Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“Yeah. Nina called me a lot during that time. No one understood her postpartum depression. Nina’s parents thought it meant she was unhappy with you because of the situation with Ivy. Somehow, Ryan got wind of it and showed up there that week, basically professing his love for her, saying that it wasn’t too late for them, that he could make her happy, take care of her and the baby.”
My body went rigid. I bit down on my bottom lip, nearly drawing blood. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Immediately taking out my phone, I scrolled down to Ryan’s name.
Skylar panicked. “Please don’t be mad at Nina. What are you doing?”
“I have that fucker’s number. I’m calling him.”
No one should have witnessed what I planned to say or do during that call. I walked into our bedroom and slammed the door shut as the phone rang.
The sound of his baby crying in the background was the first thing I heard when the line picked up. Then, came Ryan’s voice.
“Hello?”
“Ryan…”
“Jake? What’s up? Long time no—”
“The last time I saw you at Sheryl’s sixtieth birthday, do you remember what I said to you?”
“Yeah. Uh, you said, ‘life is too short to hold a grudge.’”
My hand was squeezing the pillow. I imagined it was Ryan’s neck. “Well, forget that. What I meant was, ‘life is too short not to smash your head in.’ Next time I see you, I’m gonna do just that.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?”
Clenching my jaw, I said, “When I made amends with you, I didn’t know that you tried to break up my family after my son was born. All bets are off now.”
“I need to explain.”
“I’d love to hear how you try to explain your way out of this.”
Ryan let out a deep sigh that I felt in my ear. “I need to try.”
I muttered a myriad of obscenities under my breath.
“Are you listening?” he asked.
“You have one minute.”
He was silent. Then, I heard a sniffle.
It sounded like he’d started to cry.
What the fuck?
“Are you crying, you fucking pussy?”
He sniffled again. There was a long delay before he spoke. “I don’t know if Nina ever told you that when Jimmy died, I was by his side.”
“She did.”
“The last thing he said to me before his eyes closed—the very last thing—was ‘take care of my sister.’”
He continued to speak. And I let him.
“I never had a problem with you before she moved into the apartment all those years ago. You know that. After she started hanging out with you, she changed. Nina was happy for the first time since Jimmy died. You were able to get her to overcome some of those stupid fears. I hated that you were able to do something that I couldn’t. The way I saw it, Jimmy had left me with one responsibility, and I’d failed. I started to really resent you. But more than anything, I was afraid that if you hurt her, she was going to be worse than she was before. You still there?”
“Yes.”
“After your marriage to Ivy came out, I became more convinced that I needed to get Nina away from you. Even though the circumstances were unique, I still felt that the whole thing was a recipe for disaster and that she deserved better. When she found out she was pregnant, I truly believed that she was only staying with you because she was afraid to be alone. Soon after that, Tarah moved out and left me when she figured out my obsession with Nina. I confessed to her about some of the things I’d done to try to keep you and Nina apart. So, I had nothing to lose. After your son was born, during the week Nina was staying at her parents’ house, I gave it one last college try. My folks had told me that she was really unhappy. I didn’t realize it was the postpartum depression. So, I went to her and told her I loved her and that if she wanted to leave you, I’d take care of her. I didn’t understand the depth of her feelings for you. Do you know what she told me?”
My voice was barely audible. “What?”
“She told me that even though she felt lost and didn’t even really know who she was anymore, the only thing she was sure of in life was how much she loved you. She told me her best hope for me was that I would someday get to experience that kind of soul deep love with someone. Looking back, it’s clear to me that I didn’t love her that way at all. I’d been trying to win a competition for her. It wasn’t until I met Lisa that I understood the kind of love you and Nina have. I know now that I could have never torn you two apart. When you truly love someone, it’s indestructible.”