Stoneface

by Tymber Dalton

  “Who is he, Amy?” Gwen asked.

  She shook her head. “No, I can’t tell anyone right now. I don’t want anyone to know.”

  Liam flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “He’s married, isn’t he?”

  Amy nodded. “Yes,” she softly admitted. “He’s going to divorce his wife. He was already planning on it before I found out about this.”

  Gwen bit her tongue.

  Liam asked, “How long have you known you were pregnant?”

  “I found out after I got here.” She finally pulled away from Gwen and wiped at her face with her hands. “I’m sorry I put you two through this. I got scared. I didn’t know what to do.”

  “Why didn’t you just come home to us?” Liam asked. “Don’t you know we would have helped you?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t face Mom and Dad right now. He…he’s going to make some arrangements and find us a place to live and break the news to his wife that he’s leaving her. I wanted some time alone before I had to go back. And I wanted to give him time to do what he needed to do.”

  “So you scare the crap out of us by going radio silent?” Gwen heard her voice getting more shrill.”

  “Gee, calm down,” Liam softly said. “It’s okay. Come here.”

  Gwen went to sit next to Liam. He slung an arm around her, pulling her close and comforting her. “Amy, I wish you could have trusted us enough to come to us,” Liam said.

  “I figured it was better if you didn’t know. That way Mom and Dad couldn’t throw any of the blame on you two.”

  “You mean on me,” Gwen bitterly said. “Dad will blame me regardless.”

  “Enough, Gee,” Liam chided. “Look at the three of us. It’s not like we’re kids anymore. We’re all adults, and they have us crapping our pants.” He started laughing, and Gwen couldn’t resist his infectious tone. She started laughing too, and eventually Amy joined them, a sad smile on her face despite her laughter.

  “Okay,” Liam eventually said. “We need a plan. We need to have our stories straight for when we get home.” He looked at Gwen and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “We’ve all had a rough few days. If we stick together, we can make it through this a lot easier than letting Mom and Dad divide and conquer.”

  Amy sniffled again. Gwen felt a little less sorry for herself. At least she wasn’t in Amy’s shoes. She stifled her righteous indignation that Amy was involved with a married man. After her divorce, Amy had heard Gwen rail against cheating men for countless hours.

  No wonder she didn’t want to confide in me.

  “Just tell them I had a mental breakdown,” Amy said. “It’s close to the truth anyway.” She rested her hand on her stomach and it hit Gwen that in a few months she would be an aunt.

  It also struck a painful twang in her soul of what she’d just lost.

  No. I won’t think of that right now!

  “You need to get your stuff packed and come with us,” Gwen said.

  Amy shook her head. “No. I can’t go back yet. I’m not ready.”

  “If you think any time is a good time to go back, think again.” Gwen took a deep breath in what she knew was a futile attempt to rein in her anger. “You need to come home with us.”

  “I can’t face them yet,” Amy whispered, sounding like a frightened teenager instead of a woman almost forty.

  “So you’re going to leave us holding the bag with Mom and Dad?” She felt her temper ratcheting up again.

  “Gee,” Liam warned.

  “No, Liam, I’m sick of this.” She turned to back Amy. “You want to stay here? Fine. I’m sorry your life sucks right now. But let me tell you something, we’re not going to lie to them for you anymore. You’re on your own.” She stormed over to the door. “Come on, Liam. Let’s go.”

  He sighed and got to his feet. “Amy, you’re an adult. But I have to agree with Gwen that there never will be a good time to face Mom and Dad about this. Sooner will be better than later.”

  They returned to the rental car. Liam let the silence lay between them all the way to the airport. Before they drove in to the rental car return lot, Liam pulled out his phone.

  “What are you doing?” Gwen asked.

  “I’m biting the bullet.” He dialed. After a moment, someone answered. “Hi, Mom. Yeah, listen, we talked to Amy.” Gwen heard a burst of excitement from her mom, but couldn’t make out her words. “Just listen, okay? She’s fine, she’s healthy, and she’s not coming back yet. Gwen and I are coming back late tonight…We talked to Amy and she’s fine. She’s just taking some downtime, like I thought.”

