I slowly rolled out of bed and headed downstairs to get something to drink. I made my way into the kitchen and grabbed a glass to fill it with water. I found I was chugging it down and refilling my glass. I chugged the second glass down fast as well.
I took a seat at our bar, on the stool and tried to figure out what was going on.
“What the fuck?” I whispered to myself.
I then felt a hand on land on my shoulder and let out a scream.
“Ryleigh! It’s just me!” Liam cried flipping on the light. “Oh god! I know it was just you, but I thought you were still asleep! I just didn’t expect you to come down here!” If I thought that my heart rate was high earlier, it now was at an even more rapid speed. I just was glad that I hadn’t a full on heart attack!
“Well you woke me up for a little bit. You were having some sort of a nightmare, I was just trying to go back to sleep when you sat up. You okay?” He pulled me into a hug.
“Umm. Yeah, I am fine. I don’t even remember what it was about.” I lied. “You were mumbling and I couldn’t make out any words. You sounded like you were crying and then you sat up. I wanted to make sure when you headed down here.” He rubbed my back as he still held me in his embrace.
“Thank you. I’m fine, though. I just needed to get some water. I will be back up in a second, you can go back to sleep. We gotta get up in a few hours and you had a long flight. Not to mention the jet lag! I’m fine.” I started to push myself away.
“Alright. I will meet you up there then. I love you, baby.” He kissed my forehead and headed back towards our room.
I grabbed another refill of water, but this time began to sip. I sat down on the stool for another few minutes before heading back to bed. I really needed a vacation from my own brain!
Chapter Fifteen
The rest of the week, I tried to keep my focus on just work and home. Liam and I finally were getting back to normal and I hadn’t had anymore nightmares. He really put the charm factor on, we had yet to have sex and I felt like I was avoiding it altogether. Liam tried to be home before me every night to make dinner, although on Thursday night he tried to make a new recipe and we ended up going out to grab some Chinese. We were starting to have a good time. I did find myself wondering what Caleb was up to at least once a day, but I tried to resist the urge to text him. He said he needed some time, I think I needed the same time away and we will be able to talk again soon.
At work, Mr. Rogers had definitely had a lot of work for me to do. I was constantly finding new information for his company to work on. His last accountant really was an idiot. At one point I was surprised that his taxes were even filed correctly.
Ava was still on cloud nine, with Brantley. She hadsaid that he was romantic when he planned their dates. He had taken her on a picnic dinner near Lookout Mountain and even though it would scare the shit out of me, this weekend he is taking her up to a haunted hotel! Ava, apparently, loved the thought of ghosts being around.
“Hey Ryleigh, I was wondering if I could leave an hour today?” Ava poked her head into my office. “I know that I have been getting off early a bit, but we are going to try and beat rush hour traffic to head up to the hotel for the weekend.” She was bobbing up and down and smiling, she looked like a child waiting to open her presents on Christmas day.
“Of course, but could you make sure that my calendar is cleared next Friday? Move stuff around for all next week. I forgot to tell you that we are going to Vegas next weekend and I am going to be gone all day Friday.” I said while sorting some of the paperwork that was lingering on my desk.
“Vegas? How fun! Just a weekend away?” She asked giddily.
“Kinda. My friend Courtney, she’s getting married out there! So, Liam and I are heading out there for the wedding and have some time to relax.” I looked up at her to catch her face drop.
“So, how are things going with Liam?” She inquired. “Things seem to be getting better. We talk a lot more, we’ve been spending a bunch of time together and we are slowly getting back to where we were.” I said. I was trying to smile but the face she was giving me- the look of disappointment- it was hardto.
“What about Caleb?” Ava asked bluntly. “Well.” I paused. “We haven’t spoken since Monday.We both needed to back off for a little bit. We will always remain friends.” Ava interrupted.
