mistake, I admit it.” He looked at me beseechingly. “I was desperate, Beth!”
“You say that, but then you accuse me of sleeping with another guy. I would never do that. Do you realize how much that hurt?”
“I’m a jealous person, Beth. I can’t help it. What would you think if I stayed at another girl’s house?”
“After I helped get you drunk and you passed out?” My voice dripped with self-righteous sarcasm, “Hmm, let me think…that I’m an ass.”
“I screwed up, but it’s only because I love you.”
I shook my head, not believing a word he said. “But you don’t love me, Jim. I’m just something you want to conquer.”
Jim looked at me suspiciously. “Did The Keeper say something to you? Whatever he told you is a lie.”
I almost got sidetracked, but this wasn’t about what Scott had said. “My feelings are based on how you’ve treated me. You claim to love me, but you don’t make me feel loved. I feel pursued, but definitely not loved.”
“Look, I can change. Just give me a chance.” I wanted to interrupt, but he held his finger up to silence me. “Beth, I can be what you need.”
“No, Jim, you can’t.”
He put his hands up in a gesture of surrender and grinned. “Okay, okay, what do you really want from me?”
“I don’t want anything from you.”
Jim closed his eyes. “Don’t…please, don’t do this.”
It needed to be a clean break this time. “Take the beast, I mean the computer. I’ll gather the other things you gave me while you disassemble it.”
Jim stared at me with a pained expression. “No, Beth, I gave them to you as gifts. I don’t want any of it back.”
I suddenly felt bad. I hadn’t expected Jim to take it so hard, or for him to be generous afterwards. I hated to see him hurting, and I began to have second thoughts.
It scared me.
As much as I didn’t want to hurt him, I had to before I lost my nerve. “I’m sorry, Jim.” I walked to the door and opened it. He stood there frozen, with a stunned look on his face.
I didn’t move a muscle as a light breeze drifted through the door and played with my hair. I couldn’t trust myself to say anything. Finally, he seemed to break out of his trance. He walked over and stood in front of me.
“You are making a terrible mistake.”
I was taken aback when his lips pressed against mine in a hard, desperate kiss.
“Stop!” I cried, pushing him away.
Jim looked like a dejected puppy, his blue eyes tearing up. He turned from me and rushed out the door. I shut and locked it behind him before sinking to the floor. I had expected to feel a great sense of relief breaking up with Jim, but instead I felt icky and confused.
The ringing of the phone finally broke through my melancholy. “What’s wrong?” Scott asked as soon as he heard my voice.
“Jim came over tonight.”
Scott didn’t speak for several seconds. “I thought he broke it off.”
“He changed his mind. I had to make it painfully clear that it’s over.”
I heard the concern in Scott’s voice when he asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I answered dully. “But it was harder than I thought.”
“Beth.”
“Yes, Scott?”
“I debated if I should send a reply the night I got the email that the two of you were dating. I wasn’t sure how you felt about Jim, and I detest spreading rumors, but maybe I could have prevented what happened if I had shared what I’d heard. I apologize if it was the wrong decision.”
“No, Scott, you did the right thing.” I was actually glad he hadn’t told me anything about Jim. I knew myself too well. I had a weakness for underdogs and a dangerous stubborn streak. I could imagine I might have stayed with Jim just to prove that people were wrong about the guy. It had happened before.
Scott interrupted my thoughts. “Why don’t you tell me what trouble your rug rats got into today?”
I appreciated the change of subject. “No trouble today, but have you ever lost a tooth at school?”
“I can’t say that I have.”
“It’s quite a momentous event, let me tell you.”
Scott easily brought out my funk as we spent another night talking. When it came time to end the call, I whispered, “Thanks, Scott.”
“Anytime, Beth. If you need an ear I’m just a phone call away, and don’t concern yourself about the cost. Trust me, I can handle the phone bills. Not a problem.”
I lay in bed that night thinking back on my breakup with Jim. His reluctance to end our relationship shocked me. We’d only dated a little over a month, so I was convinced his whole declaration of love was simply a calculated tactic to get me in bed. However, I couldn’t forget the hurt puppy look in his eye when he left. So I thought about all the women he’d dumped, and convinced myself that he’d needed a taste of his own medicine.
I hoped Jim would learn something valuable from the experience. As awful as it had been, at least it was over.
I woke up the next morning feeling like a prisoner set free from her shackles. It was the start of a brand new day and a future of limitless possibilities.
I was blissfully unaware of the truth at that point ~ I was a Phoenix.
* The entire story is now available in eBook and paperback
Books Michelle Stevens has written:
Phoenix of the Heart
* Available in eBook and paperback
Currently Available in eBook
The sequel to Phoenix of the Heart
The Love Endures serial
Love Endures, Phoenix #1
Enjoy life by embracing the sadness as well as the happiness. It’s all a part of being on this earth. ~ Mrs. Pinkerton
About the Author Michelle Stevens
Michelle lives by the beautiful Rockies with her husband and three children. She grew up in the 80s and still has fondness for that era. She was a schoolteacher for many years, but always dreamed of writing.
Phoenix Rising (Phoenix of the Heart) Page 12
