Was that why Teresa didn't want him to see her family?
Had she lied to them about why they’d broken up? Was she worried that if he was there and saw them, spoke with them, that her lies would unravel?
While he hadn't offered to be her bodyguard to cause her trouble, he wasn't going to make this particular accommodation. He’d been looking forward to catching up with Arthur and Mrs. Dash, and he intended to do that.
“Nope, I’m good to come in,” he told her, making it clear that he wasn't going to back down. While he’d had a good relationship with both his parents growing up and still did, Mrs. Dash had been like a second mom to him for those three years he’d dated Teresa, and Arthur was like the sibling he’d wanted when he was a kid.
It was clear that Teresa didn't like that idea, and was shocked by his decision by the way her mouth dropped open and anger sparked in her wide, chocolate brown eyes. “Wow. That’s … I don’t even know what to call that. They know.”
“Okay,” he said slowly. If she’d already told her mom, and possibly Arthur, although he doubted she would have talked about having an orgy with her mentally disabled little brother, then why did she care if he came in? Embarrassment?
That couldn’t be right, because she looked furious, not mortified.
No matter how hard Micah tried, he couldn’t understand where her anger was coming from. She’d cheated on him, she had no right to be angry. Yet she was. More than angry, it was like she hated him.
Which was hardly fair.
So he could have handled things better back then, confronted her and ended things rather than ghosting her, blocking her, and then dropping out of college and joining the military. But he’d been young and devastated. His handling of her betrayal was no reason for her to hold this much hostility toward him. Certainly not over a decade later.
After all, he was the wronged party, and he was willing to lay the past to rest and look to the future instead.
Wait.
Was he?
The thought had come out of nowhere, but the more he pondered it, the more he realized it was true. Teresa had hurt him deeply, but he couldn’t deny that those feelings from when he was a teenager still existed. He just wasn't sure what to do with them. If nothing else, he’d like to maybe be friends with Teresa again. With Nathaniel and Ava being together, it was inevitable that occasionally their paths were going to cross. May as well make that as pleasant for everybody, themselves included, as possible.
“I don’t mind them seeing me,” he added, hoping that reassured her that, from his end, things could be okay again, if she was willing. They would talk later, sort out everything, but for now he wanted to keep his focus on the job he’d signed up for. Protecting her from any threats.
“Umm, all right then?” It came out sounding like a question instead of a statement, and confusion swirled in the chocolatey depths of her eyes.
There was something else there, too.
Something that almost looked like … hope?
Did she regret what she did back then? Wish she hadn't ruined what they had? Was she really angry at herself and not at him at all?
They both climbed out of his rental, and Micah quickly rounded it to stick close to Teresa’s side in case there was a problem. Not that he expected one. There had been a tail when they left her place this morning, but he’d easily lost it. They’d argued on the way there about her moving into Prey, but she’d been adamant that she didn't want to. When they got there, he’d circled the block twice to make sure no one was watching the building, and only once he was confident there wasn't, he parked.
Still better safe than sorry.
“What’s your mom doing these days?” he asked, partly to make small talk and partly because he just liked the sound of Teresa’s voice. He’d missed it a whole lot more than he would let himself accept.
He had no idea what it was about this woman who still had the ability to tie him up in knots, but he regretted more and more that he hadn't confronted her back then and talked things through. Who knew, maybe there would have been hope for them, even though it had been impossible to see that back then.
“Mostly, she takes care of Arthur full-time. Takes him to his appointments, and his job.”
“What does he do?”
“Helps out at a local thrift store run by a charity. Mostly just putting clothes that people donated onto hangers so they can be set up in the store, but he loves it. He's so social, and he’s really popular there, lots of the customers make time to chat with him. It’s nice, makes him feel special, and he deserves that.”
“He does,” Micah agreed.
“Mom was able to quit two of her jobs when I started working at Prey. She stuck with teaching singing lessons because that was always her passion. But it’s nice, now she doesn’t have to work as hard, and she can focus more of her time on Arthur, who is thriving.”
Itwasnice that her mom didn't have to work as hard, but Teresa was working hard.
Still supporting her family, only in a different way now. Contributing to her own living expenses, which even split three ways would be a fair bite of her salary, she was then taking care of her mom and brother as well. Did that leave enough for her to take proper care of herself? Treat herself?