“Ryleigh, I can’t say that this was a big mistake, but are you sure that everything is going to be okay? Last week, you were just… smitten with Caleb and seemed to be really happy. You didn’t seem to ever have that glow about you in all these years with Liam. Sure, you were happy when he sent you flowers or when you had a nice weekend, but the rest of the week you just were, well here.” Ava sat down in the chair across from me. I could tell I had some tears building up. “I am not trying to upset you, but are you sure that this is what YOU want. Not because you are married, because he begged you, but because you want this?”
“Ava, I love Liam. I do. I love Caleb, too. I am torn between the two, but because I screwed up and cheated on Liam; he deserves a second chance. I want…” I paused. “I don’t know what I want. I’m happy with things right now, they seem like they were before this whole mess, but I find myself asking what would it be like to be with Caleb. I shouldn’t feel like I have to ask myself that, but I can’t help it! Ava, I am so torn between these two men!” I grabbed a tissue off my desk and wiped the tears away.
“I know. It’s hard, but you have to really think of what is best for you in the long run. Do you think you can ever trust Liam again?” She asked softly. “Funny, when he got home from work the other night; his phone was constantly ringing or messages coming in. I didn’t ask, but it made me think who was it? Was he still talking to this or these girls still? I get stressed about it the rest of the night. I never see him on his phone, but then I get all crazy and start waking up in the middle of the night to see if he is still in bed. I feel like I am losing sleep and he hasn’t done anything since we decided to try again.”
“You aren’t going crazy. You’re a woman that walked in on your husband making out with another woman and he told you he slept with another woman. You also have the issue of loving another man. Okay, maybe you have a lot on your plate but you haven’t gone crazy. Yet.” She smiled; she really was trying to make me laugh.
“Thank you, Ava. I always need a laugh.” I chuckled. “I hate to say this to you, mostly because you make the most sense out of all of it, but I really just need to get this stuff done. My mind loves the distraction and this weekend is going to be a mess.”
“What is going on this weekend? Sorry I am totally nosy today!” Ava tried to hide her smile. “Sunday, my mom invited us over to dinner. Any other time I would say that nothing is wrong at all, however, my mom and Caleb’s mom have been friends since he and I met in middle school! SO, his parents are going to be there AND she said that he might be coming!” I suddenly felt really frazzled, I had been a mess about it but after saying it out loud, my nerves went haywire.
“Yikes. I don’t even have the words to tell you how bad that could be. Has Liam met Caleb?” She asked still in shock.
“Yeah, actually, once. I don’t think that Liam will really remember him, but still!” I said frazzled. “Well. Wow. Good luck?” Ava was said, still stunned. I couldn’t help but let out a nervous laugh. “Thanks. I think?” I nervously laughed again. “Well, if you could just move some of my appointments around and then you can head out. I hope you guys have an amazing time, but if you come back possessed I am telling you right now, I am going to have to let you go.” I smiled up at her as she was heading out. She let out a burst of laughter.
“Deal! Thanks Ryleigh! Oh and if you need a getaway call on Sunday let me know. I will send a ‘hey boss the office needs you’ call.”
“No, my mom will have plenty of wine; I will just sneak off to her bathroom and drink in the massive tub they have and lock the door. Thank you though.” I chuckled. I worked through the rest of the aftern
oon non-stop. I had packed my lunch today so I didn’t even leave my desk. Ava had poked her head in to say goodbye, but I was on the phone with another investor. I just gave her a wave and a big smile.
My office phone rang as I was typing an email.
“Ryleigh Andrews.” I could tell that there was someattitude behind my voice. I never seemed to get a break from this phone today.
“Hey honey. Are you working late tonight?” Liam asked.
“Oh, shit! What time- it’s really 6:30! I am so sorry; I was just in a zone today. I will pack up now and will be home in about 40 minutes or so.” I said as I saved all my documents and shut down my computer.
“It’s okay; I was thinking just ordering pizza and grabbing some beer tonight? What do you think?”
“Sounds delicious! I am on my way!” I was so hungry, my lunch did not really cut it today and I could use a beer more than anything.
I got to my car and headed out towards the highway. I could hear my phone buzzing in my purse. I quickly answered but didn’t pay attention to the number.
