Living Again (38 page)

Dana slid behind the column outside of the hotel café as Ben walked by, followed by Zoey. He went upstairs and she went back down the hall to the conference. Holding her phone in her hand, she grinned at the photos on the screen. Zoey holding Ben’s hand, Ben holding Zoey’s hand, Zoey rubbing his back, and them embracing, then smiling while still touching.

You thought you were going to throw me away like trash
, she thought.
Let’s just see how your little girlfriend likes the pictures
. She tapped a few keys to find Kayley’s contact information in her phone. Blocking her number, she attached five pictures to the text and sent them off, chuckling to herself. Let’s just see if Dr. Ben Nichols could talk his way out of this one.

Kayley paced the floor, watching Alexis playing quietly. It was Thursday evening. She had made it through the longest five days of her life. Between Alexis asking her multiple times a day where her daddy was, to the constant checking of her phone to see if he had called or texted, added to the fact that she hadn’t slept more than a few hours the entire time, she was on edge. Ben was coming home tonight.

Her phone rang and she jumped. Seeing it was Rachel, she tried not to sound disappointed when she answered. “Hey, Rach.”

“I know I’m not who you wanted to hear from,” she said, more serious than Rachel usually was. “I have an idea. Come to the beach. I’m staying at my parents’ beach house for a few days. I know it’s not really the time of year for the beach, but during the day it’s still pretty warm. Bring Lexi and come relax. There’s something nice about being at the beach, even if it’s too cold to be in the water.”

“He’s coming home tonight,” Kayley answered. “I have to be here. I have to get through to him.”

Rachel sighed. “Let me know if you change your mind. You remember where it is?”

“Yes,” Kayley said, feeling the vibrate of a text come through. “I have to go. Thank you, Rachel.”

She hung up the phone, switching to her text screen. The sender was a blocked number. There were pictures attached and no message. Opening the message, her heart plummeted to the floor as she saw what they were. It was Ben, sitting at a small table in what looked like the hotel, with a gorgeous woman sitting next to him. She was touching him. He had a small smile on his face. Sinking to the couch, she opened the next one. Same, but this time his hand was on hers and she was smiling at him. Her stomach convulsed, threatening to purge what she had eaten for dinner.

Shaking, she opened the next one to see this woman’s arm on Ben’s back. The two of them were sitting very close, their heads together. She felt like she was underwater. Everything was muffled and she was sinking, about to drown in grief. There were two more? She might die of a heart attack before then.
I can’t do this, Kayley,
he had said.
You need to go. We’ll see each other next week.

He had gone to New York and had a fling. He was getting back at her. Who sent these pictures? Shaking, she dared to open the next one. This time, the two of them were standing up, hugging. Their bodies were pressed close together, and his arms were holding her tightly. “My God,” she breathed, the pain so deep she could hardly blow air out of her lungs. “Why, Ben?” Clicking the last one, she put her hand over her mouth as she saw Ben and this woman, still in an embrace, but leaning backward so they could see each other’s faces. Big smiles adorned both of their faces. He hadn’t been smiling like that when he left here. Here was the proof. When he came back, he wasn’t coming back to her. She had ruined them. She looked at Alexis, and she swore her heart stopped. Now Alexis just didn’t lose one daddy, she lost two. How would she ever help her understand he wasn’t coming back?

Walking down the hall so Alexis wouldn’t see her lose it, she ducked into the guest bedroom. Lying face down on the bed, she sobbed into the pillow, muffling the screaming pain coming from her mouth. This bed, where her and Ben had laid, talking, kissing, and falling asleep together for the first time. She really thought that she had a future with him. They were going to be a family. Her body writhed on the bed, the loss of Ben so great that she knew, she just knew that she would never recover. Laying there, allowing the sobs to subside and her tears dry, she started reconstructing the walls around her heart that had been so wonderfully destroyed by Ben.

Going back to her phone, she checked for more messages. Same blocked number.
Looks like he’s having fun in New York without you.
Who in the world got her number? Did Ben give it to them? Was he the one sending them?

Exiting the message and texting Rachel, she headed for Alexis’ room to pack her up. She was taking Alexis to her parents, and she was going to the beach. If Ben came looking for her, she would not be found. She might’ve made the mistake in not telling him about meeting Cooper, but she didn’t sleep with someone. It was obvious he was done with them. And if that was the case, she was done with him, too.

