Andy Barber... The Florist Next-door...

Part 20

Warnings: 18+ readers only, crying, sad reader and Andy, self-doubt, self hate, ex-husband!Lloyd, Billy Barber, beating, death, talk of miscarriage, talk of past abuse/rape

Silence settled between the two of you as everything sank in. There were so many thoughts swimming around inside your head, you didn't know what to believe. Could Lloyd really be behind all this? Yes. Could Laurie really want you dead so she could marry him? Maybe, but it seemed a little far fetched. Then again, she is as psychotic as Lloyd, so who knows.

"I think I'm gonna throw up." You quickly walked over to the kit hen sink and hunched over it, feeling your stomach knot. You began to breath heavily as panic and dread settled in.

"Okay, sweetheart," Andy walked over to where you kept two mugs unpacked on the side (one for each of you) and filled it with water out of the refrigerator. "Here. Drinks this." He whispered and placed his hand on your back soothingly. "It's okay."

You shook your head, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. "But it's not, is it?"

Andy drew in a long breath and shook his head. It was just one thing after another.

"Jacob's, going to hate me." You sniffled and wiped your tears away. You felt awful. You felt like you had let him down.

Andy frowned at you. "No he won't. This isn't your fault, Y/n. It wasn't you that did any of this, it was Lloyd."

"Because of me." You tried to argue.

Andy shook his head, "No, sweetheart, because of me." He reached out and cupped your face in his hands, using his thumbs to brush your tears away. "Lloyd, did all this because I helped you get away from him. I was the one who put him away. Because I fell in love with you and he thinks I took what's his." Andy closed his eyes feeling his own tears fill his eyes.

You wrapped your arms around his waist and pressed your head against his chest. "We should tell Jacob, right?"

Andy held you against his chest with his cheek resting on top of your head as he drew in a deep breath before nodding. "Yeah, we should. Keeping a secret like this will only blow up in our faces."

You nodded. "Are you still going to let him see Laurie tomorrow?"

Andy groaned. "I have to. We only have Lloyd's word and I don't know how much of that I can believe."

You nodded and looked up at him. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"We should never have moved here. Then none of this would have happened." You frowned as you pressed your face against Andy's firm chest.

"You were meant to move here, sweetheart. So we could meet." He smiled, hugging you a little closer. "Why did you decide to move here?" He asked.

You pulled back with a giggle. "Remember the first time we met?"

Andy nodded grinning. That was the first time he heard you laugh and saw you smile, "You came to view the house. Lloyd was busy working, right?"

You nodded. "He said I could pick any house I wanted as long as it was far away from our families." You frowned at the thought. How could you be so stupid? "This was perfect for that. I wasn't sure, until the realtor said there was a greenhouse at the bottom of the garden. I wanted to go have a look and that's how we ended up being the exact spot where you threw a bucket a freezing cold water all over me."

Andy grimaced at the memory before the pair of you began laughing. "Oh God," He hid his face in the crook of your neck. "I was so embarrassed."

"Jacob, thought it was hilarious." You laughed. "So did I... The realtor not so much."