Shattered & Mended by Julie Bailes, Becky Hot Tree Editing Page B

straight,” I express.
    She looks taken aback by something I’ve said. “What did you just say?” she asks, speaking through clenched teeth. 
    “When you told me you were pregnant and about the adoption, I—”
    “I know what you said,” she says, cutting me off. 
    Her anger bemuses me; I don’t understand it. “I told you about Lacy?” she asks. Her voice is shaky and tears begin to fill her eyes.
    “Lacy? Is that her name?” I question.
    “Yes, our daughter. Well, not your daughter; she never was,” she replies. She pulls the covers up and over her face.
    “Don’t do that, Al. Don’t hide.” I reach out, tug the covers down and reveal her face.
    “Shit … I can’t believe I told you about her,” she mumbles.
    “What do you mean, you can’t believe you told me? I have a right to know, yeah?” 
    “You would’ve had a right to know if you hadn’t left us, but unfortunately, you did. So no, Lacy is none of your concern.”
    “Bullshit. You know why I left, Allie.”
    “Yeah, fucking four and a half years later,” she argues.
    Gah! She’s so damn frustrating! Yes, I made a mistake. I left her, but my intentions were good. And yes, I’m paying for it. Life has grabbed me by the balls, twisted them in a complete fucking circle, and made me aware of the pain I caused this beautiful woman. Hell, I’ve felt the pain every second of every day that I’ve been away from her. In fact, the pain continues to consume me.
    “Yes, I left. But dammit, I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, but that’s in the past. I can’t go back and change it or I would. You said that you forgave me. Why do you continue to bring it up? You enjoy hurting me? Because you’re fucking killing me each time you mention it.”
    “I’m killing you?” she asks, agitation coating her voice.
    “Yeah, you are,” I respond.
    She continuously nods her head, crosses her arms, and sucks her teeth. Then, she cocks her head and rips out the remaining pieces of my heart, the pieces she left behind after our argument Friday. “Welcome to the club, Wyatt Cooper. You killed me five years ago. The Allie you knew, she’s no more. I’m not the loving and forgiving person I once was. You left me here, pregnant and alone! You didn’t call. You didn’t write—nothing! I tried to forgive you, but how do you forgive the man who shattered your heart, stole the pieces, and backpacke d them across the fucking world? You don’t.” Just when I thought the pain couldn’t get any worse, she pushes her dagger into the deep, dark pits of my stomach and digs that bastard as far as it’ll go. 
    “You have to know that when I left you, I honestly believed I was helping you, not hurting you. For Christ’s sake, Al, I would never intentionally hurt you. I came back for you … only you. Make things easier on yourself and just give me another chance, because I’m never going to give up. I’ve already told you, I’m not going anywhere; I’m here to stay. Believe me when I tell you that I’ll never hurt you again.” 
    “Yeah, sure. I mean, you’re loyal, right?” Sarcasm fills her voice as she laughs evilly. I nod, because I am loyal. “Ha! You’ve left me every time I’ve ever needed you—just like Friday.” Her voice fades as she speaks. Suddenly, her facial expression turns from mildly upset to completely livid. She begins panting and shakes her head. “Oh, fuck, this is what the doctors warned me about. I’m so fucking stupid. All it took was you coming into my room and pissing me off,” she babbles under her breath. She pulls her hands up to the sides of her head and squeezes her eyes shut.
    I place my hands to the sides of hers and beg her to tell me what’s wrong. “Allie, look at me. Tell me what’s happening, please,” I beg. 
    At my plea, she stops shaking her head and lifts her eyes to mine. Her glazed eyes bore into mine, her glare sinister enough it’d make the toughest of men cower. “Get the fuck out of my