I pulled out a box of cereal and opened the fridge.
No milk. Great.
As I was grumbling to myself, my doorbell chimed, and Sam and I ran to the door to answer it.
Standing with a glorious bag of groceries was Liv.
“You brought food!” I exclaimed.
“Yep, nice to see you, too.”
“You brought food!” I clapped my hands together and took the bag from her. My mood immediately fell when I saw the contents. “What the hell is this crap?” I asked, making my way back into the kitchen.
Sam pranced and wagged his tail in reaction to our visitor. He and Liv had developed quite a deep bond since he’d stayed with her a few times. She’d jokingly told me that Sam was the only male she’d ever given her heart to.
“It’s food,” she answered blankly.
“This is not food—unless you’re a rabbit.”
“That is people food, real people food. It’s vegetables, flax seed, organic muffins, and cage-free eggs.”
I made a gagging noise that earned me a slap to the ass.
“I brought you groceries!” She pouted.
“You brought me hippie food. Sometimes, a girl just wants a milkshake and a hamburger.”
“Well, he didn’t exactly specify an order when he called.” She was pulling out groceries I couldn’t even name and putting them away.
“Who called? Garrett called you?”
Her lips curved into a smile, and she nodded. “Mmhmm…”
“He called you this morning?”
“Yes. He said you had a rough night, and he didn’t want you to be alone all day. So, he asked if I could come over and spend the day with you. He quickly added that he’d eaten you out of house and home, so he told me to bring sustenance.”
I felt a little blush, and I tried to hide the smile consuming my face.
“Oh my God!”
“What?” I tried to feign innocence.
“After that phone call, I thought maybe you guys were rekindling, taking it slow. But holy shit! You’re doing the nasty with Garrett Finnegan again!”
I snorted out a laugh, and she began jumping up and down in triumph.
“I knew it! Now, spill!” She pulled a few brown muffins sprinkled with oats out of a container. They looked like they could take out a window with a single toss.
She handed one to me on a plate, and I gave it a doubtful look.
“What do you want me to say? Fine, yes, we’re sleeping together.”
I was right. The muffin was harder than a baseball. I slipped it into the microwave and waited for it to warm.
“Okay, but what does that mean?”
Hearing the ding, I pulled out my breakfast and grabbed some butter from the fridge. Liv gave me a judgmental look but didn’t say a word. If she was going to make me eat this shit, she would have to deal with me slathering it in butter.
“I honestly don’t know. He’s made it crystal clear that we are not seeing other people, but I don’t know much beyond that. We have a lot to work through.”
Liv decided to forgo tea and had coffee with me instead. We took our breakfast into the living room and sat down on the couch while I worked up the courage to say what needed to be said.
After another sip of coffee, I finally asked, “Liv, when I left after graduation, were there rumors about me?”
Her eyes met mine, and she took the time to set down her plate and coffee.
“Is that why Garrett sent me over here? Is that why you were so upset? Mia, what happened?”
I let out a lengthy breath of air that I’d been holding in, and I told her how we’d run into Brent at the restaurant and Garrett’s anger over the phone number.
“That’s kind of hot,” she said.
“Pay attention!” I snapped. I couldn’t help but grin though. I continued on from there, telling her about Garrett’s plan to get me on a raft.
She laughed at the thought until I got to the part about Brent basically telling me I was trash.
“That dirty rat bastard!” she yelled.
“Liv, it’s fine. Garrett took care of it. Now, please, answer my question. Were there rumors?”
“You left so suddenly. You know there were bound to be a few.”
“And before I left?” I asked.
Her eyes shifted, and I could tell she knew something.
“Liv, please tell me.”
“I didn’t believe a single word, Mia. Yes, everyone thought you were pregnant. A freshman heard you throwing up in the restroom and then crying with Garrett. Someone else saw you run out of class a week later. I tried to tell them that it was nothing, but it was high school.”
She’d stuck up for me. The entire time, she’d defended me.
“They weren’t rumors, Liv. It was true,” I confessed.
“What?”
“I was pregnant.”
“Oh my God, Mia. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have been there for you.” Her hands found mine and gripped them tightly.
“We didn’t tell anyone, not even our parents.”
“Is that why Garrett proposed?” she asked.
I smiled, remembering that happy memory when he’d asked me to marry him. I never once felt like he had done it out of duty or responsibility. His eyes had met mine, and I’d seen nothing but love shining through.
“That’s why we moved it up so quickly, but he wanted to marry me, regardless of the baby.”
“But something changed?” she asked hesitantly.
“Don’t they always? I was young and easily swayed by my parents. I told them, thinking they’d support me. God, I was stupid. My mother convinced me that I would ruin Garrett’s life by going through with it.”
“So, you ran.”
I nodded. “So, I ran.”
“Does Garrett know why you left?”
“No, it doesn’t matter.”
Her hands squeezed mine. “It does matter. Don’t you think he deserves to know everything?”
It was a question I’d thought about so many times.
But I’d always come to the same answer.
“It doesn’t change the past.”
~Garrett~
“I am so f**ked,” I said to no one as I surveyed the amount of unfinished work on my desk. That was just the paper. I still had a ton of emails, reports, and a dozen other things to go through.
I’d never been so far behind in my life. I was always the go-getter, the man who finished first and asked for more. Looking down at the clock on my computer, it registered that I’d been in the office for almost four hours, and I’d accomplished nothing.