Chapter 39
Sarah's POV
What the hell is the matter with him?
Ever since his stupid ex-wife came back into the picture, he’s been acting differently.
I mean, from the divorce he’s been acting different anyway, because he was pining over her.
I’ve never seen him cry, but there was always evidence that he had been crying.
He was depressed, and it feels as though…
I don’t know… like the depression never really left.
You know when there’s something frozen under a lake, and the lake is thick, and you know you can walk across it, but all it takes is one wrong step, or the temperature being a little too warm, and the ice cracks and gives away, only for you to discover at that point, when you fall through, that there are things frozen in the lake that have the ability to resurrect once they thaw?
It’s kind of what this situation feels like with his stupid ex-wife. I’m not stupid. I can tell by the way Gabby looks at Lincoln that she very much is still in love with him.
Too bad.
She pushed him away, and now she wants to come running back. If she really was over him, she wouldn’t have taken this job. Why did Lincoln even give it to her? It’s so stupid. I have a very horrible feeling that the two might end up back together.
That would be stupid on Gabrielle’s part, because what does that say about Gabrielle when she gets back with the very man who cheated on her?
Either way, I’ve become quite attached to Lincoln, and he’s important.
Gabby living together with him is a problem.
Of course I stay at Lincoln’s house sometimes, but I don’t live there.
I had tried to imply that we would be great living together.
Lincoln and I already spend most of our time together at work anyway.
We know each other very well, almost inside out when it comes to a lot of things, so why not just move in together?
Maybe it’s weird for him because Lincoln doesn’t want to accept that we’re a couple, and that’s fine. I get why. But if I don’t make a move, Gabrielle is going to try and squeeze in. One thing with me is I always make sure that I mark my territory so that people know what’s mine.
Lincoln was very mad at me for calling Gabrielle the bitter ex-wife on social media and spreading that narrative, but I had to.
Lincoln still has this weird protectiveness over the bitch for some stupid reason.
It’s not like they have children together and they have to protect their family or anything like that.
But honestly, I have more of a reason to protect my relationship with Lincoln than Gabrielle does, because everything could come crashing down if Gabrielle interferes. And I can’t have that. But I also can’t push too hard and cause Lincoln to push me away.
What to do.
After work at about 8:00 p.m., everyone’s ready to go home. Lincoln is in his car, which he took today. There’s actually less traffic, surprisingly.
We pull up to my apartment building.
“I’ll sit with you while you park,” I say, feeling chipper.
Lincoln hesitates. “Um…”
I look at him, wondering what the hell his problem is.
“Actually, I was going to just head home.”
“No. I thought we were going to pass out together,” I say, wondering why he’s flaking on me.
“I gotta… have to get back to check on Morris.”
“I thought you have the camera to check up on him,” I say.
“Yeah, I kind of called Gabrielle in to watch him.”
I roll my eyes. “I thought you were trying to get over this woman. I thought you were over her.”
“I told you. She’s watching my cat.”
“You were supposed to be off today.”
“I’m aware of that, Sarah,” Lincoln says, a little bit more snippy.
“Okay. Whatever. You’re not fucking her, are you?” I ask with a mischievous smile.
The thing is, I don’t feel mischievous. I feel annoyed.
“No I’m not. I promise you that ship is sailed.”
“You might feel differently if she’s living in your house with you.”
“She’s just watching my cat. But I legitimately am really tired. I just want to sleep in my own bed.”
“Want me to come with?” I ask, winking.
I can see his face burn for a slight minute, but the exhaustion overshadows it. He’s telling the truth. He really is tired.
“All right, fine. We’ll hang out tomorrow,” I say with a smile, hugging him. He holds me close, and I love feeling him like this. His body is so hard but yet comforting at the same time.
I bid him farewell and head up to my apartment, a pit forming in the bottom of my stomach. To me, it feels like he’s making an excuse to go back home. I’m not stupid.
He and Gabrielle have a lot of history, and when I was there and saw how he stared at Gabrielle, there’s no doubt whatsoever in my mind that he’s still very much in love with her.
And that’s fine. But they can never get back together.
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