Chapter Seven
Vivian
“Vivian, dear. It’s a surprise to see you here,” Mrs. West says, catching me in the middle of the cereal aisle.
Damn it. I don’t have anywhere to run, because of course it happens to be the exact moment that two workers are restocking the shelves and we’re caught perfectly in between them.
I intentionally left my house in the middle of the night, way too late for me to run into anyone I know, or at least I thought so.
“Oh, hello, Mrs. West. It has been a long time. I hope you’re well,” I say, doing my best to show no signs of the pure discomfort I’m feeling.
“It has been a long time. You disappeared after the accident, but I can understand why. I’m sorry that you feel like you can’t trust Simon, although we’re positive he had nothing to do with that young woman.”
I choke, in shock by her bluntness—something I should have come to expect. “It’s not that,” I admit.
“Then why?”
“It’s complicated. We had a big argument, and we said things, did things. Then…I told him I didn’t want to see him again.”
“We all say things we don’t mean sometimes.”
“Yes, but then he left angry and nearly died. I’m sorry. It’s my fault that he was out there.”
“Vivian, no. Don’t do that to yourself. Don’t.”
“I’m sorry. I have to go. Excuse me.” I leave my cart and rush out of the store. My heart just aches. I’m nearly out of the store when I slam into Simon’s chest.
“Whoa, whoa, Trouble. Who are you running from?” He looks over my head and around me with a snarl.
“No one. Um…”
“Tell me whose fucking face I need to smash in,” he growls, staring at me intently. God, it’s the way he looked at me at the hotel in his room and when Richie was talking to me.
“No one.”
“Why are you lying to me? You hate me, but I’m not sure how to fix what I did wrong.”
“Simon?” his mother calls out from behind me. Her distraction allows me to move around and leave before he can stop me. I have to get away and control my emotions. He thinks I hate him.
“Good night,” I call out before sliding into my vehicle and driving away.
I just can’t deal with the feelings he brings out in me.
It’s so confusing. For some reason, he’s under the impression that I hate him, but if he remembered that night, he would probably remember that I’m the one who led him out into the cold where someone struck him down.
I pull into the driveway empty-handed. As soon as I enter the house, my father raises his brow. “Sweetheart, it’s ten thirty, and you don’t have any bags from the store. What happened?”
“Um… they didn’t have what I wanted?”
“None of it?”
“Um…no. I’m going to bed.” I hang up my keys on the hook and go straight to my bedroom.
I don’t want to talk about anything, especially when it comes to Simon, who I haven’t even begun to understand.
It’s been a month since he came home, and he looks incredible, handsome as ever, even with the scarring on his face.
I prepare for bed and then lie down and try not to let my feelings of guilt and heartache eat me up as I drift off to sleep.
The morning light floods through my window, and I’m dreading the questions my parents have prepared for me. There is no doubt my father told my mother. They don’t keep secrets, and they do everything they can to protect me.
After I dress and brush my hair, there’s a knock at my door. Damn, they didn’t even wait for me to come downstairs. “Come in.”
“Sweetheart, I got an interesting phone call this morning.”
“From whom?”
“Penny Steele.”
“Mrs. Steele?”
“Yes, she was doing some late-night shopping last night, and she witnessed a confrontation between you and Simon. She didn’t hear it all, but from what she heard, Simon’s under the impression he upset you.”
“You haven’t spoken to Dad?”
“No, he had to work last night, remember?” Oh, yeah. I’d forgotten. He hasn’t had a chance to rat me out. I give her a summary of what happened, and she frowns at me.
“So you ran away from that boy instead of telling him that you’re not upset with him? He’s going through a lot, and you’re letting him suffer.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“No? Please explain why it isn’t. What happened in Vail that he’s forgotten?
” I explained how he told me his feelings and how we kissed provocatively and his promises, but then we fought, and I told him I never wanted to see him again.
She gasps at all the right moments but squeezes my hands and smiles as if she isn’t bothered by the idea that Simon and I had crossed some lines.
“See, I don’t know how to be around him. I feel so guilty that he’s hurt because of what I said, but we fought, and now he doesn’t remember any of it.” I do my best to fight the tears.
“Is there a part of you that’s mad at him for forgetting?”
“No,” I deny too quickly.
“Sweetie, I believe you are. It’s hard to say why he doesn’t remember it, or maybe he has pieces he doesn’t want to remember. You are definitely not the reason. If he thinks you’re mad at him, I assure you it’s not because he doesn’t love you that the memories aren’t coming back.”
“I don’t even know how to be around him.”
“Well, I called Vanessa this morning, and she has a wonderful idea.”
“What do you two have planned?”
“It’s time for you to shake off this fear and pain. Simon needs you, and you need him.”
“You’re right. What do you have in mind?”
“She needs rest as the baby comes, and they could use help in the office. Abby helps, but she has school too. So, she’d like you to come after school every day to learn the ins and outs of the shop.”
“Are you sure that’s a good thing? I’ll be invading his space.”
“Yes, it’s a great idea, and I’m sure under all that nervousness, you’re thinking the same thing.”
I blush because a part of me loves going to the shop despite him sending me away all the time. The way sweat covers his bare, ripped biceps as he works sends shivers down my body. “Whoa, young lady. Calm down. I can see and recognize that look. You have a couple more months of school left.”
“I know, I know.”
“Good. Now, Vanessa would like you to come over to the shop today around noon to get a feel for the process.” I checked the time on my cell phone and it’s already eleven. Dang, that’s not a lot of time, but I guess that leaves me less time to chicken out.
“Um…okay.” When I enter the kitchen a few moments later, my father walks into the house. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hey, Princess. How are you doing this morning?”
“I’m great,” I lied. I’m a mess. Seeing Simon again is going to be a shock to my system that I’m not prepared for. It’s not that I don’t want to throw myself into his arms and continue where we left off in his hotel room, but I’m not sure that will ever be possible.
The doorbell rings, and in walks Mr. West. “Hey, Wrench,” my father says. They shake hands. “What brings you here?”
“Oh, Vanessa didn’t tell you?” Mr. West said, smirking at me.
“No, I just got home.”
“I’m going to help, Mrs. West out at the shop by working in the office.”
“She has a car. You didn’t have to scoop her up, Wrench,” my mom says.
“I was at the hardware store, so I was driving this way, anyway.”
“Good. Thanks for giving her something to do,” my mom says, hugging my shoulders.
“Yeah, I think it will be good for the both of them,” he says while giving me a knowing look out of the corner of his eye.
“I’m sure it’s going to be awesome,” I mutter. “What should I wear?”
“Do us all a favor, and nothing that’s going to get other men killed,” my dad mutters, shaking his head.
“Daddy, I’m a grown woman.” I roll my eyes at him.
“I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about Simon catching any guys staring at you in tiny shorts or in a low-cut top.” I blush profusely.
“Your dad’s right. We’ve both been married too long and understand how my son is going to react when a customer’s eyes linger too long.”
I roll my eyes again, and Mom says, “They aren’t exaggerating.”
“He hadn’t acted that way until that weekend, and he doesn’t even remember behaving that way.”
“Sweetie, just because you didn’t see it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” My father smirks. My mouth falls open, and my mind practically explodes.
“I’m going to change. I’ll be ready in ten minutes, okay?”
“Okay.”