OUR LANCE AND THE DIVAIN THE WEEKS FOLLOWING THANKSGIVING there was a shift. Weston wasn’t home much, which wasn’t a surprise, but what was a surprise was the change in him. It was barely noticeable at first, but after two weeks of waning affection, I began to feel like a guest who’d overstayed their welcome.The stress on Weston grew worse with each passing day. One of his project timelines had practically derailed, and others were on the verge. Add in the stress of Natalie’s continuous presence, and a rift began to divide us.His mood soured with each day, leaking into our home life, infecting it. Constantly pissed, he would snap at me for no apparent reason, sometimes apologizing, sometimes not. It seemed like we were barely communicating at all. When I did call him, it either went to voicemail, or a quick “Wren, I can’t talk, call you back,” and then no call. Texts were answered, but short, three or four words. Loneliness settled in, and I didn’t know when or if it woul
OUR CRACKSAFTER WESTON’S FORCEFUL REMOVAL OF me in front of some friends from school, the rumors about me picked up again. Granted, I knew they didn’t start them ... well, maybe Aaron ... but I also knew other students were milling around from various afterschool activities. What I didn’t need in my life was more rumors about me and the Lockwood men. This time, however, people were saying I was in an incestuous relationship with Weston.I’d thought after getting Talia back on track, his bad mood would dissipate, but then he went off in a jealous rage. It seemed like our “honeymoon” phase had worn off and real life, with all the shit that went along with it, came out tenfold.Charlotte and I walked into the cafeteria for lunch, and I noticed that an unusual amount of people were looking at me, some pointing and whispering. A shiver ran down my spine as we got in line, wondering if somehow my real relationship with Weston had come out.No. Weston woul
OUR DOWNFALLLITTLE HAD CHANGED IN THE week since our blowout, but our carefree days were over. I returned to the bedroom the next night, but the following morning he left for a week, out of town on a filming location.The semester was over, and the Christmas bash that my classmates had been so excited about was upon us. Char had come over the day before, bringing with her about a dozen dresses for me to choose from since I had no idea how to dress up for the occasion. All of my dresses from Sophie were much too elegant for a high school party, and I didn’t want to bother her. We ended up choosing one that had a sleeveless top that was filled with silver sequins, a white, flirty skirt below a satin belt, and silver sequined peep-toe heels to match.I was dressed and waiting, the house empty of all but me, as it had been all week without Weston. It was odd that in all the time I’d been in the house, I’d never been as lonely as I was in that moment, waiting for Charlotte to pi
OUR END?I AWOKE GROGGY, MY HEAD pounding, and I carefully sat up. It was silent, not a single sound, and when I looked to Weston’s half of the bed it was still made. He never came to sleep in our bed.With sluggish movements I made my way to the bathroom and started up the shower. The hot water felt good against my skin and helped to clear my head. Unfortunately, that brought thinking, and with it the knowledge that everything was falling apart. My life with Weston was disintegrating before my eyes.I needed to get away, just step back for the weekend and assess what my life had become and what I wanted it to be. My backpack sat by the bed and I picked it up, throwing in a few things, including a change of clothes. I’d see if I could spend the night with Charlotte.The house was silent as I headed down to the ground floor, but as I approached the kitchen, I could hear the murmur of voices.“Natalie, you need to shut the fuck up about my personal life,” I heard Weston say
HIS LONELINESS—WESTONSILENCE. I COULDN’T REMEMBER A time my house had ever felt so empty. Even in all the years I lived alone. My gaze was locked on the spot she’d been standing. The sheets on the bed—our bed—were tangled on her side. I didn’t even get to sleep beneath them with her the night before, to breathe in her sweetness, feel her warmth.I hadn’t slept the previous night, haunted by what she had said to me and wondering when things had become so fucked up. I crawled onto the bed, lying down on her pillow, in hopes of getting a little bit of Wren’s lingering scent. It was calming and gave the illusion she was still there, that she hadn’t walked out and left me. My aching heart was soothed by the falsity of it all.How had it all gone so terribly wrong? My recent behavior had been deplorable, so I couldn’t really blame her for leaving me. The realization I’d fucked up so bad that it gave her no other choice but to leave for her own peace of mind, was like poison. Acid
OUR FIRST CHRISTMASIT WAS DURING THE FOURTH batch of our annual Christmas Eve cookie making event when the doorbell rang, and Mom went to answer it.“I bet it’s Weston,” Daniel said as he pressed the dough out on the table.Chances were it was yet another cookie delivery from one of the neighbors. Two tins had already been delivered since we started.“Yeah, right. It’s been two days, and I haven’t heard one word from him. He’s probably at work right now, figuring out his schedule with Natalie,” I said, my lip twitching up into a sneer.But even my anger didn’t stop the pain in my chest or stop the tears that had been falling almost non-stop since I left.“God, I hate that bitch!” Daniel fumed.“Makes two of us,” I said with a sigh. “She might have just ended what was never meant to be in the first place, though.” It hurt to say, but that didn’t make it any less true.Daniel stared at me with wide eyes. “You don’t mean that, Wren.”“Don’t I? Because I sure as hell thin
OUR NEW BEGINNINGMY MOM WAS GRINNING LIKE the Cheshire cat when we entered the kitchen, while Daniel was stuck between smiling and bitch slapping. Weston’s eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas as he surveyed the bounty, and I repeatedly had to smack his hand from picking up a cookie on the cooling rack. However, Mom fed his addiction by opening up one of the multiple canisters she’d received over the last few days and hoisting it into his chest, which he began munching away at.“Better?” Daniel asked in a whisper once Weston’s attention was diverted.“We’re getting there.” I gave him a smile.His eyes lit up. “Are you going home with him?”I nodded. “After Christmas sometime.”He smiled back and wrapped his frosting covered hands around me. “I’ll miss you.”“Miss you, too. And it’s only a few months till summer,” I said to reassure him, but it didn’t do much to lift the sadness that swallowed him.“Yeah, but every day without you sucks monkey balls.”I laughed and nudg
OUR BETRAYERIT DIDN’T FEEL LIKE I was coming back from running away, but home from vacation. Perhaps it was due to the Christmas spirit that was still evident in the air. I was buzzing as I climbed the stairs with Weston trailing behind me, suitcases in hand.We were closing in on our bedroom, and the air around us was changing. It was only supposed to be a quick stop to change, but between rekindling our relationship and the proximity to our bedroom, a match had been lit. I was itching to have his hands all over my body.I got my wish as we crossed the threshold, bed in sight, and he was on me. I turned toward him and bit my lower lip from the lust that filled his eyes. The bags dropped from our hands, arms encircling as lips devoured.With his hands on my hips, he walked me backward until I hit the bed and fell down onto it. He gripped under my arms and tossed me farther up onto the bed. A moan ripped out of me as he crawled on the bed and settled between my legs.“Oh,