see you tomorrow.**
**See you then.**
Chapter Five
That evening when I left work, Preston was waiting outside my building, leaning up against his Lotus, like every woman's Sixteen Candles fantasy. Arms folded over his chest, ankles crossed, sexy black leather jacket stretched over his shoulders; he looked just as I liked to picture him in my mind. I walked up to him with a smile on my face, a true miracle after the day I'd had.
"Hey," I said as I stopped a foot away from him. We'd spent the weekend in bed together, but all of a sudden, I was unsure how I was supposed to greet him, especially since we were in public. I was very much still married and still trying to appear the happily married person I'd always hoped I'd be.
"Hey," he said in response, the corner of his mouth perking up as if he could read my mind and knew all I really wanted to do was press my mouth against his and run my fingers through his beautiful hair. He jolted away from the car and opened the door for me, making sure I was snugly inside before closing it. I watched him walk around the front of the car and get in on his side. He started the Lotus, which purred like a cat looking for some affection, and drove out of the parking lot.
Once we were out of the lot and a few blocks away, he reached across the console and placed his hand on my knee, gently squeezing. I turned my head toward him, smiling shyly, thankful he'd made the first move to touch me. I still wasn't sure how we were progressing from our weekend together. I reached down to his hand, which he turned over, lacing his fingers through mine.
"I've got some news," he said as he expertly took a corner with only one hand on the wheel.
"Please let it be good news."
"It's not bad news, but not really good either."
"Okay, well, let's get it over with then."
He stopped at a red light and turned to look at me.
"The house he goes to? The one Jessica lives in as well? His name's not on the deed. It's just in her name. I was hoping he owned it and that could be some piece of evidence against him, but either she owned it before they started seeing each other, or he was smart and put it in her name. The car she drives is just in her name as well."
"Damn," I whispered. "What else can we look at?"
"I'm still trying to access bank statements to see if they share an account, but honestly, if the house is just in her name, I doubt he'd make a mistake like share a checking account with her. Other than that I can try to find small things, like electric bills, water bills, stuff like that, just to see if we can prove he lives there, but a piece of mail isn't necessarily going to hold up well in front of a judge."