The Stranger In the Guest Room, V. Lockwood [best e book reader android .txt] 📗

his boots and jacket back on and head outside through the front door. After waiting a few minutes, I stood from the couch, grabbed my laptop, and went upstairs to my bedroom. I grabbed a charcoal-gray hoodie from my closet and put it on over my black sweater. Sitting on my bed, I opened my laptop and logged on. Margo was probably wondering where I’d been since I hadn’t logged on for a few days. Since moving up here, I’d always touched base with her at special times. It was a safety factor we had discussed, and I felt much better having various forms of safety.

I sighed when the internet wouldn’t connect. So instead, I opted to write a few paragraphs for the book and when the battery light fluttered, I knew it was time to close it down or plug the charging cable in and keep writing. I headed downstairs to the couch to grab the cord from the wall when Brooks trudged back in the house. He slammed the door behind him and murmured something under his breath as he rushed upstairs. He was so lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice me in the room.

A few minutes later, I heard the shower start, and I wandered over to the front door, locked it, and headed upstairs to Brooks.

“Knock-knock,” I announced as I tapped on the bathroom door.

“I just need a moment,” he responded.

“Mmmkay,” I said as I closed the door and walked back into my bedroom. I set my laptop on the nightstand near the window and plugged it in. I left the screen on so when the internet connected, I’d be able to reach Margo.

I jumped when a door slammed. Stunned, I stood there in silence. My thoughts had drowned out the sound of the water being turned off. Brooks stomped across the loft towards my bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

We stood there staring at each other; me—confused, Brooks with a heated expression on his face. He blocked the door and continued glaring at me.

Chapter Eleven

“When are you going to tell me the truth?” he spat as he pierced through me with the glare of daggers.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You know goddamn well what I’m talking about. Or is this all part of your plan?” he questioned.

“Brooks,” I began as I stood straighter. “You need to tell me what you’re talking about. I’m confused.”

“Yeah?” he taunted. “I was confused, but I figured it all out.”

“Figured what out?”

He took a few steps closer to me as I backed up towards the window and the corner of the room.

“You. Him.”

“Him? Who?” I glared back at him.

“I’m not stupid. I know, Erika.” He took more steps towards me as I leaned myself up against the window.

“Brooks, you need to stop.”

“It took me until now to see everything. I interrupted what you two had going on. Or what was just beginning?”

I shook my head.

“Lie to me all you want, Erika, but he told me the truth.”

“He told you nothing because there is nothing going on between us!” I shot back. “You can’t trap me into saying something that isn’t true, Brooks. Listen to yourself. And where is this all coming from?” I was glad I set my laptop up the way I did. Margo could log in and be able to see and hear what was going on. Inside my mind, I begged for the internet to connect. I also knew I needed to have a plan. I’d never felt in fear of my life until right now.

“I wanted to hear it from you, but since he told me everything, and you refuse to admit to the truth...”

“Then what?” I shouted. “What, Brooks? There’s nothing going on. You can think that all you want, but you’re only hurting yourself because it’s not true. How can you not see that? How can you not see that?”

He stared at me.

“Brooks, I can’t do this anymore. You...”

“I what?” he shot back at me. “I what, Erika? I came here to see you one last time. I thought it would be good to get closure on us. That’s what I came up here for. You left, and we never had the chance to end things between us.”

“Fine! Ended! Are you happy?” Tears streamed down my face. I wasn’t happy. The man I loved so hard in the past stood here in front of me, only it wasn’t him. This wasn’t him, and I couldn’t figure out what had happened or where things went wrong. Hell, I was driving myself insane trying to figure out if it was something I was doing.

“No! I’m not happy! I only wanted you, Erika. For so long, I only wanted you and... and...” He paused. “I just don’t even know how to get past this. It’s like I’m breaking all over again. Like I’m reliving all the pain in the past. The feelings of breaking up... Do you even know how much this hurts? How much pain this is? Getting over you?”

He stepped closer to me. “I can’t get over you. I’ve tried. I’ve tried. Oh my God, I’ve tried. But you’re everywhere. I can’t even listen to the radio because the damn lyrics bring you to life and thrust me back into what we used to be. I can’t even stay in our hometown because of all the places that remind me of you—of us. I can’t even go to the damn grocery store because I still remember seeing you walking down the aisles. They’ve remodeled the place since then, but the memories, they don’t go away.”

I watched him get angrier as he raised his voice. I knew what I had to do and prayed I had the strength to get through this night.

“We’ve never had closure, and you know not having closure hurts a hell of a lot worse than saying goodbye. You could’ve just said goodbye to me back then, and maybe I wouldn’t have had to wonder all these