Don’t Fall for His Charms
Chapter 70
Addison’s POV
Trigger Warning
Phillip went to Dallas this morning. He hated to leave me behind, but he had work to do. He had about a week’s work to catch up on, so he would not return tonight. Colton would be in charge of my security while Phillip was gone. It was Thursday afternoon, and Phillip would bring Corbin back when he returned tomorrow.
He knew that he would have to go back to Dallas twice a week starting next week as his work piled up much quicker than he anticipated. He had finished everything up early on Sunday before we left. Even with replying to emails from here, he still had a lot of work to do in the office. Things had been going well; the renovation was in full swing and on track.
Valerie had been keeping her distance since the challenge. She was a sore loser. The competition was ongoing, but things looked bad for her. I didn’t even have to reach out to her former professor. One of Valerie’s classmates saw the designs online and tagged all their
classmates for me. The comments were brutal.
{I thought you said the works were supposed to be created that day. I know for a fact that they were submitted for her end–of–year project designs}
{Valerie’s adjustments are terrible. She should be ashamed of herself, thinking she was good enough to go after Ana and Alex. So disrespectful}
{Valerie, I can prove you cheated. How could you embarrass not just the school but yourself by doing this?}
{I read the contest rules. You should be ashamed of participating in this. I’m tagging our
professor}
Those were the nice versions. Some were so hateful that I felt bad for her, but Aunt Alex didn’t. She fueled the fire by ensuring the contest was well–known by mentioning it on the local news and radio stations as a promotion. She was not going to stop until Valerie had been humiliated. It worked because her first name had already been mentioned in several
comments.
I know she had to be fuming about it. She has been hiding out at home these days. Holden said her car had been taken away for trying to sneak out on Monday night. She was lucky she hadn’t gone out. Summer had posted her whereabouts online, and two men had sexually
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assaulted her. The police were looking into Tammy being behind it because the men who took her had kept asking her to call a friend. The police believe that they were going after Valerie, not Summer. Summer had just been a casualty, but they were sending a message. Summer was still in the hospital now, three days later.
The two men had been treating her well. They were charming and attentive, plying her with drinks. She said they were attractive but couldn’t describe either of them. After she left the club with them, she called Valerie. When Summer told them that Valerie wasn’t coming, they changed. They had known precisely where the cameras were and kept to the dark areas. They got her outside without exposing their faces. I hated what happened to her.
I wouldn’t wish to be r***d by anyone. They had both used two condoms, and there had been no traces of any DNA. Her hands had been bound, and they had washed her in the hotel bathroom before leaving. Hotel housekeeping found her at checkout. It was a hotel that accepted cash and was a no–questions–asked place. They were getting more intelligent. They even took the sheets with them when they left. Their vehicle had been parked at the back of
the lot, and no plates were on it.
Garrett had texted me the other night. The night I caught him watching me, he was worried about me. I knew he was there. I could feel his eyes on me. I can always sense when he is around. The longing in his eyes made me want to go over and comfort him. My heart was crying out to be with him. The frustrating part was that I still wanted him. I thought I was past it, but I still love him. I wanted him to take me into his arms and kiss me like he meant it. My heart wanted me to forgive him, but my brain refused to allow me to do it. I didn’t know he would be here, not just here, but right next door again. It was hard to ignore.
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I was not surprised when Garrett texted me after lunch. Phillip’s Escalade was missing from my driveway. His SUV had been gone for over four hours when I received a text from Garrett. Hey, Addison, I want to take you out for dinner tonight if you have time.” He was phishing, but I agree, we did need to talk. Maybe meeting at a public place wasn’t a bad idea. He would have to stay calm if we were to do this in front of others.
I thought for a while before responding. “Dinner is fine with me. We do need to talk. What time do you want to pick me up?” I texted back.
“Is five OK?” Garrett immediately replied. I smiled at the phone, as he wasn’t giving me time to
back out of it.
“Are a T–shirt and jeans okay?” I asked.
“Yes, we will eat at the diner,” Garrett told me. I loved eating at the diner. We used to go there all the time when we were growing up, and it was a bittersweet memory for me. They had a
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pretty extensive menu, so there was always something great to eat there. Plus, we could sit in
the corner so no one could overhear us.
