Saving Us

by Ashley Johnson

  ***

  We arrived at the restaurant a few minutes early and secured a table for the four of us. David and Lillian arrive a few moments later and join us. Lillian pulls me in for a hug and I try to remain calm like nothing is going on. I’ll spread the good news in a few weeks.

  “The flowers were beautiful Sybil, thank you for replacing the old ones.” Lillian tells me as she orders herself a glass of wine. She offers me one but I politely decline telling her I just want some water. She doesn’t question me which makes me breathe a sigh of relief.

  “So Sybil, are you ready to start student teaching?” David asks.

  “Yes, sir. I can’t believe I’m finally almost done.”

  “We’re so proud of you.” He tells me as he sets the menu back on the table.

  “I told her the same thing.” Cory smiles as he squeezes my hand on top of the table. I can’t help but blush as I sip my water.

  We eat and talk also reminiscing about Caleb. It’s nice to sit here together talking and I’m a little sad when it’s time to leave. We tell each other bye and head home.

  The minute we get inside the apartment, I run straight to the room and get my clothes ready for the morning. I have just about everything set out like I need it. My bag with my made up lesson plans is sitting beside the dresser and I can’t help but smile as I realize this is it. I’ve done it and I know everyone else is proud but I am proud as hell too.

  Cory sneaks up behind me wrapping his arms around my waist. He kisses below my ear and whispers, “I love you, beautiful.”

  I turn to face him and kiss him gently on the lips. “I love you, too.”

  “You have no idea how happy I am, Sybil. After everything we’ve been through, I finally know what it means to be happy again and it’s all because of you.”

  I blush profusely at his words. Instead of talking, I crush my lips to his and he pulls me closer. He picks me up and my legs wrap around his waist. He backs me up against the wall and kisses me fiercely. I moan into his mouth causing him to growl as he moves me to the bed.

  “Can I make love to you?” he asks huskily.

  I’m barely able to nod my head yes and that’s all he needs to see. In an instant he’s all over me and our clothes are scattered across the floor. He hovers over me and almost reaches for a condom. He lightly chuckles as he realizes we don’t need it. In one swift movement, he slides inside me. This is the first time I’ve actually been able to feel him like this inside me and it’s making my body quiver with need. He moves gently inside me, filling me to my core. I moan as I near my orgasm. I try to hold on as long as I can before I finally come undone. My body convulses around him as I come and he showers me with kisses as he joins me.

  Chapter 41

  Cory

  I set my alarm a little earlier than Sybil’s so I could make her breakfast before her first day of student teaching. The coffee is already made and I whipped up some scrambled eggs and bacon. The toaster has just popped up when she comes walking out of the bathroom looking sexy as hell.

  “Good morning, beautiful.” I say as I hand her a cup of coffee.

  “Good morning to you. Wow, this looks amazing!” she says noticing the plate of food on the table.

  “Sit down and eat, you’ll need your energy today. Are you excited?”

  “Very. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.” She says as she grabs a piece of bacon.

  She grabs her bag and places it on her shoulder. Before she grabs her keys, she walks up to me. “I’m going to miss you today.” I tell her. “Be careful. I can’t wait to hear about your day.”

  “I’m going to miss you too. What time is your first class?”

  “I’m about to get ready and go. It’s at 8:00. I’ll be here waiting for you when you get home.”

  She stands on her tiptoes to kiss me and I pull her close as I kiss her back. “Last night was amazing.”

  “Hell yeah it was,” I tell her. “You may want to go before I ask for a repeat.”

  “Oh, you’ll get that tonight. I have to call my doctor this afternoon to see about my first appointment, so I’ll let you know about that.”

  I smile at her and kiss her one more time. “Sounds perfect. I don’t want you to be late. I love you.”

  “I love you too, Cor.” She says before walking out the door.

