Crossing the Line

by Long, Samantha

  Halle took a few deep breaths, she was gearing herself up for the words. “I walked in on him at the office.” She sobbed again. “How was I so damn blind? So stupid?”

  Victoria looked to Nick, and he pointed toward the door. She mouthed “sorry” to him, and he shook his head. She figured he understood and that it would be uncomfortable for him to sit there while Halle hated on men.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  VICTORIA RUBBED HALLE’S back in soothing circles. Halle’s sobs shook her body, and Victoria wanted to kill Trevor with her. From what she was able to piece together from Halle’s words, Halle had walked in on Trevor and one of the nurses from the office. She’d gone home, forgot her cell phone, and gone back to get it. Apparently, Trevor and the nurse, Jenna, were getting freaky in one of the exam rooms.

  “What am I supposed to do now? That’s my job, the only place I’ve ever worked.” Halle took deep breaths and tried to calm the sobs. “That lying bastard.”

  “He is a bastard. Halle, I’m so sorry.”

  Halle wiped the tears from her eyes. Victoria went and got her a warm washcloth to wipe off the mascara that ran down her cheeks. “I can’t believe he’d do this to me.”

  Victoria sat back down, her heart in her stomach. Her sister was hurting, therefore she was, too. “Do you want me to call Addie?”

  Halle nodded. “I need a bitchfest right now. I want chocolate, wine, and ice cream, and I want to punch that fucker in the face.”

  “Done.” Victoria sent the text to Addie. “You can stay here as long as you need. I have plenty of room. You’re not planning on going back to him are you?” Please, please don’t go back to him.

  “Hell no. But that house is mine. I decorated it; I’m the one who spends time in it every night. If he thinks I’m giving it up, he’s lost his damn mind.”

  “That’s my girl.” Victoria took Halle’s hand. “I hate him. I’m sure Addie will punch him in the face for you.”

  “It wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying.” Halle’s chin wobbled and tears started falling again. “Why can’t I stop?”

  “Because your husband is a cheating bastard. No matter what anyone says, you did love him, and it hurts.”

  “I knew.” Halle shook her head, looking pissed at herself. “I knew deep down, but I ignored it. I thought, that can’t happen to me. We’re perfect for each other. Like a fairy tale.”

  “No one wants to think that the person they love would do that to them,” Victoria said, sadness in her voice. “It still hurts just as bad. Don’t try to stop crying. Get the hurt out until you get mad. Then we can get your house back.”

  “I feel so humiliated. It was right under my nose! He was having his affair, more than likely many, right there in the office. Was it going on the whole time? Did he have sex with me before or after he left them?” Halle sucked in a breath. “It feels like someone is sitting on my chest. I’m going to throw up.”

  Victoria’s eyes welled up when Halle ran to the bathroom and vomited. Her heart ached for her; she hated seeing her like this. She checked her phone when it beeped.

  Addie: Wtf?! Be there in 5.

  Good, Victoria thought. She sent Nick a quick text, apologizing for cutting their night short, even though she knew he understood. Halle sat back down, holding a cold washcloth to her forehead.

  “I’m sorry. Just the thought—”

  “Don’t think about that.” Victoria rubbed her arm. “You shouldn’t be humiliated. He’s the dickhead who couldn’t keep it in his pants. None of this is your fault.”

  Addie didn’t knock, just came in the front door, carrying several grocery bags. “I’ve got chocolate, ice cream, and Jack Daniels. Wine was too tame for this. We’re going to get this going right now.”

  Halle sniffed. “Thanks, Addie.”

  “No problem.” She took the bags into the kitchen. “Get your asses in here and we’ll begin.”

  Victoria’s eyes rounded as Addie pulled three shot glasses out of one of the bags and set them on the counter. “Oh no.”

  “Shut it.” Addie said. “Our sister needs us. She can’t drink alone, and if there was ever a time to drink, it’s now.”

  “True,” Victoria agreed. She grabbed some bowls and dished out the ice cream. “The girls are with their dad, so it should be fine.”

  “Damn right.” Halle bit her lip when it wobbled. “I refuse to cry again. At least for tonight. I just want to forget it.”

