Page 98 of Mr. Edwards

I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration; I know he’s right, but I can’t help what I feel. “She’s the only girl I want.”

“You’re being ridiculous. You’ve had others since her.”

“Yeah, but none of them measured up.” I exhale a frustrated breath. “They were purely filling the void. Helping me forget. Half the time I had to close my eyes and pretend they were Carlee just so I could blow.”

Ashton shakes his head. “You just haven’t found theright one yet. She’s out there trust me. Emma came along when I least expected her. Look at us now.”

He and Emma are perfect, blah blah. Good for them.

“Fuck,” I grate out. “You’re not listening, I don’t want anyone else. Carlee is my Emma!”

I slam down the glass in my hand. She’s the only woman I’ve ever given my heart to, a heart I forgot to get back from her before she left. She’s myone, the person my father told me about before he passed, and I refuse to settle for second best. Jesus Christ, I need to get out of this damn house, I’m going stir-crazy.

“Look, I didn’t want to tell you this, I know you’re going through a lot right now, but she’s moved on, and you need to do the same.”

His words take a moment to register. “What do you mean she’s moved on?”

“When I got home from work, I found a pregnancy test in our bathroom. I thought it was Emma’s, but when I confronted her, she confessed it belonged to Carlee.”

My heart sinks. She told me she didn’t want kids.

“Carlee’s pregnant?”

Ashton shrugs. “I don’t know, I didn’t ask Emma to elaborate. Carlee is kind of a touchy subject between us since everything went down between you two.”

His words not only make my head spin, they fill me with rage. “Fuck.”

“There’s more. Carlee came to the hospital after your accident.”

“She did, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m telling you now.”

She did come... she does care.

Here I go again, grasping for any sliver of hope I can find.

“I didn’t want to hurt you. You were going through enough.”

“You think her coming to see me would hurt? Have you not heard a word I said? This is great news.” Every day I was in the hospital, a huge part of me wished she’d visit.

Ashton sighs as he bows his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. “She didn’t come alone. She came with another guy. I asked them to leave, I was pissed she’d show up with her new boyfriend in tow. Emma and I got into a huge fight over it, but I knew it would hurt you to see her with someone else.”

“Maybe he was just a friend.”

“I’m afraid not. They’re living together.”

“What?”

I may be three sheets to the wind right now, but it does nothing to lessen the sting. His words are a crushing blow to my already fragile heart. Why would she do that? She told me at Ashton and Emma’s wedding that they’d been nobody else since me. Was she lying? I scrub my hand over my face. I don’t know why I continue to keep her up on a pedestal. She’s proved time and time again that she doesn’t belong there. Have I been so blinded by love that I refuse to let myself see the truth?

Staggering slightly, I start moving across the room. “You need to go,” I say, using the back of the couch for support as I head toward the staircase.

“Grayson.”

I hold my hand up in protest; I don’t want to hear anymore. “Go, I want to be alone.”

My physical therapist, Christy, passes me the leg brace before crossing the room to the kitchen to wash her hands.