Blue Ridge by Peter Malone Elliott

Author:Peter Malone Elliott [Peter Malone Elliott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Level Best Books
Published: 2023-11-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Cillian

Christopher is the father.

If Lucifer himself had thought of the four words that would haunt me for the rest of my days? This would be about five times worse than whatever he would have come up with.

I didn’t even notice that the sink I had been washing the dishes in was now completely overflowing onto the floor.

I must not have heard right. It was a joke. It had to be. I couldn’t have just heard what I thought I just heard.

“What did you say?” I managed to croak out.

Audrey looked like she was racked by guilt but also relieved of the deepest burden a person could feel. “I’m pregnant. And it’s his,” she said as she motioned at Christopher.

Him. The rot that was currently infecting my entire life. Our entire life.

I made myself look at Christopher. Judging by his expression, he looked about as shocked as me.

“When did this happen?” My voice started to shake. I could feel my temper boiling up, scorching my insides.

“How long have you known, Audrey?” Christopher interjected.

“This doesn’t concern you,” I shot back. “Sit down and shut the fuck up.”

“I am sitting down, Cillian.”

“Then do a better job of the other thing.”

“Very clever. And this does concern me. Or did you not hear what she just—”

“Both of you shut up!” Audrey commanded us.

Audrey took a deep breath. I could see the sweat starting to trickle down her temples.

Me and her both.

“I’ve known for about a month and a half now,” she said to Christopher. Then she turned to me. “And it happened when I came up—”

It occurred to me that I had no interest in hearing the nitty gritty details of when my brother knocked up my lady. I put my hand up, silently begging her to stop.

“It was just the once, Cillian—” Her voice drew to a halt as I raised my hand even higher. It was shaking now, too. She obliged me.

I slowly brought my gaze from the ground to hers. I could see that she was practically stewing in perspiration now, so I tossed her a dishrag to mop her brow. As I stepped around and my feet squelched in the river of dishwater that was forming on the kitchen floor, it occurred to me that I needed to turn off the faucet unless I wanted to drown myself. Which seemed tempting, to be honest with you. But I turned it off anyway.

“Why did this happen?” That was the agonizing question that I really wanted answered.

Audrey didn’t break her stare for a moment—her green eyes shimmered with that murky malady I’d been seeing for a while. And now? I finally knew the cause of it. “I haven’t felt happy in our relationship for a long time, Cillian.”

That about made me fall over with despair. And shame. And regret. For a moment, my pity for my beloved overwhelmed my blinding rage.

I was her man—and she didn’t feel contented being my partner.

That had to be my fault, right? It was my responsibility to make her happy.

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