  “Your wish is my command.” Addie filled each shot glass. “Cheers.”

  They tapped the glasses together before throwing them back.

  Half of the bottle in, the doorbell rang. It was after nine, so Victoria wondered who it could be. She opened the door without checking, something she reprimanded her daughters for all the time, and blinked when she saw Trevor standing on the porch. For a moment she just stared, let him squirm. The man was attractive, and the fact that he was a doctor only inflated his ego more. He held a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates. Did he honestly think that was all it took to make up for being a sleazy man-whore?

  “Is Halle here?”

  Victoria glared at him. “She doesn’t want to see you. You need to leave.”

  “I have to talk to her. Tell her I’m sorry.” Trevor pulled a puppy dog face.

  That wasn’t going to work; was he serious? “Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you cheated on her.”

  His puppy dog expression vanished, his face turning red. “I’m her husband. I demand to speak to her.”

  The cruelty in his eyes made her uneasy, but the Jack Daniels made her forget it. Victoria let out her bitch laugh. “I don’t think you have that right. Not anymore.”

  “Is there a problem?” Addie stood beside Victoria, presenting a united front as they blocked him from getting inside.

  “Where is she?” He grit his teeth, hands tightening on the roses.

  “I believe Victoria told you to leave. I’m going to give you one minute to do what she asks,” Addie said.

  “Look, you little bitch—”

  Addie swung, her first connecting with his jaw. Trevor crumpled to the ground, crushing the roses. “That’s a warning, you stupid bastard. Go. Away!”

  Victoria turned to Addie, her mouth hanging open. She didn’t know whether to cheer or laugh.

  “Holy shit. You hit me.” Trevor rubbed his jaw, all semblance of tough guy gone.

  “It’ll be worse if you don’t leave. I’m shutting the door. If you aren’t gone by the time I look back out, I’m grabbing my gun, and I will shoot your dick off.” Addie pointed. “Now go.”

  “Oh, my God. You punched him in the face!” Victoria cried out, laughing as they slammed the door.

  “I can’t believe that!” Halle ran from the kitchen and jumped on Addie, hugging her. “You are the best sister ever.”

  “I know,” Addie said, rubbing the hand she’d punched Trevor with. “Can I get some ice? I can’t feel the pain right now because of Jack, but I want to get a handle on the swelling.”

  “That was amazing!” Victoria grinned. “I didn’t think you’d actually do it. And shoot him? Do you even own a gun?”

  “No.” Addie smirked. “But he doesn’t know that.”

  Later that night, after Halle was tucked away in the guest bedroom, Addie and Victoria sat on the couch with the TV on in the background.

  “She’s going to hurt for a long time over this.” Victoria rubbed her forehead. The alcohol was beginning to wear off, and the headache was starting. “She didn’t deserve this. She needs someone who will love her for real. Respect her, give her everything of themselves.”

  “We all thought Trevor was a good guy in the beginning. I think the fact that he had an MD behind his name made him feel invincible. I’d like to find the little whore Halle saw him fucking and break her face,” Addie
said. “This is why I’m never getting married. Men aren’t raised to be gentleman like they used to be.”

  “No kidding,” Victoria agreed, although she hoped Nick was better than the others. “Should we call Mom and Dad or let her tell them?”

  “I don’t know. She may want some time to wallow before Mom and Dad get involved,” Addie said. “We’ll ask her in the morning.”

  “I’m glad she never had kids with him. I know she wants them, but it only makes the process harder. Although Roger never cheated on me. That I know of.”

  “He doesn’t seem like the smartest person. You would’ve known.”

  “True. I just hope she doesn’t decide in the morning that she can forgive him.”

  “We won’t let her. We’ll protect her from making that colossal mistake,” Addie promised.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  VICTORIA KNOCKED ON the open door of Nick’s shop. Since Halle was staying at the house the last few nights, they’d hardly had any time for each other. She didn’t blame Halle, and neither did Nick, but she missed him. She drank in the sight of him in holey jeans and a gray t-shirt. He had on a pair of the most adorable black, thick framed glasses. The way he mumbled to himself as he worked made her heart turn over.

