Chapter 18
Paige poked at her Belgian waffle, wishing she had an appetite. The constant twisting of her stomach in knots was going to give her an ulcer. She'd kept so many things bottled up all week, she feared she'd explode at any moment.
Her dad was almost finished with his breakfast, but Paige had hardly touched hers.
"Is something wrong, dear?" Mom eyed her from across the kitchen table.
"Um…there's something I need to tell you and dad." Though hesitant, her voice must have sounded serious, because her dad who was in the process of standing dropped back into his chair.
Her plans to tell her parents the truth about Phillip Monday evening fell apart when Mom texted, saying she'd decided to spend the night in Spokane rather than make the late-night drive home. Then the week had been busy for everyone. Between high school graduation activities that her mom, as the principal, was involved in, and her dad spending a couple extra days at the medical conference, Paige hadn’t had an opportunity to talk to them.
She’d even been enlisted to help her sister-in-law Amy with redecorating Aunt Charity's diner. Then because she could see Amy was stressed, she'd volunteered to babysit last night so Ben could take Amy out on a date. The diversions had been welcomed, but they'd allowed her to remain a coward.
"What is it, honey?" Concern deepened the lines around her mother's eyes.
She hoped she'd finally seen the last of Phillip, but her parents needed to know the truth in case she was wrong. She sucked in a fortifying breath. "I need to tell you the truth behind my accident and what really happened with Phillip."
Mom leaned forward, a puzzled look on her face. "What do you mean?"
"Right before my accident on Valentine’s Day, I found out from Phillip's fiancée that he’d been cheating on her with me." She forced out the words she'd rehearsed Monday night.
"What?" Mom gasped, her eyes wide.
Dad's brows lowered until they became a single unit, and the muscle in his jaw jerked, much like Gabe's did when he was upset.
She gave them a play by play of what happened before she darted in front of the car, including Avery breaking the news that she was pregnant and that she and Phillip had set a wedding date.
Her mother's eyes grew wider, while her father's hands balled into tight fists.
"That miscreant! I'm so sorry, honey. I can't believe he lied to you all this time." Mom's nostrils flared in her red face. "And he has the gall to show up here wanting you back when he's married?"
"He's not married. He broke up with Avery after she lost the baby." Paige's tone was full of disgust.
"That poor woman." Sympathy filled Mom's voice.
"I feel bad she lost the baby, but she's better off without him, believe me."
"He stopped by again Saturday night while you were at your friend's birthday party. I told him to come back on Monday." Mom's hand flew to her mouth. "Did he show up here?"
"Yes. It wasn't easy, because he's very persistent, but I think I finally convinced him to leave me alone." She resisted the urge to fan herself as she recalled Gabe’s part in persuading Phillip to leave and how he’d almost kissed her again.
"But I wanted you to know the truth, so if he ever shows up here again, you can support me in getting rid of him. "
"Of course we support you, honey." Mom put a hand on Paige's arm. "Why didn't you tell us sooner? I would have handled things much differently if I'd known."
Paige looked down at her now soggy waffle. "I was humiliated and ashamed for my part in breaking up his and Avery's relationship."
"No." Dad spoke for the first time. He pointed a finger at her. "Phillip is the one who destroyed that relationship. Not you. Do you understand?"
Her father's passionate defense of her brought tears to her eyes.
Gabe had said the same thing, and it meant the world to her that the most important men in her life agreed.
She shouldn't think of Gabe that way, but she couldn't help herself.
She'd noticed other similarities between Gabe and her father lately, but it was best not to dwell on them.
"Your father is right." Mom circled the table and sat in the chair beside her. She wrapped an arm around Paige's shoulder. "You have nothing to be ashamed of."
Now the tears came in full force. "I just feel so stupid for not seeing through his lies. I let his attention and words of flattery suck me in. I hate that I let him use me for eight months."
"How exactly did he use you?" Tension deepened Dad's voice, and his fists balled again. His expression looked downright murderous now, and Paige could guess what might be going through his mind.
"Not like that, Dad, I promise." She held up a hand. "He wanted an intimate relationship, but I refused to give in."
"Good for you, honey." Mom squeezed her tighter. "I'm proud of you for sticking to your morals."
It was a miracle that she'd been able to withstand him, considering how persuasive and persistent Phillip was.
"You're a strong young woman, Paige." Dad's voice turned gentle as he gave her an earnest look across the table. It was the bedside manner that he was so well known for. "I'm proud of how hard you've worked to recover, both physically and emotionally."
"Me too." Mom patted her shoulder before removing her arm away. "I know it hasn't been easy."
Even though breakfast no longer looked appetizing, Paige speared a strawberry and stuck it in her mouth.
"How is your physical therapy going?" Dad asked as he stood from the table and picked up his breakfast plate.
The strawberry stuck in her throat, and she had to swallow hard to force it down. "It’s going good."
It was the highlight of her day every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
She looked forward to seeing Gabe even though he continued to add more difficult exercises to her routine.
She enjoyed the camaraderie between him and Luke and the entertaining discussions that often included everyone in the office, including two new patients that had recently started PT.
It had been busy enough this week that there hadn't been a chance for things to get too personal between her and Gabe, but they always found something interesting to talk about while he massaged and stretched her.
"How is Dr. Rivera working out?" Dad turned from the dishwasher and looked at her.
Images of Gabe and Luke's push-up contest filled her mind, and her lips turned up. "He's working out great. He's an excellent therapist."
"Good." Dad nodded. "I'd hoped he'd be a good addition to our community."
Addition to our community?
Did Dad expect Gabe to eventually run a full-time office here in Providence? It was certainly busier this week than it was four weeks ago, but even if there were enough patients here for a full-time office, Gabe would never consider moving here permanently. Not while his mother was so sick.
Gabe's mother.
And that brought Paige to the second thing that kept her stomach twisted in knots all week.
Mom now loaded her dishes into the dishwasher and would soon leave the kitchen, so Paige blurted out. "By the way, I'm planning on going to the Tri-Cities this afternoon to hang out with Angie and some of her friends again."
Angie was the former college roommate whose birthday party she'd told her parents she was going to last weekend. If she kept her lies consistent, maybe she'd find them easier to remember.
"Good for you." Mom came back to the table and patted her shoulder again. "I'm glad to see you getting out. You've been stuck at home with us old fogies for too long."
Well, that went better than I thought, on both accounts.
Her parents hadn't judged her for what happened with Phillip, and they wanted her to go to the Tri-Cities on the weekends for a social life.
Unfortunately, she didn’t feel any less guilty about lying to them.