“Hello?”
“Hey.” It was Caleb.
“Caleb? Hi. How are you?” My heart dropped.
“Sorry, we really haven’t spoken. I just needed some time to.” He paused.
“No, Caleb, please don’t explain. I know.” I couldfeel my stomach turning.
“Well, I was calling to actually ask for your permission.” He sounded kind of cold at that moment. “My permission? I’m sorry, but for what?” I asked very confused. “I guess your mom has invited my parents along with me to dinner on Sunday. I was told I had to come by your mom. So I wanted to call and make sure it was okay to actually come. I could stay away if you had an objection.”
“Oh. No, please, I’d love to see you. If you don’t come, my mom will never let it go. So, yes, you have my permission.”
“Great. I will just see you there then.” The sound went silent; I almost thought he had hung up.
“Caleb?”
“Yeah?” He was very short in his response.
“Oh, I just thought that you had hung up. I wanted to tell you how sorry…” he cut me off.
“Ryleigh, I really don’t want to talk about this over the phone. Look, I need to grab some food and then I have some stuff to do on the house. So, I will justsee you on Sunday, alright?” He said coldly.
“Yeah. I’ll see you then.” I felt the pain in my heart. I began to cry as I hung up the phone. I cried the entire way home. I pulled up to the house and frantically tried to clean up my face before I headed inside. I could tell it was still red, but it would have to do. I walked in and found the smell of greasy pizza taking over the living room. I could feel my stomach growl. I saw that Liam had laid out two plates, a candle and the pizza all on the coffee table. He then rounded the corner with two iced mugs of beer and I couldn’t help but feel sentimental.
“Hey, I didn’t hear you come in. Welcome home! Hungry?” He asked handing me a mug. “Starving. Whoever said a sandwich is filling with nothing else to eat or snack on, is full of shit.” I laughed taking a gulp of my beer. He obviously didn’t realize my face was red with the dim light of the sunset and just the candle lit.
“Work go okay? Did you kick ass and take names?” Liam asked as he sat down and dished up the slices onto plates.
“No names. And first rule of fight club, we don’t talk about fight club.” I said with a wink and began to devour the pizza. “Touché. Well, tomorrow I figured we could lounge around all day. I do have to briefly run into the office to pick up some paperwork that is supposed to be faxed in later tonight. Then we have dinner at your mom’s house on Sunday. Next week, we just have the four days and then we can get out of here and have some fun!” He took a drink of his beer. “Did you want to go to any shows or clubs?”
“I actually wanted to go to a club one night. I will check with Courtney and see which one is the best and then we can get passes. Friday will probably be a day by the pool and then Saturday, if I know her like I know her, the wedding will be late morning early afternoon. She is not a morning person at all. With all the prepping that she will need to do, yeah it might even be postponed until that night!” I laughed. It was more than true. Courtney was my best friend, but she took forever to get ready when it came to special events. My wedding, she woke up at 5:30 in the morning because my wedding started at 10:30 and she had to get all prepped. I thought she was insane.
“I’ve heard that you women have to have everything perfect.” Liam laughed and poked my side.
“You men can’t deny that you enjoy it when we do.” I poked him back. “I’m going to give Court a call now and try and plan this out.”
“Alright, I’m going to finish up this beer and maybe throw in a movie. Any requests?”
“Let’s do a comedy. Anchorman?” I asked with a cheesy grin.
“Awesome choice.” He sat back and continued to drink his beer. I grabbed my phone out of my purse and headed upstairs to call Courtney.
I plopped down on our bed and dialed her up. It went straight to voicemail, so I hung up and decided to forgo the message.
But just as I threw my phone on the bed it began to ring. Courtney was calling me back.
“I am so sorry, I accidentally hit reject instead of answer. How are ya?” She asked in her usual peppy tone. “I see how it is, rejecting my calls. I see that we are breaking up?” I laughed. “Well, I was calling to see if you wanted to go to any nightclubs while we are on your Vegas wedding trip? Liam wanted to try and get passes for all of us, so I wanted to check with you first.”
