Save Me From Myself (13 page)

Lyric? Are you going to respond at all?

Then, a few minutes ago:

Please let me know you’re at least getting my messages. I don’t want you to be blindsided.

I shoot off a quick “got them” text, and put my phone back in my purse. Those texts are exactly what I needed to remind me that I need to keep David away until I’ve dealt with Matt. I’ve barely eaten, but I push my plate away. I catch Anna’s eye, letting her know I’m ready to go. Through all of this, David’s been watching me thoughtfully, and after the waitress comes and we get up to leave, he walks out with us.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” he asks, looking at me intently.

Jumping, I reply, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Even though inside I’m cringing. Shit. He already reads me too well.

He raises an eyebrow, “I think you know
exactly
what I’m talking about.” I look away from him because this is not the time or place for this, and he sighs. He doesn’t say anything at first, just stares into my eyes. Finally, he nods, “Okay Lyric. I know there’s something you’re not telling me, but I’ll let it go. For now. I’ll call you later.” And with that, he presses a kiss to my lips and lets me go. I know he’s not going to drop it easily. I know this won’t be the last time we talk about this.

Pulling up outside the apartment, I cut the car off and get out. I’m not sure when Anna will be home, but since it’s my night to make dinner, I’ve got three bags of groceries to bring in and it’s starting to snow lightly. I reach into the backseat and grab them. Closing the door, I notice Matt is standing behind me. It startles me so much that I drop my bags before whispering his name.

“Hello Lyric.” His voice and eyes tell me how angry he is, and I shudder inwardly.

When I finally gather up the courage to respond, I reply, “Matt.” There’s so much I want to say, but I don’t even know where to start. I bend down and grab the bags I dropped, hoping nothing is broken, and try to ignore him as I walk towards the stairs.

“Aren’t you going to ask me how I knew where you were? It’s not like you left me a forwarding address you know.” He sounds agitated, and if he’s already pissed, this conversation is going to go downhill fast.

“I already know how you found me Matt. You went to my mother. What would you like me to say? ‘Thank you for respecting my obvious wishes and leaving me alone’ isn’t going to happen because you’re here.” I hate when he talks to me like I’m a child. I know why he wanted me to ask. He wanted to be able to tell me how my mom sold me out. Like this is shocking information.

“So, you’ve been expecting me then? Good. Maybe now we can have an adult conversation.”
 

God, he’s such a pretentious twat! I want nothing more than to wipe the smug smirk off his face, but I just want him to say his piece and be gone before Anna gets home. If he’s still here, it will be World War III, and I’m not up to dealing with that. This week’s been hard enough, with trying to keep David away to avoid him meeting Matt, and dealing with Anna’s disappointment in me.

“For Christ’s sake, Matt, we could have had an ‘adult’ conversation over the phone. Then you wouldn’t have needed to come to Nashville. Wouldn’t that have been easier for you? Kimberly can’t be happy you’re here.” I know I sound bitchy, but with Matt, I have every right to. By the time I’m finished speaking, I’ve made it to the top of the third set of stairs, and Matt is breathing heavy. It’s probably all kinds of wrong that him wheezing after walking up three flights of stairs makes me snicker inside, but the visual will keep me going for a while!

“Yes, but at least by coming here, you won’t have to drive back to New York by yourself,” he says while trying to slow his breath down.

That makes me stop in my tracks. The longer he talks, the further the apartment door seems to get. “What do you mean, I won’t have to drive back to New York alone? I’m not going back Matt.” Surely, he isn’t that dense is he?

Matt sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. Oh, this is going to be good. “Lyric, you can’t honestly expect to carry on a relationship when I’m in Manhattan and you’re here. You need to come home. Back to New York where I can take care of you.” Take care of me? That’s a good one. His “care” is what started this mess in the first place.

“See, there’s one problem with that Matthew. There is no
us
. There hasn’t been an us for over 6 months. You have a new girlfriend. Or did you forget about Kimberly already? I’m NOT coming back to Manhattan. There’s nothing for me there. Here, I’ve got a great job, fabulous friends, and I’m living the life
I
want to live. Not the one you and my mother think I should have.” I’m proud of myself for saying all of that without breaking down. Going against my mother and Matt isn’t something I’m used to doing, which was part of the reason for my move. It’s a lot easier to say no when it’s in a text or during a phone call. Which is exactly why Matt has shown up here.

Without waiting for a response from Matt, I walk to the apartment door and unlock it. I’m hoping that he’ll take the hint and go home, but Matt’s not going to give up that easily.

“Will you
stop
throwing Kimberly in my face, Lyric? She’s just a distraction. If you’d come home and act the way you should, I wouldn’t need to have her.” Holy shit! Please tell me he doesn’t actually believe that bullshit!

I whirl around, my mouth dropping open, “Seriously? If I would ‘act right’ you wouldn’t need her? What a crock! You
cheated
on me with her Matt! For
months
! So don’t tell me you’d give her up if I came back. It’s not going to happen. You can leave now.”
Please, please let him leave
. I don’t want to have this conversation anymore!