Kayley dug her toes in the sand, looking out at the water. It was chilly, but not freezing. She wore a sweatshirt with the hoodie over her head, shielding herself from the world. She had dropped Alexis at her parents with a quick explanation that she needed some time to think. They, of course, knew what had happened with Ben. They were sympathetic, but she also shielded them from some of what he said. They reassured her that Ben would come around, but she knew better. She also neglected to tell them that he had an affair while in New York. She just couldn’t say the words.

“She’s here,” Kayley heard Rachel on the phone behind her. “Some random person sent her some pictures of Ben and some lady at the hotel. They looked- uh- very cozy.” Rachel paused. “Yes, I’ll send them to you. No, she hasn’t heard from him. He’s supposed to be back sometime tonight. Are you coming over? Okay see you then.”

“That was Emily,” Rachel said, settling down in the sand next to Kayley. “She’s coming over after she gets Cate to bed.”

Kayley nodded, not having any words to respond. She was thankful for her two best friends, but her heart was so broken, she didn’t have any energy to talk about it anymore. When she had gotten here, crying so hard she couldn’t hardly walk, all she did to explain herself was shove her phone at Rachel and walk out to the beach. Rachel had seen the pictures and gotten on the phone with Emily, and in true friend fashion, not questioned her. She didn’t need to. They both had seen her over the past few days, heard what had happened and had to try to keep Kayley from having a complete and total breakdown. She had been determined to get him back tonight. Now, she was right back where she was five days ago, but worse. She knew how Ben felt now. Seeing her with Cooper after what he had been through with Zoey had to have completely destroyed his trust in her. Why didn’t she just tell him she was going to meet Cooper? God, she was so stupid.

Now, having seen those pictures of him, while it wasn’t showing him actually kissing her or doing anything inappropriate, it was enough to insinuate what they had been doing. It make her feel the same way he felt. Destroyed. Angry. Betrayed.

Rachel reached out and put her arm around Kayley’s shoulders, and she leaned into her friend, allowing her to try to comfort her. If it could really help, she would gladly take it. Nothing could take away the pain of losing Ben this way. It was almost worse than death. It was his choice to leave.

Kayley’s phone buzzed again, and Rachel looked at the screen. “It’s the blocked sender again,” she told her. Kayley lifted her head, looking at the screen.

“What does it say?”

“It says, ‘How does Dr. Zoey Peterson look?’”

Kayley gasped, and Rachel looked at her, a question in her eyes. “Who is that?”

“Ben’s ex-fiancée,” she answered, and then remembered. Ben had told her Zoey lived in New York now. He had gone back to her. Maybe he wasn’t going to come home at all, and she didn’t even have to worry about hiding out here.

Ben jumped in his car at the airport. Paying the fee for the long term parking, he zoomed out of the lot and towards Kayley’s house. A phone call wasn’t going to do it, so he didn’t bother calling. Looking at the clock, he knew that if he hurried, he may get to see Alexis before she was down for the night. He couldn’t wait to hold his two girls, to apologize for his horrible behavior, and tell her he believed her.
What if she won’t see me
? The thought snuck into his head, and he frowned. It was a real possibility that after the way he acted before he left, she wouldn’t want anything to do with him. He had finally listened to her messages at the airport in New York. They had gone from the desperate, pleading message after he had left the restaurant, to sobbing, screaming messages about forgiving her, to then nothing. She had stopped calling. Emily’s messages, three in total, were scathing, defensive messages about him being a complete and total asshole who broke her friend’s heart, and that if he didn’t make this right she would hunt him down. He couldn’t stop himself from grinning at Emily’s tenacity about Kayley. He loved that about her. But he also knew she was right. Emily had been his ally from the beginning, helping him see Kayley several times. He knew if he didn’t make this right with her, Emily would find him and it wouldn’t be pretty.

After what felt like forever, he pulled into Kayley’s driveway. His heart sank as he noticed her car wasn’t there. Just in case, he got out of the car and strode purposefully to her front door. He opted for knocking instead of using his key, not knowing what she was thinking after five days. He heard no noise from the inside of the house.
Shit.
Where could she be? He paced the front porch, thinking. Emily. He was actually afraid to contact her, but he knew he had to. If she wasn’t here, she was with her. Running back to his car, he swung out of the driveway and headed the few miles to Emily’s house, hoping and praying she was there and Emily didn’t kill him before he got a chance to make it right.