Next Door Lover

8.

Scarlett's POV
I am mad. I'm more than mad. I'm enraged ...furious...irate. My supposedly loving and caring husband has left me in the middle of dinner to get on a plane to California. I should've known. I shouldn't have kept my hopes up but do you blame me? He promised and begged me for forgiveness and that he would make it up to me but that didn't happen, did it?

We made it a whole twenty minutes in the restaurant before his phone started going off. He ignored it the first couple of times but reluctantly got up to take it. I can see where he stood just outside the main entrance and through the glass he's smiling. His hand rubs the back of his neck a couple times telling me he's flustered, he did that with me in the beginning when I would flirt with him. His head nods as he listens to whoever's on the other side of the line and my anger grows more and more at the different scenarios of who he's talking to runs through my head.

He comes back to the table once the phone call ends and already has a sympathetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, I'm needed in California. Someone backed out of a show and they want me to open it. It's a huge-"

"Opportunity. Yep, I'm so happy for you. You deserve it." I mumble taking a sip of my wine that I ordered. I probably don't sound too genuine in my answer but he doesn't pick up on it. He smiles and kisses my forehead before leaving a hundred dollars cash on the table.

"Would you like to wait for your guest to come back to order?" The waiter asks me seeing Colin rush out of the restaurant, leaving me to be embarrassed as I think of an excuse.

"I'm so sorry, would you mind bringing me the check for what we've ordered. There's been an emergency." I state calmly and politely as my anger continues to bubble inside me.

"Don't worry about it, it's on the house." He states looking at just the two glasses of barely drunk wine is sitting and empty plates. I smile sheepishly while gathering my purse, leaving the hundred on the table for him and practically running to my car. When I'm in the confines of my car, buckled in and starting the engine is when I break down. I let the tears flow and release the building anger in me as I slam my fists on my steering wheel. I don't deserve this kind of shit treatment.

A couple deep breaths and a short drive later, I unlock my front door, dragging my feet as I walk into the hallway. It's early, only 9pm, so when Katie appears wielding a bat in her hands I'm grateful she can make me laugh.

"Jesus Scarlett, I didn't expect you to be back so soon." Katie clutches her chest and takes some deep breaths.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you don't have access to the cameras."

"No it's okay, it's your house" she laughs embarrassed but the faint blush on her cheeks make her look really cute. "I just didn't want someone to be breaking into here."

"I'm glad you'd defend my babies from an intruder."

"I'd defend them from you too" she laughs and places the bat back in the corner of my living room. Why is that even out here? I see her plop back onto my couch and grab her iPad, seemingly very interested in what's on it. I slip out of my heels as I glance around, she cleaned. There's no more stack of papers on the dining room table and my floors shine of mop n' glow.

"You didn't have to clean my house." I say as I sigh hard and plop down on the couch next to her. I keep a little distance so I don't make her uncomfortable but I'm close enough I can see what's on her iPad.

"It's the least I could do. We made a mess playing play-doh before bed." She says not looking at me, still concentrating on the iPad. I lean a little closer and see her editing a photo of a girl in a very small bikini on a surfboard. Did she take that photo? It's very well taken. But it also makes me feel a type of way because she got to stare a this girl in a bikini for god knows how long, shooting her.