The Roommate, Kiersten Modglin [best books for 20 year olds .txt] 📗

my great relief, they filed out of my office without further coaxing and, once I’d locked the door behind me, Elias led the way toward the front of the lobby.

I set the alarm at the door and, together, we made it back out the two glass double doors. The second we stepped into the parking garage, I let out a sigh of relief. We’d made it. I’d done what we’d come to do—Stephanie had her autographs, everyone was relatively impressed with me, and nothing bad had happened. Stewart would never know.

I let out a heavy breath, the tension leaving my shoulders, and when the doors to the van opened, I made my way to the back to go through the CDs with Stephanie. I wanted to soak up any extra admiration I could from her.

I had a feeling I was going to be existing on that for quite a while, even if that was all I’d allow myself to receive from her.

When we made it back home, we settled into the living room once more. I took the chair again, and Stephanie asked me to recount stories about where the autographs had come from, wanting to know which celebrities used assistants to sign some of their autographs and which did it themselves every time.

I indulged her, and at the end of the night, when I led her to the door, drunk off her stares and the additional beers I’d had since we got back home, I still found the resolve to turn my head when she moved in for a kiss, letting it land on my cheek.

“I shouldn’t,” I told her softly, though I desperately wanted to. My head wasn’t clear, but I knew I wouldn’t forgive myself if I got carried away and did something I’d regret. If there was even a chance with Addy, I had to try. “I’m sorry.”

Her expression said she’d been expecting it. “I get it. It’s a shame, but I get it. I hope your wife realizes what she’s missing, Wes. You’re the real deal.” She lifted a hand to my cheek, rubbing it cautiously before stepping back, gripping the plastic sack Elias had given her for her CDs, and waving over her shoulder.

“Bye, y'all. See you next time.”

One by one, they filed out of the room until it was just Elias and me left.

When I turned around, he had a crooked grin on his face.

“What?” I asked, my face heating up. I rubbed the space on my cheek where her lips had been just moments earlier.

He sat back down, resting his head on the back of the couch. “I told you I knew how to heal a broken heart.”

Chapter Seventeen

When I got home Friday night, Elias had promised a quiet, temptation-free evening of Netflix and beer. I found him sitting on the kitchen counter again, his legs curled up underneath him. This time, though, he was snacking on sour gummy worms, rather than Twizzlers.

When he saw me walk in the door, he slid off the counter and onto the floor, his face ashen. I wondered briefly if I’d caught him doing something embarrassing. “Hey,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Hey.” I paused, laying my keys on the counter. “What’s up?”

He ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I need to tell you something.”

Panic washed over me. Those words had never brought me any sort of good news. “Okay… What is it?”

“You should probably sit.”

I didn’t dare move, the absolute worst possible scenarios running through my head. Someone’s dead. Someone’s pregnant. Someone has cancer.

“What is it, Elias? You’re scaring me.”

“It’s about Addy…”

Addy’s dead. Addy’s pregnant. Addy has cancer.

“What about her?”

What had he done? Had he told her about last night? What did he know about Addy? Why would he know anything about my wife?

“I had a house call for a client in Green Hills today. One of my longtime clients. She lives over on Summerwind Circle.”

The name of my street had me holding my breath.

“Is that where you live? Where Addy lives? Or do you know someone who does?”

I nodded slowly. “We live there… How do you know that? Why are you asking?”

“I had no idea. I was just driving over, and I saw her walking out of the house. I caught a glimpse of her, and I thought she looked familiar, but it was a fast glimpse, so I could’ve been wrong.”

“What’s the big deal if you saw her?” My body hadn’t let down its defenses yet. I knew something was coming. Something big.

“Well, the thing is…she wasn’t alone.”

“She was with Rory?” I knew that wasn’t the case, but I had to ask. It couldn’t be what I was thinking, what he was suggesting, and yet, I knew that’s exactly what it was.

“She was with a man,” he said sadly. “I wasn’t sure whether to tell you.”

“What kind of man?”

“I didn’t get a good look. He had brown hair, maybe. He was wearing a suit. He… She walked him to his car, and she kissed him.”

The room grew smaller around me, my vision tunneling. No. It couldn’t be true. I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t wondered, briefly, if an affair may have been the cause of Addy’s sudden assertion that we should break up, but that didn’t make it any easier to hear. It just couldn’t be true.

“I’m sorry, man,” he said, hanging his head. “I’ve debated back and forth all day about whether or not to tell you. It could’ve been someone else. They were at a two-story house with white brick. There were bushes in front of the windows and a two-car garage that was—”

“Detached,” I finished for him. “I’ve gotta—” I didn’t finish the sentence, but I don’t think he expected me to. How could she do this to me? Why was she home in the middle of the day with some man? Who was he? I pulled my phone from my pocket, my jaw tight with sudden rage. I stormed past Elias, slamming the door.