10. Waiting
Philip's POV
The drive from Arkansas back to Georgia gave me time to think. Too much time honestly.
I thought about Sarah, my first wife. And I thought about our daughter Penny. How I lost them. How I lost myself. How I found Andrea.
And how she brought me back to life. I thought back to our first date, our first kiss, and the day we met. All was in the same day. We moved fast thanks to my charm and some strong alcohol.
I remember holding her in the bed, seeing her look out the window.
"So is it your sister's death that keeps you depressed? Or is it this guy?" I said my fingers running through her blonde curls, I was in the afterglow of love making, but she was somewhere far away.
"I have learned to live with my pain. Amy is gone. Nothing can change that. I can not lie that Shane is part of the reason I have stayed in Georgia this long. I keep thinking maybe he will stop by or call," she whispers.
"It's been months though, right? No emails, no phone calls, no contact at all. You can't keep waiting for someone who does not appreciate you. Stop waiting for him," I said, our eyes meeting.
"I am not waiting for anyone. I don't expect anything from Shane or anyone else," she said in a low frustrated voice.
I found out that Shane was a touchy subject for her, and if I lost her to anyone I figured it would be to him not my best friend.
Amusing how things worked out.
I asked Milton to look after Andrea knowing Shane was back in town, and she had an affair with Milton not him.
That was what hurt the most. Not that Andrea cheated, but who she cheated on me with.
Milton had been like a brother to me, I could not imagine him doing this to me. Turning on the radio, I try not to think about the affair.
Although part of me wonders how they could go on like that. Working together, Milton hanging out with me still, and Andrea talking about having another baby together. All while they had this on and off affair going on for two years. How could they lie to my face like that?
My reaction to their affair was hardly sane. I figure I had four options that appealed to me the most. The day Andrea asked for a divorcee, I ran the possibilities through my head.
Option One:
Kill Milton for dishonoring our friendship, and Andrea would never know I had done it. After thinking this through I knew that this would not work. If something happened to Milton, she blame me first.
Option Two:
Kill them both for what they had done. This is what they deserved after all.
Option Three:
Leave Milton alone, kidnap Andrea and make her suffer. He death would be a slow one. Milton would suffer knowing he could never have her.
Option Four:
Kidnap Andrea, hoping that I would make her fall in love with me again. Keeping her lock up knowing that I was the only person who keep her truly safe. I had always known what was best for her better than she did.
In the end, I knew option four was the only one I could live with. As much as I was hurt by Andrea, I could not kill the mother of my child.
I really did not want to kill Milton either. I cared about him still, but I could not allow myself to think about him much.
That was something I had to stay strict about. Although there was an empty spot in my heart that only my best friend could fill. I chose to block him out of my mind, choosing never-ending numbness over the pain of his betrayal.
However, I could hear his voice now as I got closer to Georgia. I remembered when I told him about Shane coming back for Andrea right before the wedding in Vegas. I told him I was going to follow them before he messed up everything, and to my surprise Milton suggest that I didn't.
"I kept an eye on her, just as you asked. I know you don't like me to question your judgment, but I think you are wrong. Andrea is not ready for what you are asking of her. She is about ten years younger than you. Shane is a more appropriate boyfriend for her. I know it's none of business but I think you should let her go. Shane is who she clearly wants. Who she was waiting for. So why not just let her go? She does not owe you anything," Milton said pleading with me to forget about her.
"You are right. This is none of your business," I said ignoring his pleads as I went out to track down Andrea.
As I pulled into the house I used to live in, I hear Milton's voice saying let her go, over and over.
I get out of my truck to see him there waiting for me. I was not really shocked like I thought I would be. Of course Milton would come here to look for her. But seeing him face to face like this, I could not escape the pain anymore.