Shane... as she thought of him, her body started reacting with what was becoming a familiar response – a feeling of being enveloped in something warm and soft, of comfort, of love. Where was he now? Was he looking for her? Was he worried? She thought about how concerned he had been over her hand, over the murderous look in his eyes when Craig had been waiting for her in the hallway outside of class that day...
At the mention of Shane’s name, Craig’s entire body tensed, and she reflexively pulled the blankets tighter around her as if to form some sort of protective shield between them. “He’s only using you, Lacie,” he spit out. “Can’t you see that? You are nothing more to him than a quick fuck. Another notch on his goddamned bedpost.”
Lacie gasped, immediately sorry she did when her ribs protested. “That’s not true!”
“Don’t be so na?ve, Lacie,” he said, exasperated, running his hands through his hair as he paced away from her. The condescension was back in his tone. “A man doesn’t jump into bed with a woman he really loves, a woman he wants to marry. He courts her, loves her, builds up a relationship with her over time.”
Craig ran his hand over his face again, as if searching for the right words to make her understand. He took a deep breath and softened his voice. “When a man really loves a woman, Lacie, he cares for her. He’s always there when she needs him, no matter what, looking out for her. Keeping her safe.”
She shook her head, realization dawning that they were talking about a lot more than the night Shane had stayed at her place. What was Craig saying? That he loved her? That all this time, he hadn’t been acting out the role of the big brother, but a potential husband?
Deep down inside, things started clicking into place, filling her with dread. Her mind refused to accept it. It was unthinkable. This was Craig. “No...You’re just confused, Craig,” she said, grasping at the most logical explanation. Because Craig Davidson couldn’t possibly love her that way. He just couldn’t.
“Confused?” Amusement quirked around his mouth, but his expression was as weary as she’d ever seen it. “Lacie, I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”
The dull throb at the back of her skull grew stronger. Shaking her head didn’t help in the least. Craig wasn’t himself. He was confused, acting strangely. He didn’t love her, not like that. He married another woman, had a child with her... Yes! That was it! He was lonely, missing Mikaela, and he was just projecting those feelings onto her. That made sense. She grabbed onto that theory with a two-handed death grip.
“It must be so hard for you since Mikaela is gone,” she said, infusing as much comfort and understanding into her voice as she could. How could she have been so blind? Craig was hurting. He’d had a terrible experience overseas, returned home in awful shape, and just when things were starting to look hopeful again, his young wife died in a horrific car crash, leaving him alone with a small daughter. It must have been devastating. Of course he was projecting his feelings onto her! She was one of the few constants he could cling to.
Craig’s head snapped back toward her, all traces of weariness evaporating. “What?”
“Mikaela. You must miss her terribly.”
He looked at her as if she had lost her mind, then he did the most unexpected thing of all. He laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”
Lacie’s uncertainty gnawed at her from the inside. It did not sit well with the ever increasing ache in her head. “No, of course not. You loved her. It’s perfectly understandable that you would - ”
“I never loved Mikaela.”
“What? But - ”
“Mikaela Daniels was a simpering, pathetic fool of a girl. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t glad I don’t have to wake up to that everyday anymore.”
Lacie felt like she was in some kind of bizarre dream. “Then why did you...”
“Marry her? Because I knocked her up, Lacie. Her father threatened to ruin everything if I didn’t. Interfering bastard,” he muttered. “He should have been in that car with her. That would have been fucking perfect. Let him spend eternity listening to her whine and mewl.” He laughed again, a choking bark. “That’s probably why he was so anxious to marry her off. He couldn’t stand being around her any longer either.”
Lacie felt the air leave her lungs in a whoosh. Reality was caving in around her, melting in a surrealist rush like a Salvador Dali painting. The sky was blue. The sun rose every morning. Mikaela Daniels had been her friend. And Craig Davidson had married Mikaela because they belonged together.
“You loved her.” Without air in her lungs, her voice came out as a small, barely audible whisper.