Turning back around, I head down the hallway to the kitchen so that I can put the groceries away, by the sound of his footsteps, Matt’s right behind me. I studiously ignore him as I put away everything I bought, and then walk past him to go back towards the door. I don’t know why I’m ignoring him, it’s just going to make him that much more determined to talk to me.
 

When I reach the front door, Matt’s behind me again, and he places his mouth close to my ear, making me shudder, “You know you need to come home. We need to make things right, Lyric. We’re supposed to be together.” The ironic thing is, I used to believe that whole-heartedly. But, if he’s taught me anything, it’s that I can’t trust him. When things get tough, he’ll look out for himself and no one else. That’s not the relationship I want to have.

I push him back, and reach for the door, saying, “No, Matt. We’re not supposed to be together, and there’s nothing to make ‘right’ between us.” With that, I open the door so that maybe he’ll take the hint, and find David standing there. Oh, fuck.

***

Well, so much for trying to avoid David and Matt meeting. This is pretty much my worst nightmare come to life. I don’t know how long I’ve been standing here, hand on the door, staring at David. Finally, Matt clears his throat and asks me, “Who the hell is this Lyric?”

David raises a brow at me, and I know he’s thinking “Yes Lyric who
am
I?”
Shit. Shit, shitty, fuck
. There aren’t enough words to explain how I feel right now. Sighing, I turn back to Matt, “This is David.” I don’t clarify who David is any further, because let’s be honest, it’s none of Matt’s business.

David holds his hand out for Matt to shake. Matt scrunches his nose like he’s smelled something awful. “David? As in David the bartender?”

David smiles, but it’s not a friendly smile. It’s actually a little scary, and I never want him to smile at me that way. “Yep, that’s me, David the bartender.”
 

Matt glares at him, which is actually sort of funny. Matt’s not much taller than I am, and he’s definitely not muscular like David. Matt’s more the kind of guy who watches what he eats and would rather do yoga than lift weights. Looking between the two, I don’t know what I was thinking.

Finally, Matt takes David’s hand to shake it. Then, to my disbelief, says “I’m Matt, the fiancé.” You have got to be kidding me. I glare at him, and feel David stiffen at my back.

“No, Matt, you’re not.” I interrupt whatever he was going to say next. “You haven’t been my fiancé for a while.”

Matt rolls his eyes which makes me just want to smack him. Ugh, he’s such a jerk. Then, he looks at me, and I can tell I’m not going to like what comes out of his mouth next. He’s got an evil smile on his face now, and he steps closer to me. I automatically step back, which brings my back flush against David’s front. He puts a hand on my waist to steady me, and Matt’s eyes narrow.

“Oh, so that’s how it is?” he asks, and I pull back further into David, wanting to get as far away from Matt as I can. He leans closer and says into my ear, “And have you told him
everything
?” I inhale sharply, and have no idea what’s going to happen next.

“As much as I’m sure we’re entertaining the neighbors,” David interjects, “maybe you could take this
inside
the apartment?” Matt may be an asshole, but he’s one who cares about appearances, and I guess he’s just now noticing that everyone in the apartments on this floor can hear this conversation. He steps back, and allows me to move past him. I don’t look at either him or David as I move into the living room.

I’ve loved this living room since I moved into Anna’s apartment. The walls are mint green, and the furniture is white. Everything is super comfortable, but chic too. There’s a coffee table that’s made out of distressed wood, and the floors are hardwood. It’s a very feminine living room. If I wasn’t so worried about seeing both of these guys together, Matt wearing a crisp suit, and David a t-shirt and jeans, it would probably be pretty funny. As it is, I’m wishing I could just close my eyes and avoid this entire thing.

I wait for Matt to sit on one of the couches. I want to be sure he doesn’t sit anywhere near me. When I sit on the couch across from him, David sits next to me. I’m not sure that idea is any better, because I haven’t exactly been honest with him. He knows there’s something painful in my past, but I don’t want to bring up the baby, or the things that Matt did to me afterward.
 

***

Lyric’s fidgeting next to me while we sit across from this asshole. I haven’t heard much about him, but from the ten minutes or so I’ve spent in his company, I’m going to have to kick his ass. He’s the exact type of guy my father used to do business with, and he always told me to stay as far away from those men as I could.

Matt leans forward, eyes on me, and says seven words that explain so much, “Did she tell you about the baby?”

As soon as he says that, Lyric starts shaking beside me. My first instinct is to hold her, but when I try to put my arm around her, she jerks away. I ask Matt, “What baby?” Lyric has tears streaming down her cheeks, and it damn near breaks my heart.

Matt, however, looks extremely happy with himself, and the fact that she’s in tears. I have to clench my fists to keep from getting up and beating the hell out of him. With a shit-eating grin on his face, he starts telling me the story. He tells me how Lyric fucked up and got pregnant, like he had no part in it at all. He says that she refused to deal with her mistakes and then took off. When he starts talking about the fall, Lyric sobs, and I pull her to me, whether she wants it or not. She’s stiff for a few minutes, but then relaxes into me. She puts her head on my chest and grips my shirt tightly in her little fist. Her broken sobs make my heart squeeze, and if it wasn’t for comforting her, I’d be kicking this fucker’s ass for hurting her.