  He looked at Gwen, who resisted the urge to grab the phone from him and tell their mom the full story. Liam let their mother vent another burst of excited-sounding words. “Mom, she’s fine, okay? She’ll be home when she’s ready, and right now I need to get off because my phone’s almost dead. Good-bye, Mom.” He hung up, then shut his phone off. He looked at Gwen. “I suggest you shut yours off, too.”

  She was reaching for it when it went off. The caller ID showed their parents’ number. Gwen sent it to voice mail and shut the phone off.

  Liam shook his head. “We’re in for a few rocky days, sis.” He reached over and squeezed her hand.

  She squeezed back. “Sure seems like it, bro.”

  * * * *

  There was still an hour before their flight was scheduled to take off. At least dealing with Amy had provided Gwen with a little bit of a diversion from thinking about her men.

  She suspected from the way things went down with Jack that Tim was in the dark about it. Regardless, she needed to make a clean break.

  Gwen wouldn’t split the men up. If she couldn’t have Jack, she would have to walk away from Tim, too. She pulled out her laptop. Liam arched a quizzical eyebrow at her but she ignored him. He didn’t speak, knowing that at times like this what she needed most was to be left alone.

  She tapped into the airport’s Wi-Fi. No, no messages from Tim yet. She suspected Jack hadn’t even told him. This would be the hardest thing she’d ever had to write.

  Dear Tim,

  I don’t know if you’ve talked to Jack yet, but Liam and I are returning to Ohio. Jack found Amy. He also made his feelings perfectly clear to me, that he didn’t believe I’d fallen in love with you both.

  I’m sorry if I read too much into his and your actions. I really did think the two of you felt the same way that I did. I guess it was silly of me to get my hopes up, and I’m sorry if I put you in an uncomfortable position.

  Please, do not contact me. I will not do anything to come between you and Jack. And frankly, it would be too painful to hear from you.

  Have a good life. Thank you for everything you did for me and Liam. Please tell Jack despite the way things ended that I do appreciate him finding Amy for us. I will miss both of you and treasure the time we had together.

  Love,

  G.

  * * * *

  Tim read the e-mail, shock erasing all other thoughts. What the fuck had happened? He tried calling Jack and got his voice mail.

  He hung up without leaving a message. Despite what her e-mail said, he tried calling Gwen, but her phone went straight to voice mail. He didn’t leave a message there, either. Instead, he tried calling Jack again. This time, he left a message.

  “Jack, what the fuck happened with Gwen? I got an e-mail from her saying she’s leaving and not to contact her. Call me, goddammit! What the hell happened?”

  He tried calling Jack’s office line, but reached his voice mail there, too.

  Frustrated, he threw his phone on his desk and ran a hand through his hair. This couldn’t be happening. They were so close to perfect happiness, and now it was slipping through their hands, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

  He grabbed his phone and called Gwen’s cell again. This time, he left a message. “Look, I don’t know what happened and I can’t get hold of Jack. Please, babe, don’t walk out of our lives like this. I love y
ou.”

  He hung up. Until he could get some answers from Jack, he was stuck in the most painful kind of limbo.

  * * * *

  Gwen went to throw up in the bathroom about a half hour before their flight. To take her mind off her queasy stomach, she turned on her phone and checked her voice mail. Playing the message from Tim nearly started her crying again, but she would be strong. She would be brave.

  She wouldn’t look back.

  She deleted the voice mail.

  * * * *

  At their stopover, while Gwen went to the bathroom to throw up again, Liam called Ruthie and let them know they’d be home later.

  “Oh, good. Bob’s home, and I was going to let him come pick me up.”

  “Thank you so much for all your help, hon. We really appreciate it.”

  “Is Gee okay?”

  “Bathroom.”