“Yes! Let’s go! Since we are stay at the Aria, there is a club called Haze that is really nice in there! I may not be able to drink, but I will be dancing my ass off!”
“Sounds good, I will pass the message onto Liam and we will get us some passes, maybe just get us a table and bottle service and you unlimited sodas.”
“Gee thanks. So how are things between you and him going?” Courtney cut to the chase.
“We are. Good. We have been getting along really well.” I said solemnly.
“What’s the matter then?”
I got up off the bed to peek around the corner to make sure that Liam wasn’t stalking the doorway. “Court.” I started to whisper, “I still think aboutCaleb and then we talked today and he just seemed so cold. Yes, I know I stopped what was going on between us, but it wasn’t him when I talked to him.” “Well, Ryleigh can you blame him? I love you death and you’re my best friend, but you both really hit it off and I’m all for being faithful but he was your ONE. You hurt him.” I often enjoyed the bluntness that Courtney could dish out, but now was not the time.
“Court, I really wanted to be the good guy. I don’t want to be the person that screws everything up and I guess I did. I don’t know what to say.” I was getting upset.
“Look, I don’t want to upset you nor do I want to argue about this. I’m sorry; I should be on your side no matter what.” Courtney said quietly. “Thanks Court. I don’t mean to snap, it’s just been a shit week and I am ready for this getaway. I will book a table at Haze and then I was thinking of Friday afternoon we will be at the pool most of the day and maybe I can book us a girlie day? Did you want any sort of bachelorette party?” I asked hopeful she would say yes.
“I thought you would never ask! Jason was telling me that he wanted to maybe go out on Friday night with Liam and then you and I could go out. Are you up for that idea?”
“Of course! The only question is, what time is the wedding officially then?” I asked, remembering the conversation Liam and I just held.
“I booked it for 2:30 in the afternoon. This way we could have enough time to get ready and then have fun the night before.”
“You mean YOU will have enough time to get ready?” I asked while snickering.
“Yes, smartass, so I could get ready. Sue me that it takes me forever to get myself ready and perfect!” She said expressively. Just then I saw Liam walkin
g in through the doorway. He was shaking his head at me with a smile. I knew that he was thinking I looked like a teenage girl hiding up in my room, gabbing on the phone with my girlfriend.
“Hey, Court, Liam just came up looking for me. He is giving me the look of ‘women and their phones.’ I better go, we were supposed to be watching a movie but I got sidetracked by you.” I laughed.
“Oh, I see. Well, have fun! We will have to get together for lunch next week and plan our nights out in the city of Sin. Let me know how this weekend.” She paused. “Have a good weekend!”
I was really puzzled by her last statement but didn’t want to postpone the movie longer.
“You too, Court. Talk to you later.” I hung up. I rolled off the bed and smiled over at Liam. “This movie is not going to watch itself!” I said acting if I had been waiting on him this entire time. “What was I thinking? I have been taking up some much time on the phone with my girlfriend! SO sorry!” He said smacking my ass and heading down the stairs. I started to run after him laughing. We cuddled up on the couch; Liam had the movie set up just to hit play. This movie was just something that we always enjoyed watching together. Even though the movie was just as hilarious as the first time I watched it, I could tell my eye lids were getting heavy. I laid my head down on Liam’s lap and he began to play with my hair and I soon dozed off.
I woke up with a jolt. I was in a cold sweat and found that the movie was off and Liam was not on the couch with me. I felt my heart still racing and knew that I was having a bad dream, but this time I don’t remember anything about it. I saw a male figure in the background but could not put a face to it.
I quickly jumped up and headed upstairs to find Liam asleep in the bed. I quietly crawled into bed with him.
“Hey.” He whispered. “Sorry, you looked so comfortable. I didn’t want to wake you up.” Liam rolled into a cuddle. “You are sweating! Are you okay?” “Yeah, I think that I was having a nightmare. Or maybe its cause downstairs gets a little warm. I am fine though.” I snuggled into him and started to fall back asleep.
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