  I clean up the kitchen before getting ready for class. All throughout my classes of the day I can’t help but think about her. I know she can’t have her cell phone on but that doesn’t stop me from sending her a message telling her, I love her. At least I know she’ll get it when she can touch her phone.

  Classes drag on, most of my professors actually insist on teaching the first day of class. Finally a little after 1:00 p.m., classes are finished and it’s time to go home. I know Sybil will be tired, so I decide to cook a pot of chili for us. I stop by the store and get the few things I don’t have already.

  I walk inside the apartment and place the ground turkey inside the refrigerator until I am ready to start cooking.

  ***

  Sybil

  The class of students made my heart soar today. Each and every single one of them were so sweet and listened very well. Mrs. Lyles helped me for the first few minutes until I got the hang of it. That didn’t take long at all. Before I knew it, the day was over and eleven five year olds were hugging me begging me to come back. I can’t believe this is what I’ll be getting to do for a living. I walk out to my car with a smile on my face. I can’t wait to get home and tell Cory all about it.

  As I sit in the car, I pull my phone from my purse to see a text from Cory. My heart flutters seeing this and I feel like I can’t get home fast enough. My phone rings as I begin to pull out. I turn on the Bluetooth and answer the call. “Hello?”

  “Sybil,” Blaine’s voice comes across the speakers. A sick feeling fills my stomach as I reach for the button to hang up. “Please don’t hang up. I know I’m supposed to stay away from you, but I just want to talk to you.”

  “I don’t know what to say to you, Blaine. You hurt me and scared the hell out of me last time I saw you.” I tell him with a quivering voice.

  He sighs before replying, “I know and I felt horrible about that. I’m in town, is there any way we can meet somewhere just to talk.”

  I think about his request and all the possible repercussions that may follow. He says all he wants to do is talk and maybe he’s telling the truth. I do deserve a real explanation. Almost a year later, I’m not sure why I care, but I do. I want to know everything.

  “I don’t know, Blaine. Cory won’t let me go and talk to you by myself.”

  “You can’t do this one thing without him knowing? I swear, I’m not going to try anything on you.”

  Now it’s my turn to sigh into the phone. “Fine, meet me at park we went to that time.”

  “Thank you, Sybil.” He says before hanging up.

  I really hope this is a good decision on my part. I know the saying curiosity killed the cat and all I can do is hope that doesn’t happen to me. I should let Cory know something, but I just drive. This shouldn’t take long. I already know who Blaine worked for and the reason he was around.

  Five minutes is all it takes for me to get to the park. My eyes spot Blaine’s truck immediately and the thought to turn and drive away crosses my mind. I grab my phone and keys as I lock my doors. One look at him and I’m not sure what to think. He looks a lot better than the last time I saw him. He doesn’t look or smell drunk. He looks like the Blaine that I met working at the bookstore.

  My heart pounds in my chest as I get closer to him. He smiles faintly and it’s almost so easy to forget that he was the enemy. “Hey Sybil, you look good.”

  “Thanks. Uh, you do too.”

  “Thanks for meeting me here. I just, I really owe you an explanation and I never got to give it to you.” He runs his hand over his hair and I stare at him.

  Here it goes. I sigh as everything gets ready to come out into the o
pen. “I’m not sure I really want to hear this, Blaine.” I admit to him.

  “I want you to know though. I want you to know I wasn’t entirely the bad guy.” His eyes soften and so does his voice as he continues. “I work for Landon. The job is simple. People borrow money and when they can’t make good on their promise to pay, I go get the money back or them. Caleb did that, you know already.”

  “Yeah,” I interrupt him. “With my trust fund money.”

  “He really did try to pay it back. It wasn’t enough though and I soon was given your file to study. Landon knew that you had money that could cover this because of where Caleb was getting his money from. The minute I met you, I couldn’t do it. I bought as much time as I could to keep you safe. I started to really like you and things got completely fucked up. I wanted to be with you, to keep you safe, but there was no way I could do that and still do my job. Something had to give. I honestly got you out of town that weekend with nothing but good intentions. I didn’t want you seeing any of that go down and trust me, my ass got handed to me for that one. All I wanted was a chance with you, Sybil.”

