JUST LIKE HER (ANDY BARBER)

13. THIS I HAVE PREVIOUSLY LEARNED

Your entire body ached when you woke up in the morning. You weren't sure what got into Andy, but he had never been so intense in bed before. But, it was over now. Or at least so you hoped. You weren't sure if Andy was obsessed enough to come all the way to your hometown. Honestly? You wouldn't put it past him to try. But at least now you could try to move on. You could have few months of reprieve if all went well. And you couldn't wait to take full advantage of your freedom.

Except, it seemed, that life really had it out for you.

A knock came at your door, confusing you. Surely Andy couldn't be back already? Was last night not his goodbye for the summer?

The person who stood on the other side, however, was someone you never could have expected. Laurie stood in front of you, arms crossed, lips pursed. For a moment, you didn't recognize her. Surely this wasn't the same woman who had been so sweet to you at the Barrister's Ball... Could it?

Unless...

No.

Oh no.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

You were too stunned to speak. You were sure you looked like a fish out of water, wide eyes and gaping mouth to match. "Yeah, sure, of course," you finally said, stepping out of the way and letting her come inside. You shut the door behind her, asking, "Can I get you something to eat? Drink?"

"No, no. This won't take long."

You nodded, swallowing hard. Shit, were you supposed to say something now? What were you supposed to say? Anything that came out of your mouth was at risk of pissing her off, and you were really looking to avoid confrontation. All you wanted was to get back to your hometown, put all of this behind you, and hopefully come out unscathed.

"I'm not a stupid woman," Laurie finally said. "I try to overlook a lot of things. I tried to be nice. I tried to show you that I love Andy with all my heart and soul in hopes that maybe you would realize what you were doing is wrong. But you haven't. And I can't let you keep doing that."

"Laurie—"

She held up her hand. "Don't. I'm speaking. Look, Andy is my husband. He's married to me. And we're trying to start a family. I don't want to keep worrying about where my husband is when I'm pregnant, when I'm trying to raise a baby. Do you understand?"

You nodded.

"I can't live a life like that. And I pray that you aren't so cruel that you would subject an innocent child to that. I'm sure you have your opinions about me, and maybe that's clouded your judgment in some way, but don't hurt my future child the way you're hurting me."

"I tried," you said. "At Barrister's, I did try to end things. It's just..."

"Andy's amazing, and I understand why you fell for him. It's the same reason I fell, I'm sure. But he is my husband, not yours."

You wouldn't say that—that Andy was amazing, you mean. In the beginning, sure, you would've said it. But now? Now you weren't convinced. You wondered if Laurie knew everything about Andy, if he told her about who his father is. You were willing to bet that he hadn't. You wondered if she would still think so highly of him if she did know. You were willing to bet she wouldn't, though...She also knew he was cheating on her, and she came to you, not him.

In all honesty, you felt like she should have been having this conversation with Andy. He was at as much fault as you. And yet, you were sure she would never confront him about this. And you couldn't help but think that was unfair.