The Girl Next Door
Chapter 47

"I can't believe you didn't tell me what was going on!" Alyssa shoves me in the shoulder, and the force sends me careening into a random guy on the walking path. My hands grasp his chest for purchase as he holds my upper arms to steady me. Heat fills my cheeks. "I am so sorry!"

The guy grins, making no attempt to release me. "It's not a problem."

Alyssa grabs my arm and yanks me free. "Sorry, bud, she's taken."

He shrugs. "That's too bad."

Alyssa snorts before dragging me down the path.

"I'm going to kill you," I mutter through clenched teeth.

"No, you're not." She doesn't sound the least bit concerned by the threat. "You love me too much to do that."

"Hmmm," I scrunch my face and contemplate the statement, "do I?"

"Yup." She links her arm through mine as we continue walking. "Anyway, back to the original convo we were having before you rather clumsily threw yourself at that guy." When I glare, she grins and keeps yapping. "I can't believe you kept this from me!"

"It wasn't like that," I try to explain. "It just happened."

"Please, girl. The Mia and Beck saga has been years in the making. It didn't just," she makes air quotes with her fingers, "happen'. This courtship has been moving at glacial speeds."

She might be right. All I know is that I don't want to discuss the Beck situation until it picks up traction.

Giving Alyssa a little taste of her own medicine, I shoot back with, "It's not like you've been entirely forthcoming about Colton."

It's almost comical the way her face goes blank. "That's because there's nothing to tell."

I narrow my eyes and search hers for the truth. "Are you sure about that?"

"Positive." It's airily that she announces, "Colton Montgomery is part of my past, not my future."

I have my suspicions as far as Alyssa's ex is concerned, but that's all they are at this point. Suspicions. As I open my mouth to delve deeper, my phone rings.

The music from my ringtone has my belly doing a painful flip. Every time my cell makes the slightest noise, dread nearly swallows me whole, and I hold my breath until I'm on the verge of passing out.

I dig through my bag in search of my phone. After a few moments of rooting around, my fingers lock around the slim cell. Nerves prickle along my flesh as I glance at the screen.

Mom.

Alyssa jostles me in the shoulder. "Aren't you going to answer that?"

"Yeah." I force out the air that has become trapped in my lungs before sliding my thumb across the green button. "Hey, Mom."

Silence greets me from the other end. I'm about to repeat her name when she clears the thick emotion from her throat. That's all it takes for me to realize she's spoken to Dad. In some ways, it's a relief that I won't have to break the news to her. "Mom? Are you all right?"

Alyssa waves a hand in front of my face. When I glance at her, she mouths, "What's going on?"

"I'll tell you later," I whisper. "Sorry."

Eyes filling with concern, she nods and points to the fine arts building on the horizon. "I need to go."

I wave as she takes off. Even though my one o'clock class starts in less than five minutes, I head toward a bench situated under a tree before settling on it. There's no way I can push off this conversation until later.

When the line remains silent, I say, "Mom, talk to me."

She sniffles. "Have you spoken to your father?"

I don't want to lie, but I don't necessarily want to admit the truth either. It seems like it would only make matters worse.

"No," I wince and force the fib from my lips, "not recently."

Tears clog her voice, and it makes me furious all over again that Dad has inflicted so much pain. Mom doesn't deserve this. If there's any kind of silver lining to be found in this situation, it's that they can start fresh and repair the damage to their marriage. Maybe even be stronger for it.

"He left." A sob breaks free from her. "He packed his bags last night and walked out."

Shock crashes over me like a wave as I stare sightlessly at the students bustling across campus.

When I remain silent, she says, "Mia? Did you hear me?"

It takes effort to shake myself from the mental fog that has descended. "Yes, I heard."

She cries quietly on the other end of the phone, and my heart breaks all over again. There's nothing I can say or do to comfort her. Rage rushes through every part of my body.

"I can't believe this is happening," she whispers.

"I'm so sorry." It takes effort to keep my voice level and not curse his name. "Did he say why he was leaving?"

The sound of her tears falls faster. "He's in love with someone else." Disbelief and confusion drip from every word. "He said that our marriage has been over for a while."

It's as if the air has been knocked from my lungs, and I can't breathe. I can only sit on the bench gasping as people walk by laughing and chattering, oblivious that my world has imploded, Is he really walking away from us?

It seems impossible.

"Do you want me to come home?" I ask. "I could leave after my next class and stay the night."

She sucks in a shuddering breath before blowing it out. "I appreciate the offer, sweetie, but you need to stay there. It's important that you focus on your classes."

I snort out a laugh, knowing there's no way I'll be able to do that.

"Are you going to talk to him? What about seeing a counselor?" I pause before adding in a hopeful tone, "Maybe he'll change his mind."

"I have no idea what I'm going to do." Bitterness gathers in her voice. "But if he doesn't want to be married to me, then I damn well don't want him back."

I rub my temple and consider the next step. "It might be a good idea to talk with a lawyer and get some legal advice."

"Oh." A heavy silence falls over us. "Yeah...maybe I'll do that."

At a loss for words, I say, "I'm sorry, Mom."

"Me, too, sweetie. Your dad was right about one thing. Nothing has been the same since Brianna died." Grief and sadness fill her voice. "Maybe I shouldn't be surprised by this, but I am."

It's true that nothing has been the same for our family. We pretended to pick up the pieces of our lives and move forward, but that was a façade. Instead of dealing with the pain of her loss, we buried it. Dad delved into work and started an affair while Mom drank too much and shopped.

And me?

I set out to be the perfect child so they wouldn't miss the one they lost. I tried to shine as if that would be enough to overshadow her death.

In hindsight, it sounds stupid.

How could that possibly fill the void Brianna left behind?

My sister died seven years ago, and sometimes it feels like the wounds are as fresh and painful as when it happened. We've all been tiptoeing around our grief instead of facing it head-on.

"Call if you need anything, Mom. I can come home anytime."

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

We disconnect, and I stay seated on the bench, staring at the phone in my hand.

"Mia?"

I glance up only to replace Beck staring at me. His brows are drawn together as if he can't figure out what I'm doing. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Yeah."

He settles beside me before searching my face. "What's going on?"

"Mom called." Tears fill my eyes. "Dad packed his bags and left."

Beck stares in surprise before wrapping his arm around my shoulders and tugging me close. "I'm so sorry." He presses his lips to the top of my head. "Are you all right?"

I shrug, still feeling dazed. After my conversation with Dad Sunday morning, maybe I should have expected this outcome, but I really thought he would do the right thing. How could he choose her over us? How could he do that?

"Is your mom okay?"

"No. She's been blindsided. I offered to come home, but she didn't want me to."

"If it'll make you feel better, I can call my mom and have her check on Julia."

It's not a bad idea, but I'm not sure if Mom wants anyone-let alone our neighbors and friends-to know what's going on.

As I consider the offer, I bite my lip and shake my head. "No, not right now. I'll call her when I get home later."

He nods and squeezes me tight. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"Thank you." When I lift my face, he brushes his mouth against mine.

"You know I would do anything for you, right?" he murmurs between kisses.

The corners of my lips tremble upward. A few months ago, I could have never imagined trusting Beck enough to lean on him for emotional support. And yet, here we are. In a few short weeks, he's become one of the most important people in my life. The irony isn't lost on me that the one man I thought I'd always be able to depend on has flaked, and the one I would have never dared open my heart to is proving himself to be someone I could fall in love with.