  “Tossing her cookies?” Ruthie asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Poor thing.”

  “Hey,” he said, “you can take that laptop home with you for now, if you want. If I need it back, I’ll let you know.”

  She sounded happier than he’d heard her in a while. “Really? You mean it?”

  “Of course I do. I’ll get it back later.”

  “I’m going to ask Bob to buy me a new one and let you set it up for me.”

  He laughed. “Be happy to.”

  He was off the phone with her when Gwen returned. He slung an arm around her shoulders and held her close. “You okay, sis?”

  She wordlessly shook her head.

  “I don’t have any easy solutions for you. Unless you let me go back to Rapid City and kick their asses.”

  She shook her head again and hid her face against his shoulder.

  He sighed as he pulled her closer and held her. “It’s okay, Gee. I’m here for you. I won’t leave you. I promise.”

  They made it back to Columbus a little after two a.m. and caught a cab back to Gwen’s. He didn’t like the sad look on Gwen’s face. In Rapid City, she’d been happier than he’d seen her since her marriage to Dickweed dissolved. To see her that happy just yesterday, and now today to witness her agony was almost more than he could stand. This was something he couldn’t fix for her no matter how badly he wanted to.

  He hugged her before she went upstairs to bed. “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

  She nodded, not releasing him.

  He kissed the top of her head. “I meant it, Gee. You and me. Okay?”

  “Okay,” she whispered. He watched her slowly mount the stairs to the second floor before he went to bed.

  Chapter Eleven

  Their mother didn’t bother giving them time to settle in the next morning. At seven o’clock, she was knocking on Gwen’s front door. Less than pleased, Gwen didn’t bother trying to fake a good mood when she opened the door.

  “Why are you still in bed?” her mother demanded as she pushed past her into the house.

  “I only got to sleep a little bit ago. What are you doing here?”

  “I want to check on Liam.” She headed for the office, but Gwen snagged her arm and spun her around.

  “He’s still asleep, Mom. Leave him alone. He’s fine. Next time, call first.” Gwen knew she’d regret taking that tone with her mom, but her mother brought it on herself by waking her up and getting snarky and pushy with her before she’d even had a cup of coffee.

  Everyone in her family knew that was just flat-out dangerous. Gwen barely felt human before her first cup of coffee.

  Her mother shook Gwen’s grip off. “I will not tolerate that kind of behavior from you! Show some respect. I raised you better than that.”

  Gwen was about to respond with a scathing retort when the office door opened. Liam appeared, leaning against the doorframe. From his mussed hair and bleary look, Gwen guessed he’d also just gone to sleep not too long before their mother’s rude intrusion.

  “Mom, what the hell are you doing here?” he asked.

  Her mother raced over to him. “I wanted to check on you! Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Go home.”

  He started to turn and presumably return to bed, but she stopped him. “Why don’t you let me bring you home? You’re already awake. I can have your things loaded—”

  “I am home, Mom. I’m moving in with Gee. We’ll get my stuff out over the next few days.”

  Their mother looked like he’d slapped her. “What? You can’t move out. You need me.”

  “Mom, I love you, but spending this time with Gee has made me realize I should be living here. I miss her, she misses me, and we get along fine. This is where I belong. You and Dad can finally have your lives back.”

  “You get along just fine with Amy. I’m sure when she finally gets this silly stuff, whatever it is, out of her system, things will go back to normal.”

  Liam scrubbed his face with his hands. “Mom, listen to me. I’m moving in with Gee. This has nothing to do with you, Dad, or Amy. It’s about what I need to do for me. I want to live with Gee, and that’s all there is to it. Please, go home. We need to get some sleep.”

  Their mom didn’t want to let it go without a fight. “I think you need to come home with me so we can talk about this when you’re feeling better. Let me make you breakfast. I’ve got your favorite sausage at home, and even bought that bakery cinnamon toast you—”

  “I’m feeling fine, just tired because we haven’t had any sleep. Go home and don’t call either, because we need sleep.”