  “Nick?”

  His head shot up, and when he saw her, his face lit up in a sweet smile. “Hey, baby.”

  She stepped inside, curious to see what the area he worked in looked like. “I hope you don’t mind. I wanted to see you before I went home.”

  He dropped the pencil, crossed to her, and pulled her into a hot kiss. “Of course I don’t mind. I’m just working on measurements for a lady’s cabinets.”

  “I’ve missed you.” She ran her arms up and down his back. Being in his arms brought her stress level down.

  “I’ve missed you.” Nick tilted her chin up and kissed her again. “How’s Halle?”

  “As good as can be expected, I guess,” Victoria said. “She’s still hurting pretty badly. The anger hasn’t set in yet.”

  “That guy needs to be shot. Luke told me about it a few months ago.”

  Victoria stilled. She pulled away and looked at him with an incredulous stare. “You knew? For a few months?” Her voice rose on the last word.

  Nick’s face twisted with confusion. “Yeah. The guys at the gym talk about it.”

  “They talk about it? And you didn’t say anything to me?” The anger rose in her voice. She stepped back from him, needing some physical space to digest this. He’d kept something this important from her?

  “I didn’t know how to bring it up.” Nick shrugged. “I don’t understand why you’re so mad.”

  Victoria shook her head in amazement. “How can you not understand? You heard people talking about my sister behind her back—a whole freaking gym full of men—and you couldn’t say anything to me? I thought we didn’t have secrets, that we’d always be honest.”

  He winced and crossed his arms. “I have been honest. I’ve never lied to you.”

  “But you kept it from me. It’s called a lie of omission. This was about my sister.”

  “Just calm down; we can work this out.”

  Her head snapped up, fire in her eyes.

  “Calm down?” She threw her hands up in the air. “You can’t expect me to calm down. You weren’t honest.” She knew she kept repeating the same thing, but damn it, that lie hurt her. It also hurt her sister. What was Halle going to say when she found out? “You didn’t just hurt me, you hurt Halle, too. You let this keep going on, all the while you slept with me, promising not to lie.”

  Nick leaned back against the table. His jaw flexed, but he didn’t say anything in his defense.

  Maybe he didn’t want to, she thought. Maybe she’d been wishing for more, and he’d only led her on. “I should’ve known this wasn’t going to work.”

  “What does that mean?” He stood again, posture stiff.

  “You’ve never been in a real relationship. You don’t know how to respect your partner. Maybe you didn’t even want to be in a relationship with me.” Pain burned in her eyes. “Maybe you only wanted me to be another notch on your bedpost.”

  Her lack of faith in him snapped his temper. He could just tell her about Luke making him promise, but did she deserve that? Now that she was telling him what she really thought about him, ripping through his emotions like that? “Maybe you were.” The flash of pure anguish on her face cut him, but he kept going. He needed to hurt her like she hurt him. “Maybe I didn’t want to be tied down.”

  Victoria gasped at his words. “I see.” She steadied herself. “I guess you’re right.”

  Instantly he wanted to take it back, to show her that wasn’t what he meant, to tell her everything. But it was too late. She was already walking away from him.

  “Don’t call me; don’t show up at my house. I’m done,” she called over her shoulder.

  He could hear the tears choking her voice. His chest heaved. To survive the pain, he focused on his anger. How the fuck did she think he wasn’t being honest with her? She was the only one he’d been honest with. He’d been prepared to change his life to be with her. What a damn idiot he’d been. Aside from his mother, all women were crazy bitches. Thank God he’d seen the real her before they’d gotten too serious.

  Adrenaline coursed through his body. As he stood there, he realized why he felt so hurt. He thought she believed in him, that she’d at least give him a chance to explain himself. She’d railroaded him, and by the time he could’ve explained, he’d been too hurt and angry to say so. So instead, she’d believed the worst in him from the second he’d opened his mouth.

  He was fooling himself if he thought he was getting any work done. He needed the gym, needed to spar. While he was there, he could kick Luke’s ass for getting him into this mess. If Luke hadn’t been so fixed on having Nick keep the shit a secret, he could’ve been honest with Victoria.

