Filed to story: Young Girls Forbidden Love Series: My Best Friend’s Daddy
*Shelby*
My heart pounded with anxiety as I waited on the sidewalk, leaning against a brick wall and shuddering despite being under the sun.
My reputation, as of right now, was majorly at risk. My stomach clenched, swirling with negative emotions and sheer, utter fear. I worked so hard to get to where I was so that I could lead a successful life. Now, this could ruin it.
I didn’t want to be stuck in a low-paying job, barely scraping by! Was Michael a curse or blessing, at this point? No, I couldn’t think that way. Blaine was the one causing issues not Michael.
The kissing and sex had felt so good, and I really felt like Michael cared about me.
I licked my lips, recalling the memory of him ravaging me in bed, allowing my eyelids to droop just a little. For just a second, a cap was put on the fear, but that only lasted for a brief moment before the wave of negative emotions crashed into me.
I began to pace, trying to assure myself that everything would work out. My life couldn’t be ruined due to one picture, right? No. I was wrong and I knew it. This was terrible.
By the time Bruce arrived to help me into the car, I had tears streaming down my cheeks. I reached up to quickly wipe them away, not wanting my emotions to be painted on my face by the time I got there.
That would be hard to do, no doubt Michael would see, but at this point I was too distraught to avoid it. I clicked my seatbelt into place, leaning against the leather seat of the car and staring out of the window, trying to distract myself from the inevitable.
Above, the sun was starting to be covered with clouds, a great metaphor for my mood. The greys of the asphalt mixed with bland white and black buildings we rushed by, windows dark, mostly covered by curtains from the inside.
We passed by a murder of crows picking at roadkill, causing my stomach to twist at the sight. Though all of this was mundane, it helped to worsen my mood overall. The patter of rain on the windows confirmed the storm, along with some rumbling in the distance.
I hugged myself, closing my eyes and trying to calm down.
We arrived at Michael’s house, and normally the sight of it in all of its extravagance would get me excited. I adored seeing Michael, after all. However, with all of the problems recently brought on by our complicated relationship, it didn’t feel the same as when I left.
Bruce led me to the door, politely dipping his head before waiting for protocol from Michael. I hesitated but eventually knocked on the door, convincing myself that texting would be silly given I was right here.
Moments later, there he was.
My breath caught staring up at him, lost in his eyes for a moment before snapping myself out of it. Memories of our night in bed came flooding back, distracting me, but I knew I needed to stay on task.
This was a horrible occasion, but even within this tiny pocket of time, I convinced myself that surely he could help. I made that decision just by looking at him, even if it felt a bit naive. After taking a deep breath, I reached into my purse and pulled out the note so that he could see it in person.
A mixture of emotions crossed his face right then. First, his lips twisted into a scowl, his brow furrowing and reflecting the mood the storm brought with it.
Another rumble of thunder in the distance caused me to jump a little, but Michael had no reaction. He slipped the note into his pocket and fastened his eyes upon me.
His scowl faded into a worried frown, those deep eyes of his gleaming with concern.
“Shelby,” he began, biting his lip. I wondered if he was looking for the right words to say.
A silence stretched as, even if he found them, he lost them again. I broke it myself after placing a hand on my forehead and dragging it down my face. I willed the tears to hold back this time, because I needed to keep my tone steady and really convey how I was feeling.
After taking a deep breath, I said, “Michael, I’m frightened about what this could do to my reputation. That note definitely indicates action will be taken soon. I really want us to work out, but with that horrible person on the loose causing all of this stress and danger to life as I know it, I’m on the edge and losing it.”
This time, I couldn’t stop those tears. They welled up in my eyes and slowly glided down my cheeks.
Michael stared at me for a moment, probably at a loss for words. Once again, silence stretched. ‘Say something,’ I thought to myself, biting my lip. Quickly reaching up to wipe away more tears, I raised my eyebrows, hoping he would have all the answers.
Sadly, he appears as lost as I did, his head hanging slightly and his body tense.
“I will take care of you. Just put your career aside, for now. Not forever. Let me help you. It will be fine, we can work this out,” Michael said finally, causing me to inwardly groan.
That was not what I wanted to hear. I didn’t want to have to rely on him all the time. I didn’t want to put my dreams aside for some storybook relationship that may not work out at all, and be left with nothing!
I had worked too hard in life for this, losing myself in hours of work in all of my schooling to become a lawyer. My dreams were crumpling right before my eyes.
Was it because of Michael? An inner voice told me no, it wasn’t. He had nothing to do with this. By how he treated me, I knew he loved me back, and wanted to do all in his power to get this to work out. This was now escalating beyond his power.
I shook my head, crossing my arms as he motioned into the house. “Please. Follow me, at least. Let’s talk this out,” he pleaded. I obliged, the pit in my stomach growing heavier.
We walked through the house, my eyes falling upon the fancy carpeting and light fixtures, finding comfort in them still despite this situation. Truthfully, I needed to start letting this go.
I need to let it all go.
With my mind stuck here, with him, there was no way to move on with my life and advance the way I wanted to. As much as my heart broke having to admit that, I knew I needed to be a lawyer more than anything.
I took a seat at a table across from him as he raised a brow. “Eggs?” he asked sheepishly. I couldn’t help but smile at his suggestion for food.
Though that quickly faded into a frown as tears began to flow once more. This time, I didn’t bother wiping them away. I shook my head slowly, taking a deep breath and making the step that I needed to.
Steeling myself, I looked him in the eye and said in a very serious tone, “Look, Michael we can’t do that. I can’t do that. I have to do this for myself. How can I rely on you all of the time? How can you take care of me through all of this?”
“Shelby, I have plenty of money and resources. I can easily take care of you, you don’t need to worry about all of this,” Michael said with a pleading tone to his voice.
“I am not some child in need of being taken care of. I can’t spend my days longing for the beach billionaire only to have my independence and dreams threatened. I want to be a lawyer for myself, not for the money. If my reputation is shattered, so is my life. I am sorry it has to be this way. But this has gone too far, a-and I need to say goodbye.”
“What? Shelby, wait, I–”
I wasn’t listening at that point. Tears were pouring down my cheeks as I stood up quickly, whirling and bolting down the hall.
I didn’t care if I was running away from my problems now. I didn’t care if I was running away from him while at the same time wanting to fall into his arms and tell him I would drop everything so that he could care for me.
I needed to do this for myself and not be caged by this nightmare.
The expression on his face, that brief glimpse of utter grief, had my heart pounding. I burst out the front door and hurried down to Bruce, sniffling and letting out a few whimpering sobs.
I felt as though I was melting. The pattering rain made me sopping wet, which did the opposite of help the situation. I locked eyes with the man and gulped. “Please. Take me home. Just take me home.”
He nodded, thankfully asking no questions, and opened the door for me. I got in and rested my forehead against the window, shuddering with more sobs. Bruce graciously raised the privacy screen, though I saw a sympathetic glance from him in the rearview mirror.
Many strands of my hair fell into my face, but I didn’t care. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to calm myself down after that horrible decision. How could I just walk away from Michael? He was so great, but I was just too scared.
Scared of losing what I’d worked so hard for, even if I did love him. I had to do this for myself.
I hated how much I still loved him. I hated how I wanted this to work out. But most of all, I hated that I needed to leave him. All of this was what was best for me, though.
As the car pulled out of the driveway and drove off, I glimpsed Michael standing there, watching us leave, his shoulders slumped. He stood in the rain, not moving, letting himself get soaked. He watched us drive away until we could no longer see each other.