Page 5 of Mountain Bean Dream
His jaw dropped and he stepped back, tipping his head to the side. “Really? You’re breaking up… with me? Over something you think you think you overheard?”
I’d like to think he hated how I beat him to the punch, but at that moment I wasn’t sure. My brain felt like it was shutting down after having spewed out its last thoughts.
He stood there, huffing and pulling back his shoulders. In another breath, he swiped his hands over his face and up through his short, dark hair. “For real?”
“I can’t be a person someone just passes the time with.” From out of nowhere, tears built and I tipped my head down. There was no way I was going to let Derek see how he had managed to hurt me. Blinking rapidly and telling my lungs to breathe helped. But only a little. “I deserve more than that.”
His stance faltered, and for a split second, I thought the mask slipped, until he straightened, shoulders back, lips pressed into a tight smile. “Yeah, you do, and we had a lot of fun together, right?” His tone was coaxing, like he was trying to calm a panicked patient. “Remember the falls?”
It pained me that there was a ribbon of hurt on the tip of his tongue. And it was true, he had been a decent boyfriend. The falls had been the first place he’d kissed me, so tender and full of promise. In that moment, I believed in him and us. That I could be more than just a means to an end.
Until now.
“But you were using me. To just pass the time. You told your buddy that.”Don’t cry.I blinked rapidly.
“Well, I…”
“Are you denying it?” I was a little taken aback by my inner strength; something I hadn’t had to tap into since I’d broken up with my family some nineteen months ago. My spine straightened and I tipped my head high, internally begging my tears to dry up. “Is there more to us than you’ve led your friend to believe?” Or what I had thought?
A nurse walked over to the desk and stared at both of us.
Derek passed her the chart. “Room 110 needs a saline drip started.”
“Yes, sir.” She scurried away.
“Derek? Tell me the truth.”
He took a couple of backward steps, truly putting distance between us. Leaning on the countertop, his Adam’s apple bobbed. “No.”
Wide-eyed, my jaw unhinged. “No, you won’t tell me the truth?”
“No, there isn’t more to us. I’m sorry.”
I scoffed and narrowed my eyes. “Nah, you’re not truly sorry.” I studied his face and there was nothing there that had an ounce of apology. However, there was something else. “You’re just sorry I found out this way.”
“That’s not true. I do like you, and for the most part, I enjoy your company, you’re just not…” He straightened up and his face took on a serious look—the kind he’d likely give topatients when delivering bad news. A gentle sigh blew out of him and he folded slightly. “I have big dreams, and my time in Jasper was longer than I wanted it to be. I need to take the next step, and that means moving to Calgary. I don’t think I can give you what you deserve, and I can’t pretend otherwise.” He placed his hand on top of mine. “Truth be told, we hardly know each other anyway.”
I pulled back in shock. “What? That’s not true.”
“Molly, we’ve been dating for two months, and I know nothing about your family. I don’t even know when your birthday is.” He leaned on the counter, tipping his head to the left as he stared.
Like a movie on repeat, I ran through some of our conversations, and where I had picked up a little intel on him, I’d redirect my answers; a skill honed over the course of my acting career for fear of being exploited.
When I realised Derek was right, a hard lump formed in the back of my throat.
“It hurts me to say it,” he paused and searched my face before settling back on my eyes. “You’re not the type of person I see a future with, even if I’ve enjoyed my present time with you.”
Bam. Hit me where it hurt most.
Pretty much all the guys on my dating resume had said something similar, however, they were after what I could provide for them—other celebrities to meet, or sweet perks regular folks couldn’t get—they hadn’t seen me for anything more than a toy to be played with and tossed. And here, I’d thought Derek had been different.
Swallowing down a morsel of insecurity, I focused on the stethoscope earpieces hanging just above his heart, trying to figure out what my next move was. “Well, thanks for that honesty.”
I needed to leave.
Now.
And never come back.