Chapter 11
Harding~
T rista was curled up in my arms, both of us just trying to catch our breath. The past couple of days were finally taking their toll, and while she really shouldn’t be here, I needed her here more than I needed to keep up appearances.
We were cozied up on the couch, the television just a distraction of noise in the background, neither of us caring about what was on. After dropping her kids off with Frank, Trista had come over about an hour ago, and I could only assume that it’d been to remind her of what we were fighting for here. While my commitment to this thing with her was solid, it was possible that the threat to her children might have changed the way that she was looking at things now.
It was also incredible to think that only a couple of days had passed since my confession. I was due to go back to work tomorrow, and the very thought felt exhausting as hell. While it was going to be embarrassing as fuck to face the guys after what Paige had done, that was the least of my worries. I needed to prove that I could still do my job, regardless of the clusterfuck that I was wading in right now.
“Have you heard back from Heady?” Trista asked quietly, and I couldn’t help but wince.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “She said that Paige didn’t want to hear it, and to never put her in that situation again. She said that she’s going to be there for her friend, nothing more.”
Before Trista could comment on that, my phone was ringing, and I had no choice but to answer it. With Paige allowing her emotions to get the better of her, I couldn’t afford to not answer any calls that came through. However, seeing Luke’s name flash across the screen, I felt a little better. He was more than likely just calling to check up on me, and I appreciated that more than anyone could guess right now.
“Hey, Luke,” I greeted. “What’s up?”
“You want to know what’s up?” he barked, making me straighten immediately, causing Trista to sit up next to me. “Your fucking wife is what’s up, Harding.”
Jesus Christ.
“What happened?”
“Amy got a bunch of texts from an unknown number, telling her that I was fucking cheating on her,” he practically raged. “The texts told her to check my phone for hidden dating apps, and that they even knew who I was cheating on Amy with.”
“Fuck,” I hissed. “Luke-”
“I don’t even know anyone named Rebecca Thompson,” he went on, and my heart dropped to my stomach as soon as he’d said the name. “What the fuck, Harding?”
“Rebecca Thompson is one of Trista’s cousins,” I told him, my pulse pounding painfully in my skull. “They’re really close, and Rebecca babysits Trista’s kids a lot. They have kids the same ages.”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” he bit out.
“Luke, I’m so sorry-”
“I don’t need you to be sorry, Harding,” he snapped. “I need you to get that fucking bitch under control.”
“I’m trying,” I assured him. “But she-”
“She’s fucking with the wrong people here, Harding,” he continued, anger lacing every single word coming from his mouth. “It’s everything I can do to keep Amy from knocking on her front door and kicking Paige’s fucking ass.”
I stood up to pace a situation that was getting out of control quickly. “Paige will call the police if Amy shows up at the house,” I said, trying to sound calm. “Do not give Paige that power.”
“The fucking bitch sent my wife texts that I’m cheating on her, Harding,” he repeated. “The only reason that I’m not the one knocking on her door is because Amy knows that I’d never cheat on her. Amy also knows that Paige is fucking crazy, so that helps.”
I winced.
I couldn’t help it.
This wasn’t the first time that someone had commented on Paige’s character, but I’d been too in love with her to side with anyone else at the time. I’d seen perfection in everything that Paige had done, and that’d been my mistake. I had let her smile blind me to everything else, and because of that, I had so many regrets where my family and friends were concerned. I should have recognized her ‘helpful’ nature for the controlling tendencies that they really were. I should have listened more when everyone in my life had started to have the same opinion of my wife.
“Look, tell Amy that I’m really fucking sorry,” I told him, knowing what I had to do now. “I’m going to call the police and file a complaint against her, so if you can send me screen shots of the texts, that would help.”
I could hear Luke let out a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone, and it only made me feel worse. “This isn’t right, Harding,” he said. “I get that she’s a woman scorned and all that bullshit, but dragging innocent people into your drama is not right. For Christ sakes, she’s a forty-four-year-old woman, she should be handling this with a little bit more maturity than she’s displaying right now. Besides, no one gives a fuck that you cheated on her. How is that any of our business?”
“She’s just trying to hurt me back,” I muttered, her reasons irrelevant at this point.
“Get the bitch in check,” he said, any compassion for Paige long gone. “I mean it.”
He hung up before I could make any more false promises, and when I dropped back on the couch, Trista was immediately reaching for me. Her hand felt comforting in mine, but barely. Just like me, she didn’t have any answers to Paige’s madness, either.
“What happened?”
“Paige sent Luke’s wife a bunch of texts, telling her that he’s cheating on her,” I answered, my head beginning to throb.
Trista let out a quiet gasp. “Are you serious?”
I nodded, squeezing her hand in mine. “I’m afraid so.”
“Oh, God…what…does his wife believe her?”
I shook my head, thankful for that little bit of a miracle. “Thankfully, no,” I told her. “Luke adores Amy, and he always has. She’s the single most important thing in his life, and everyone knows it.”
“What…what does she think she’s going to accomplish by doing all this?” she asked. “I just don’t get it, Harding. Even if we did decide to stop seeing each other, she can’t honestly believe that you’d go back to her after everything that she’s done, right?”
I shook my head again. “I don’t know. At this point, I honestly have no idea what she’s thinking or why she’s doing what she’s doing.”
Trista let out a troubled sigh as she let go of my hand to run both of hers through her dark hair. “This is so insane, Harding.”
I stared into her emerald-colored eyes, my heart and mind absolutely torn. “Is it bad that I don’t want to call the police?” I asked her. “Is it wrong that I still feel bad for her?”
“Guilt is a motherfucker, Harding,” she replied rather coldly. “So, I understand why you’re reluctant to put her in check, but she’s no longer on the right side. Can’t you see that? She is crossing lines that no sane person crosses.” She eyed me a bit before adding, “In fact, has it ever occurred to you that she might need some professional help?”
This time, I ran my hands through my hair. “I can see now where she might.”
“Might?” she squawked. “Harding, she’s threatening and harassing innocent people. She’s trying to ruin other people’s marriages. She’s…she’s out of control, and who’s to say that a few texts will be the end of it? What if she really decides to harm someone?”
“I’m not going to let that happen,” I vowed.
“How do you plan on stopping her?” she challenged.
“By calling the police,” I answered, knowing that I no longer had a choice. “By asking them to speak with her and pointing out that she really can get in trouble for what she’s doing.”
“Do you think that she’ll even listen to them?”
“I’m hoping so,” I said pathetically. “She’s very…I don’t know. She’s very respectful of law enforcement. If the police go and speak with her, it might embarrass her enough to back off.”
“Or it’ll just piss her off some more,” she posed.
“Either way, I can’t just sit around and do nothing, Trista,” I said. “While I was trying my hardest to own up to what I did, I can’t allow this to continue. If Luke and Amy were any other couple, they could very well be getting a divorce because of this mess, and I just can’t live with that kind of guilt.”
“Maybe it’s time that you reach out to everyone you know and let them know what’s going on,” she suggested. “Maybe make a post on social-”
“No,” I said, cutting her off. “I will not post my personal business on social media. I have more self-respect than that.”
Trista didn’t say anything more, and even though she was back in my arms, trying to make me feel better, I honestly had no idea if that was even going to be possible anymore.