  I stand there staring at him as he tells me this. He really did try to be the good guy, but he was so wrapped up into the business he couldn’t be. Would that have seriously changed things if I had heard him out after Megan’s death?

  “Blaine, shit are you serious? It hurt so bad to start to like someone then just be told they’re your enemy. I didn’t know what to think about any of that.”

  “I’m so sorry. I know I have no chance with you now. I’m not here for that I promise you. I just wanted to make sure you were ok and I needed to clear my chest. I’ll doubt I ever meet another woman like you, Sybil Hayes.”

  My phone rings and I look down to see Cory’s name. His name reminds me that I shouldn’t be here right now. Yes, I heard things that I felt I needed to hear but it’s time to get back where I belong.

  “I’m sorry Blaine, I need to go. Maybe in another life, another time, things could have been different but this is how our cards landed. I’m happy with Cory. I never thought that could happen but he makes me so happy. I do hope you can find your happiness one day.”

  I turn away as quickly as I can and get into my car. My eyes glance back to him one more time before I drive off. He looks a little sad as he waves bye. I don’t know what would have happened if this had been a totally different situation, but I do know we can never been together now. No matter how he tried to be the good guy, he’ll always be the guy lurking in the shadows to me.

  Chapter 42

  Cory

  I’m wondering where Sybil is. She should have been home by now, so I call her. She doesn’t answer which makes me begin to worry. Is she ok? Is the baby ok? I run my hands through my hair as I stand to get ready to cook. I just finish browning the meat when the door opens and she walks in.

  “Hey babe, I was getting worried about you.” I walk away from the stove to kiss her. Her arms wrap around my neck and she moans into the kiss.

  “Hey, sorry I got held up by something.”

  “Oh ok, something for school?” I ask her.

  She looks anywhere but at me for a minute and when she looks back at me she frowns. “I need to talk to you.”

  “Should I be worried? Is everything ok?”

  “I’m fine Cory. I need you to just keep an open mind and listen, ok? Can you promise me that?” I nod my head yes as she continues, “Blaine called me and asked if he could talk to me.” My face drops as she takes in a breath. “I told him yes and met with him at the park.”

  “You did what?” I ask hurt.

  “He wanted to explain everything to me and I wanted to know.”

  “I don’t really want to hear this, Sybil. I have no idea what to even think about this. You know how I feel about him, about everything he’s done and you thought it would be a good idea to go talk to him?”

  “He didn’t try anything, Cory. I told him I’m happy with you. I wanted to hear his explanation for things. I know we both don’t like him. He tried though. He tried to be the good guy but he just isn’t meant to be.”

  “Why can’t he just leave you alone?”

  “I don’t know, Cory. If I knew, I think I’d tell you.”

  “Well, you didn’t tell me you were going to meet him. Are you hiding anything else from me?”

  She takes a step back flinching at my words. “Cory, I am not hiding anything from you. You’re who I love.”

  “Yeah and let’s not forget you actually liked the guy. If he hadn’t been one of them, you would have been with him, so don’t sit there and pretend he was nothing to you.”

  “He was nothing compared to what you are to me.” She tells me. I want to believe her, I really do but I’m not sure right now. I’m hurt more than anything.

  “I think I just want to be alone right now Sybil, I’m not sure how to handle this. I was so excited to hear about your day and cook you dinner and when you come home, you bring him up. I’ll finish dinner but tonight, I’ll sleep on the couch or in the spare room. You can have my bed.”

  She looks like the tears may spill over at any time but I turn away so she can’t see just how much this is hurting me. I know she meant well doing it but by doing it, she did nothing but cause a tear in our relationship. I’m sure he gave her the answers she was looking for but at the same time he used this to his advantage again. She’s mine and nothing will take her away.

