Page 69 of Unforgivable
“To pack. I have to get the hell out of here.” I’ll stay with Katie. And I have to talk to Bruno. I have to tell him the truth about the lock, I don’t know why I didn’t do it before. I’ll tell him the truth and deal with the consequences and Summer can go to hell.
“Stop. Listen to me,” Bronwyn says.
“I can’t right now, okay? Feel free to laugh at me by the way, seriously. Knock yourself out. I deserve it. I’m the biggest fool there is.”
“You can’t leave! Are you crazy? What about Charlotte?”
I stop, look down at her, crouched in front of me, and feel the corners of my mouth pull down. “She’s got you now,” I say, brushing my fingers on my cheeks.
“She needs you. Jack needs you.”
“Like hell he does.”
“You have to hold your ground and fight for him! Confront her! Fire her! Talk to him! Fight back, Laura!”
“You must be kidding,” I say. “Why would I? He’s been cheating on me for months! He was cheating on you for months too! What happens if he ever gets a job and we need a babysitter? Will I have to warn them to stay away from my creepy husband? Only old ugly witches need apply? Will I be suspicious every time he tells me he’s going for a ride, a run, a drive? Hardly seems worth it.”
“Don’t rush into leaving, please. It’s just a phase, that’s all.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“He’s not the first guy to fall for a young woman half his age—”
I snort. “She’s twenty-five, but okay.”
“She probably seduced him. Maybe he ended it and that’s why she took a job with you. To get him back.”
I try to think. That’s what her poem is about.
Why did you leave and take my heart with you?
I lost my love on Thursday afternoon.
But I found you again, my love.
“Deal with her, get rid of her, confront her, confront him! If you must, but fight for him, Laura. Fight for Charlotte. At the very least, think about it.”
“Why are you even saying that?” I ask. “What do you care if Jack and I are together? You’re back, you’ll share custody of Charlie…” I pause. Press my fingers against my eyes. Then I laugh. “Sorry!”
“We’re a family, Laura. All of us together.”
“Jesus, Bronwyn. You’re starting to sound like a Hallmark card.”
She smiles, stands up. “Oh, sweetie…” She pulls me up and puts her arms around me.
“Thank you for being so nice to me,” I cry. And let’s face it, if someone had told me even three days ago that Bronwyn would be the one to console me out of my state of despair, I would have thought they were smoking crack.
“That’s okay. We’re friends.”
“I haven’t been your friend,” I say, wiping my cheeks. “I’ve been horrible to you.”
“No, you haven’t.”
“Yes! I have! I’m so jealous of you! You’re so perfect, and everybody loves you, and nobody loves me because I’m such a loser.”
“Cut it out.”
“And if I hadn’t invented stupid Beth you’d still be married to Jack—”