He gave me a guilty look before letting his head fall against the wall, looking up at the dark ceiling. “I swear that was the only time, Al. And it was the worst fucking mistake of my life. It made me lose you, and I’ll hate myself forever because of it.”
“Don’t hate yourself.” I grabbed his hand and gave it a small squeeze. “You’re a good guy, Teddy. Just not the best husband. No offense,” I added when he snorted loudly.
I pushed my dress down as I stood up, and bent over to slide my underwear back on. “I’m trying to move on, Teddy. I met someone, and things are good, I think.”
“You met someone?” I looked over to see a deep frown on his face. I hated that he looked so sad, but he would eventually be able to move on, and someday be happy.
I ducked my head as I tried to find my heels, and hoped to avoid the angry glare that flashed through his eyes.
“Tell me it’s not that asshole I met tonight. What was his name, Franny?”
I rolled my eyes, and lifted my hand to stifle a laugh. It was kind of entertaining that Teddy thought I was dating Danny, when in fact, I thought they had been pretty similar when we first met. It was kind of ironic that he thought he was an asshole.
“No, he wasn’t there tonight,” I lied, not wanting to tell Teddy the real truth. Luckily, he hadn’t arrived any earlier.
“Well, the guy must be a dumbass then if he let you out of his sight. Are you really sure you’re happy? We could work on things, Al, I know we could. Hell, I’d even quit the band if you wanted me to.”
I shook my head, and gave him a sad smile. He really was trying. “Teddy, I would never want you to do that. I’m sure Nick had a good reason not to be there tonight, and I’m actually kind of glad you didn’t meet like that. I think you need to move on, too. I’ll be able to forgive you one day for the cheating, but I won’t be able to forget, and I don’t think I could live with myself if I stayed with you. I would be miserable.”
“I wouldn’t want that for you, Ally,” he quietly replied. “I’ll call my lawyer's office and get the papers drawn up for—” He took a deep breath, and let it out, his shoulders slightly relaxing as he finally said the word. “For the divorce. Whatever you want, it’s yours. I’ve already put you through hell, so you deserve anything. Plus, you were basically our manager for the past couple of years, and you never asked for a dime.”
“Okay, Teddy,” I whispered.
I knew this was the last time that I would see Teddy for a while. The last time he showed up unannounced didn’t give us any closure, and I shouldn’t have been too surprised that he had shown up again.
I was glad that we talked things out, but I was disappointed in myself for letting it go so far between us. I was a little proud of myself for having at least enough sense to stop it from going all the way.
Now, I just needed to face Nick. I could have just ruined everything by that one simple mistake. What if there was a perfectly good explanation for him being with Kara tonight? Or what if they were there to talk about getting back together? My stomach twisted up at the thought, and I could feel a lump growing in my throat. Teddy was all of a sudden pushed to the back of my mind, and Nick was the only one I could picture.
I just hoped that he hadn’t decided he was better off stuck in the past, than moving toward a future with me.
I needed to see where we stood, and what in the hell had gone on with his ex. I knew I wasn’t much better after what happened, and that if our relationship were going to go anywhere I would have to be honest and tell him everything. And I wasn’t so sure that after he heard everything he would even want me.
Chapter 16
Nick
Kara: don’t be an ass. Sign the papers
A choked laugh rumbled in my chest, and filled the empty room as I read Kara’s message over for the fifth time. Wow, she really had some balls. How did I not see how big of a bitch she was over the years? I was really wondering if she had a heart. If she did it was probably black, just like everything else about her.
I knew laughing wasn’t really appropriate for the whole situation, but I had no fucking clue what I was doing here. Why did I agree to meet her again? No, if I had put it off any longer, who knows what the hell she would have done? She probably would’ve just given up, and moved on.
And then, Ally had been at the one restaurant I never expected them to be at. I figured she would’ve taken her friends to Clammy’s since it was our usual hangout. My friends were there with her, too, so I’m sure I looked like a complete ass showing up with my ex. I couldn’t even look at Ally, my stomach hurt so badly with the guilt of how things appeared.