Chapter 44
44
Faith stepped quietly into the house after saying goodbye to Reuben. She still couldn’t believe he’d made her write lines before she left.
Please don’t let Eric see me.
The television was blasting from the living room and she snuck past the closed door toward the door leading down to the basement.
“Faith.”
Fuck. Shit.
She froze, her heart racing. God. Why was she here? Why hadn’t she stayed with Reuben?
He never made her feel like this. As though her heart might pound its way out of her chest. Turning, she stared up at Eric.
He’s never hurt you.
He’s just a mean asshole.
“Eric. Is Cammie home?”
“No.”
Fudge.
“You’re not supposed to come in the front door, Faith.”
He spat her name out as though it was a curse.
“Sorry.” She wasn’t, though. She was starting to get tired of him treating her this way.
Maybe she should go stay at a hotel for a few nights.
Of course, she’d have to explain that to Reuben. If she told him how Eric treated her . . . yeah, she didn’t want Eric to die.
Right?
Hmm. There was a part of her that wasn’t sure.
“What have you been doing all weekend? Out with your rich boss. Getting your photo taken. You want attention, is that it, Faith? Poor Faith . . . everyone always loved you, didn’t they? Until you proved to them all what a useless bitch you are.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. What had she ever done to him?
“You been fucking your boss? Letting him bend you over his desk to rail that pussy? Huh? And what’s he giving you? Limo rides and fancy dinners? You know what they call that sort of transaction, you slut?”
She was shaking by now. The vile stuff he was spewing at her was making her feel ill.
“What’s your problem with me, Eric?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. “What have I ever done to you?”
“I know you never wanted Cammie to marry me. You told her that I wasn’t good enough for her, didn’t you?”
Cammie had told him that? Betrayal filled her. How could Cammie do that to her? And she hadn’t exactly said that about Eric.
Not in so many words.
Plus, she’d thought they’d been talking in confidence.
Faith swallowed. “That’s why you hate me? Why let me stay here then?”
“Yeah, that’s why I hate you, stupid bitch,” he spat out. “Always thought you were better than me. Same with your brothers. Your whole family. Lording themselves over the rest of the town. Well, you’re not better than me, Faith. Look at you, you’re pathetic.”
She had no idea what he was talking about. Her family had never lorded anything over anyone else. What the heck did they even have to lord over anyone? They were just hard-working farming folk.
Although her parents were very happily married. And very proud of their children. Well, they had been.
She knew that Eric’s home life had been less than stellar. His mom had left when he was a kid, and his dad was known to be mean and demanding.
“I told her that you could stay because I wanted you to feel small, Faith. I wanted you to be beneath us. And you are . . . you’re pathetic. Living in a fucking basement. Fucking your boss. Letting me dictate to you. I could get you to do whatever I wanted, couldn’t I, Faith? Because you’re a fucking waste of space. What if I told you to get down on your knees and suck me off, would you do that, too, Faith?”
Trembling, she backed up toward the basement door. Just then, Cammie walked through the front door. Relief flooded her.
“What’s going on?” Cammie asked sharply. “Eric? Faith?”
Was that suspicion on her face? What did she think was going on?
Faith had reached her limit. She couldn’t do this anymore.
“I’m moving out,” she blurted.
Cammie tensed, glancing over at her. Eric scowled at her. He must be disappointed to lose his punching bag.
Well, she didn’t sign on for that.
“What? Why?” Cammie asked.
“Ask your husband,” she snapped before opening the door to the basement.
All right, that might have been a bit harsh. Cammie hadn’t been here. Maybe she had no idea about how Eric felt toward Faith.
Faith’s hands were shaking as she shut the door. She half-stumbled down the stairs.
Making it to the sofa bed, she sat heavily. Faith knew she should start packing, but she was too busy trying to get her breathing under control.
In. Hold. Out.
Repeat.
You’re all right. You’re fine.
The sound of someone speaking loud from upstairs made her jump. What was going on?
She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was obvious they were fighting.
Oh no.
Now she felt terrible. Finally, a door slammed and there was silence.
Pack your bag, Faith.
Grabbing her suitcase, she put Colin in first. Colin didn’t like being in the suitcase, he found it hard to breathe. But he’d be safer in there.
“Faith? Hey, Faith?”
She glanced up to see Cammie standing on the stairs.
“Hey,” she replied.
“Listen, Eric’s gone to cool off a bit. I know that he’s been a bit . . . hard to get along with lately, but he’s having some problems at work. You don’t need to go.”
“I really don’t know why you’d want me to stay, Cammie,” she replied wearily. “All I seem to do is cause issues between the two of you.”
Faith realized now that she had to be careful about what she said to Cammie unless she wanted it to get back to Eric.
“Why did you tell him that I tried to convince you not to marry him?” Faith whispered. “I said that to you in confidence. I never expected you to relay it to him.”
“He’s my husband, Faith,” Cammie replied in a cool voice. “Listen, just stay, please. I’ll get Eric to apologize. You’ll stay if he does that, right?”
“I don’t know, Cammie. He really seems to hate me.”
Since she’d been here, Cammie hadn’t really acted like her friend. They’d obviously drifted apart, and while Faith was grateful to her for helping her . . . she felt like a burden and unwanted.
“He doesn’t. Come on, Faith. After everything I’ve done for you, you owe me this.”
Ouch. That hurt.
But she needed to keep the peace. “Fine.”
“Will you come upstairs?” Cammie asked. “Keep me company. I’ll make you one of those sweet jelly bean drinks that you like.”
Faith closed her eyes as she realized that was the first time Cammie had asked her to come upstairs and spend time with her.
Well, other than when she’d helped her get ready for the charity dinner.
And the sad fact was that Faith would rather stay in the basement than have a drink with her friend.
Opening her eyes, she stared up at Cammie. “I’ll come up soon.”
“Right. Sure. Okay.”
Cammie disappeared upstairs, and Faith lay back on the uncomfortable bed.
She should call Reuben. But he’d come storming in. And she didn’t want him to ruin Eric or Cammie. She just wanted to leave.
A tear dripped down her face. She wiped it away.
So she and Cammie had grown apart? It didn’t mean that they couldn’t still be friends. It was just that they had different priorities.
Faith was focused on paying back her debt.
And now . . . on her relationship.
And Cammie was focused on her relationship too. She couldn’t blame the other woman for that.
But it was definitely time to move on. Even if Eric apologized, and that was a big ‘if’, she still didn’t think she could stay.
And frankly, she couldn’t understand why Eric and Cammie would even want her to. It was a miracle that she hadn’t become seriously ill while living down here, and she really didn’t want to experience a winter in this basement. There wasn’t even a source of heat.
The sound of a door slamming again made her jolt. How long had Eric been gone? Where had he gone?
Almost immediately, there were raised voices. She winced at the sound. Standing, she grabbed her large bag and her handbag and headed up the stairs.
If Eric was going to apologize, and she highly doubted it would be sincere, then he could do it upstairs.
Because Faith was done with hanging out like a bad smell in the basement.