  When he walked into the gym, Luke took one look at his face and tried to duck. Nick’s fist slammed into Luke’s mouth, blood flying.

  “What the hell?” Luke stumbled backward. “What the fuck did I do to you?”

  “Damn it. It’s your fault Victoria’s pissed at me.” Nick breathed hard through his nose. He couldn’t hit Luke again without starting a real fight, and right now, he wasn’t sure he could stop if he started.

  “Why would Victoria be mad at you because of me?” Luke swiped a hand across his mouth. He gestured to the employees who stood nearby, waiting to break up the fight. Gym goers went back to their workouts.

  “Because Halle caught her fucking husband with that girl. Now Victoria’s mad I didn’t tell her because you wanted me to keep it a secret! It doesn’t fucking matter now. Victoria’s too damn snobby to believe anything I say. She doesn’t want to see me anymore. That’s fine. That’s fucking fine with me.”

  Luke watched Nick’s tirade with his hands on his hips, waiting on Nick to blow off steam. When Nick stopped, Luke raised his brows. “Is that what you really want?”

  “Yes.” Nick swallowed the hurt. “Because she didn’t have faith in me. She didn’t trust me, even after knowing me.”

  “You’re sure?” Luke asked.

  “Yeah. I need to fucking hit something.”

  “It won’t be me a second time. I’ll hit back. And I’m not letting you loose on my customers either. I want them to come back.” Luke steered him toward the punching bags. “So, do you know if Halle’s leaving her husband?”

  “Fuck off, Luke, or I’ll forget you’re not a punching bag.”

  Luke backed away with his hands in front of him. “I just had to ask.”

  “Of course you did,” Nick snarled. Not caring that he wasn’t dressed for it or even wearing gloves, he attacked the bag like it was trying to kill him.

  * * *

  Victoria walked into
her house in a fog. Halle sat on the couch, still in her pajamas, her hair a hot mess. She looked up when Victoria plopped down beside her. Even in her own misery, she noticed Victoria’s.

  “What’s the matter?” Halle paused the show she was watching.

  “Nick knew about Trevor cheating. He kept it from me. He kept it from us.” Victoria tried to stop the tears. “I thought he’d be honest with me. Not hide anything. I thought we could make it.”

  “Oh, sweetie.” Halle hugged her, reversing their roles from the other night. “Don’t be upset with him because of me and Trevor.”

  Victoria shook her head. “No, after I asked him if I was just a notch on his belt, he said I was. And if he keeps something like that from me, how easy will it be to keep other things secret? He knew how important honesty was; he even said he’d be completely honest with me. How could he say that when he didn’t tell me?”

  “I don’t know. Men are assholes.” Halle stood. “I’ll get the ice cream.”

  “He didn’t stop me when I left. I told him we were over; I was so mad.” Victoria rubbed a hand over her chest to try to assuage the ache. When she and Roger split up, it’d never hurt like this, and she’d only known Nick for a couple months. Thank God she’d never told him how she felt. That would’ve been a disaster.

  “Maybe he was as upset as you are and wasn’t thinking. Maybe you should’ve let him explain. Could he have had a good reason not to tell you? Still, I’m angry he didn’t say anything. I could’ve been prepared for this.”

  “Would you have believed him?”

  Halle stayed silent for a minute. “No.” She shook her head. “I was so wrapped up in Trevor it took walking in on him to really believe it. There were so many hints, so many lies that were transparent. I could’ve known if I hadn’t been so selectively blind.”

  “We were suspicious, but didn’t really know anything.” Victoria sighed. “Men really suck.”

  Victoria was happy when the girls came home, not just because she missed them, but because they’d be a good distraction from her and Halle’s thoughts. When they walked in, though, she could tell something bothered them. It seemed to be the night of hurt and pissed off females. Helena pushed by Victoria, sending her a hateful glare, before she stormed upstairs. She didn’t even say anything to Halle, who was usually her favorite aunt. Lucia tried to smile, but managed poorly. She took her bag into the living room and plopped next to Halle. Victoria turned around to see Roger smiling and looking smug.