I waited out frontof Isaac’s house while he ran in to gather what he’d need for the weekend. As soon as he was in the house I looked at my phone and the numerous missed calls and texts I hadn’t read yet. All from Josiah. If I was being honestwith myself, I’d hoped for months he’d come crawling back. But things were different now.
Then there was the guy who’d showed up here looking for Isaac. I’d forced myself to remain calm, but it pissed me off and I wondered how many more of them were around Foggy Basin. “You’re such a hypocrite. It’s not like you never hooked up with anyone before but you want to judge Isaac,” I grumbled to myself just as he walked outside and over to the truck.
“Everything okay?” he asked, his shoulders stiff with concern.
“It’s fine, baby,” I said and hoped it was. He’d been honest with me and now it was my turn. I started the truck and drove out of town, both of us were quiet until we pulled up to my house and then I turned the engine off but didn’t move.
“Please tell me what’s wrong,” Isaac said, a touch of panic in his voice. “Are you breaking up with me?”
My head snapped up and I met his eyes before reaching across the seat for him. “Nothing’s wrong. But I do need to talk to you.”
“Is it about Stan?” he asked, and I hated that I’d worried him so much.
“Do you remember I told you about my ex, Josiah?”
“Yeah, the guy that cheated on you,” he said his voice guarded.
“He’s been calling and texting me all day.”
“What did he say?” Isaac asked, his voice so quiet I could barely hear him.
“I haven’t read any of the texts or listened to the voicemails yet. I thought we could do that together.”
“Do you want him back?” he asked, his voice stronger now and full of hurt.
“What? No, Isaac, I’m falling in love with you,” I whispered and reached across the seat to caress his cheek. “You’re all I want.”
“No one has ever said that to me,” he whispered back and covered my hand.
“I don’t want you to think I’ve been playing games with you. When I caught Josiah with someone else it nearly killed me. I thought he loved me the way I loved him, but he didn’t.”
“Tig, I would never hurt you like that. When Stan showed up today, I told him I wasn’t interested, and he needed to leave. Nothing happened between us, and it won’t. I was shocked he’d even remember where I live.”
“I know, and I don’t want to hurt you either.”
“What are you saying?” he asked.
“Josiah had a vindictive streak. If he thought he’d been wronged he made sure he got back at whoever he thought was responsible. I’m worried he’ll show up here thinking we’ll just get back together.”
“If he shows up in Foggy Basin and gives you a hard time, he won’t just be dealing with you alone. You have friends here,” Isaac said. “Why would he show up here anyway?”
“Let’s go inside and see what he says in his messages. Maybe I’m just worried for nothing,” I said.
“Okay, and, Tig, no matter what, we’re in this together.” I nodded, needing to hear him say that more than I would admit. He picked up the backpack he always brought when he stayed over, and we hurried inside.
I sat on the sofa and patted the seat next to me. “Are you sure you want me to listen? It sounds like this is your private business,” Isaac said.
“My business is your business. No more secrets,” I said, and meant every word. He’d been honest with me, but I’d held back, and even though I hadn’t lied to him I had avoided telling him many things that didn’t matter enough to hide. I took out my phone and dialed my voicemail, and after entering my pin held my breath as we listened.
“Tig, it’s me Josiah. It’s been a while. I’m sorry to bother you, I don’t want you to think I’m contacting you as a way to harassyou or bother you in any way. I just want you to know I’m sorry. The way I treated you was unfair, and I needed you to know how sorry I am.” There was a pause and some background noise before he spoke again. “Sorry, I want you to know I’ve met someone. I’m happy, and I realize how badly I hurt you. I’m truly sorry, and I hope someday you’ll be able to forgive me. Anyway, I’ll let you go, but just know, it was never anything you did or didn’t do. You were always perfect, but my feelings were not as strong as yours and until recently I didn’t realize how cruel I was to you. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for hurting you.” The message ended then.
“Wow, I did not expect that,” Isaac said. For a few seconds we were silent before both of us laughed.
“I can honestly say neither did I. I was expecting him to say he’s on his way, or he’s going to make my life miserable for something I hadn’t even done, or some other horrible thing.” I was so stupid. It had been months since I’d spoken to Josiah and all that time the resentment in me grew.
“Sounds like he found someone and realized how much cheating sucks,” Isaac said.
“It does sound that way. I never would have believed it if I hadn’t heard it for myself.” A deep sense of relief washed over me. “Isaac, I owe you an apology too.”