  ***

  I awaken to see the sun shining through the blinds. I never realized I fell asleep. My eyes dart around as I suddenly remember I slept on the couch last night. My body aches from lying on the couch all night and now I have to try to get ready for class. I don’t give a fuck about class right now but I can’t let my school suffer. I’ve worked too hard for this.

  I look into my room and spot her getting dressed. She looks like hell too and I feel bad for having been so harsh with her. I love her dammit, and I’ll do anything to keep her safe and nothing about Blaine will keep her safe.

  “Good morning.” I tell her.

  She turns to face me and tries to smile but fails. “I’m so sorry, Cory.”

  Immediately, I walk up to her and pull her into me. Her head rests against my chest as she stands here. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. I slept like hell because of it. I love you, Sybil. I love you and this baby and the thought of anything happening to either of you kills me.”

  “I was safe Cory, I promise. Nothing I can say will make up for it I know, but I want you to know how sorry I am.”

  “I can’t stay mad at you Sybil, no matter how hard I could ever want to.”

  “Good.”

  I place my hand on her chin and tilt it up to where he lips are in the perfect position. “I love you, so damn much Sybil.” I tell her as I softly kiss her lips.

  “I have to get ready for school, I’ll make it up to you when I get home?” she asks wiggling her eyebrows.

  “Mmm, I can’t wait.”

  She heads out shortly after and I decide I’d like to skip class today. I pick up my phone and call my mom.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, mom.”

  “Cory, are you ok? You sound exhausted.”

  “I’m fine. Can I come over today?”

  “You can come over anytime, you know that.” She tells me.

  “I’m skipping class, I’ll be there in a few.”

  I end the call and get dressed. I make it to my parents’ house in record time. Dad is already at work and Mom is drinking a cup of coffee in the kitchen.

  “You look tired Cory, what’s going on?”

  I grab a cup and fix myself some coffee. I sit beside her at the table and just look at her. “Sybil and I got into an argument last night.”

  “Tell me about it. Things can always be fixed, some things may just take a little longer.”

  She offers me a weak smile. “Yesterday Sybil met up with the guy who flipped our worlds around. He wanted to give h
er his explanation of things. I do understand her point in it all, he hurt her though in the worst way. Why would she want to even talk to him? It doesn’t help that we just found out Sybil is pregnant so I can’t help but be crazy worried about her.”

  Mom’s eyes grow wide at the vast information I just threw at her. “Cory Fuselier,” she starts. “First of all, I want to know why I’m just hearing I’m going to be a grandma. A text would have been nice. Next, you two fought because she went to talk to that guy?”

  “Sorry Mom, we were keeping it quiet until her first appointment and yes because of that guy.”

  “Well, I do know a little of what that poor girl has been through, but maybe she needed to hear those answers for herself. Maybe it was the ultimate closure for her.”

  “I didn’t think about it like that. Thanks, Mom.”

  She smiles at me and squeezes my hand. “Anything for my baby boy.”

  We sit around talking for the next few hours. It’s nice to get my mind off things somewhat but in the back of my mind, Sybil is all I see. I can’t wait to see her when she gets home. I can’t wait to make things right and put this behind us.

  ***

  Sybil

  Cory has been on my mind all day. During the midst of ABC’s, Cory is all I could think of. Having him accept my apology meant everything to me this morning. Mrs. Lyles approaches me as the day ends. She tucks one of her curly brown locks behind her ear.

  “The kids seem to really like you already, Sybil. You’re a natural at this.”

  “Thank you, I really love it. They seem really great.”

  “They definitely grow on you. I’ve been doing this for close to six years now and every year, my heart is stolen.”

  I smile at her as my phone begins to ring. My doctor’s office is finally returning my call. I excuse myself as I answer the phone and schedule the appointment. I can’t wait to get home and tell Cory all about this.