Somehow, I made it home safely, even though my mind was mush. Courtney knew something was terribly wrong the moment I shuffled through the door. She scurried quickly over to me. “Ab, what’s the matter?” She put a loving arm around me and supported me as we made our way to the kitchen.

Once she had me settled in a chair, she started a pot of hot water for tea. I couldn’t cry. I couldn’t talk. All I could do was think, and I didn’t want to do that right now because when I thought, mental images popped into my head of Sam yanking that blonde braid back and kissing that woman’s lips. I wanted his lips to be mine, and only mine. I was the one who had helped him open up and begin kissing on the lips again, and he was magnificent at it. I didn’t want him being that tender with anyone else, ever.

Despair washed over me. There was no other word for it. I must have looked horrid because Courtney said, “Okay, you’re really starting to worry me. You’re not going to slip into a depression where you sleep for a week again, are you? You have a baby to think about now. It’s not healthy for either of you, if you go into that kind of funk.”

My eyes were burning with unshed tears. I wanted to explain to her, but my mind couldn’t formulate the words. I finally managed to croak out one word, “Sam.”

“What happened with Sam? Did he hurt you? What did he do?” Court immediately jumped on the name, ready to take him on if he had wronged me.

I shook my head, wanting to give her a better explanation, but feeling like my brain was in a hazy fog. Courtney was obviously concerned about me, so I needed to find the strength to say the words. I ordered myself to pull it together.

When Court set out tea mugs on the table, I took a deep breath and said sadly, “I chose Sam.” If she was surprised by this news, she hid it well. I knew she had been rooting for Seth, but was also sure that she would support me no matter what decision I made. I needed to spill it all before the tears started flowing, rendering me unable to talk. “I went to tell him, and there was a blonde woman at his house.”

Court grabbed my hand, “Did you talk to him? Do you know who the woman is?” When I shook my head, she continued, saying, “Sweetie, don’t you think you might be overreacting? Maybe she’s just a friend of his. I’m sure there’s an explanation,” she reassured me.