Phillip wasn’t here, but I knew he would hear about it. I would have to text him as well. I had
the tracker in my watch, so I knew Phillip would know where I was at any given time. My
grandfather, Uncle Nash, my cousins, and Phillip could track my and Corbin’s locations
anytime. I didn’t want Phillip to think I was going behind his back. I already knew that he was
going to be pissed. He didn’t want me near Garrett, but we needed this conversation. I didn’t
want to do it in front of Corbin. I knew it would hurt him to see us fighting. I didn’t want him to
think badly about Garrett by seeing us arguing.
I had known that Garrett had been attacked, but we both thought he would be recovering in
North Carolina. The news seemed to downplay what happened. Having seen him, I could tell
that his injury was much more serious than I first thought. It makes sense that he was back here now, as they had cut him from the team. No one knew if he would be able to bounce back
from this injury or not. His team needed a quarterback right now. There was no way to know
how his arm would be until he finished up his physical therapy. But he couldn’t use the injury
to make me sympathize with him. He made his choices, and this is where they led us.
I putter around my house. I loved my home. It holds a lot of sweet memories for me. I was happy to know that I would be raising my son here. There were many children in the neighborhood, and a park was nearby. I also wanted him to have the same happy memories growing up here. I was excited about Corbin coming here tomorrow. I knew he would be excited about seeing his father again. The bond between them snapped into place almost instantaneously. Corbin was as happy as Garrett was about it.
I had kept them apart long enough. I never thought Garrett would want to be a dad, at least not this early in his career, but he surprised me. He loved Corbin. That much was obvious. Corbin asked me if he could start speaking to his father before bed last night. I talk to Corbin via FaceTime every night. He asked nicely, but it was clear that he wanted to talk to Garrett. My Aunt didn’t like it, but my Uncle Nash stepped in and helped Corbin make the call.
Garrett’s number was now programmed into Corbin’s phone. He had twelve numbers programmed on his phone: me, Garrett, Phillip, Colton, my aunt and uncle, my cousins, and my grandparents. Tandy and Russell were the last two numbers saved just today by my Aunt. That was going to be it for a while.
Corbin had already asked if he could spend Friday night with his father and grandparents. I had wanted to show him his new room, but I knew he wanted to spend time with his grandparents and father. His room could wait and be a surprise for Saturday when he came to spend the night with us. I knew that since Corbin met his father, Phillip’s place in Corbin’s
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heart ha moved slightly. He used to speak to Phillip every night before bed, as I was already with him after reading him a story. I know that Phillip has to have noticed. It was going to hurt
him a great deal.
Tandy and Russell had bought a bunch of pool toys for him to play with in the pool and a
brand–new playset for him. I knew their dream was to have Corbin spend the night at their house. I wouldn’t ruin it for them. I knew I could trust four of the five of them. I just hoped that
Valerie would give her nephew a chance. Corbin was a great kid, but Valerie was not a very
nurturing person.
I called Phillip to let him know about having dinner with Garrett. I didn’t want him to miss a
text and then get upset. He answered on the second ring. “Hey, Babe. What’s up?”
“Hey, I’m going to a local diner with Garrett to talk instead of doing it tomorrow. I think that
being in public will keep him calm. Things might be said that I don’t want to discuss in front
of Corbin, or his family. It would be better to hash it out now than when you return with Corbin.
I just wanted you to know. I knew the security guys would have told you, too, but I have nothing
to hide from you. I just wanted you to know what was happening,” I replied.
“He wants you, Addison. I can see it when he looks at you. I know how hard you had to work to
get to this point, and I don’t want you falling for him again. He was your first love, and he will
not give up on trying to get you back. I trust you, but I don’t trust him at all. He knows just how
badly he’s screwed up now. Knowing you have a son together, it hurts me to see you three as a
happy family,” Phillip replied. I could hear the pain and frustration in his voice.
“It’s just dinner at the diner. I’m not dressing up or doing my hair or makeup. This is not a date, Phillip. Yeah, he might try, but he has messed up badly. I can’t see how he can fix what he
broke. He has hurt me so much, over and over again, all because he wanted to punish me for something I didn’t do. His choice of sleeping with so many others has left me damaged. It took years to get here. I will hear him out and speak my peace, too,” I told Phillip. I am making
a list, so I don’t miss anything. We will finish this tonight. After that, I don’t want to discuss our
past again.