  She looked from Liam to Gwen and back again. When she realized she wouldn’t make any headway with either child, she dramatically sighed and shook her head. “I can’t believe you’d risk your health like this.”

  “Mom, go now, before you say something you can’t take back,” Liam warned. “I’m not budging, and frankly, I’m not in a mood to be nice about this.”

  Gwen breathed a sigh of relief when their mom turned and stormed out. She securely locked the door behind her.

  Liam leaned against the doorway again and held his hand out to Gwen. “Come on. Sleep with me, sis. I think we both need the comfort.”

  She cuddled in bed with him, as she had countless nights as a child, and closed her eyes. “She’s not going to give up that easy, is she?”

  He snorted, amused as he draped an arm around her. “Nope. Not even close. She’ll regroup and try again. You okay?”

  “I wasn’t thinking we’d have to deal with her this soon. I thought we’d have until this afternoon, at least.”

  “We haven’t dealt with anything yet.” She thought he’d drifted off to sleep when he spoke. “You’re not regretting asking me to move in, are you?”

  “Nope. I wubs you.”

  He nuzzled the back of her head. “I wubs you, too.” After a moment, he spoke again. “Are you okay?” he quietly asked.

  He didn’t need to clarify. It was the first time he’d brought up Jack and Tim. Liam always did have a knack for knowing when not to press her too hard when she was upset. “Not right now, I’m not. I will be. As long as I’ve got you.” She hugged his arm closer around her waist. This reminded her of when they were kids, when Liam would hold her while she cried over teasing at school or something their parents said to her.

  It made her feel safe. “I think it’s going to take time,” she admitted. “A lot of time.”

  “Just remember, no matter what, I’m here for you. I won’t abandon you, I promise. You and me, kid. Always.”

  “Yep,” she agreed. “You and me.”

  * * * *

  They slept until noon. Gwen awoke first and lay there listening to Liam’s deep and steady breaths. In sleep, he’d rolled away from her even though he kept his back pressed against hers.

  Thank god for him. When teased in school, he was there for her. They provided alibis for each other with their parents as teenagers, and he was her shoulder to cry on when needed. He’d never treated her as a pain in the butt little sister. He’d always made time for he
r, taken her under his wing to protect her from their parents.

  When he first got sick, she was the one who slept at his bedside in the hospital every night during that first stay until they diagnosed him and he ended up moving in with their parents.

  When she caught Dickweed cheating on her, her first call had been to Liam. He even went to the lawyer and to court with her during the divorce hearings, holding her hand and drying her tears more times than she could count.

  Eventually he rolled over to face her. “You awake?” he mumbled.

  “Yeah.”

  “You want to talk about it?”

  “I can’t yet.”

  “Okay.” He lay there quietly for a moment. “When you’re ready to talk, I’m here to listen. I swear, kiddo. Do I need to plan a return trip out there to kick their asses?”

  She managed a faint smile. “No.”

  “No, I guess I wouldn’t need to kick Tim’s, would I? Just Jack’s.”

  That made her smile. “I think we’ll be too busy kicking Amy’s ass when she gets home to worry about those two men. In fact, I’d rather not think about those two men at all.”

  It hurt way too much.

  * * * *

  Later that day, once Gwen was wider awake and fully caffeinated, she called Ruthie. “Thanks again for helping me out. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”

  “No problem. I’m sorry I was reluctant to do it at first.” She hesitated. “I had a lot of fun. Thank you for trusting me to take care of him.”

  Gwen felt a rush of sadness for her friend. She remembered kick-ass Ruthie, afraid of nothing.

  She remembered the baby shower she’d been planning for her friend.

  Gwen’s tears caught her off guard. What did she have to feel sorry for herself about? All she did was have a few fuck-filled days with some hunks, end of story.

  Ruthie lost herself, and nearly lost her life.

  And she lost her baby.

  “Gee? What’s wrong, sweetie?”