Moonstruck at Midnight

Chapter 26 - Assumptions

TWO EMPTY CONDOM PACKAGES.

It was the first time I'd ever set foot in Thomas's apartment, so there was no way he could claim to have used them with me. Besides, I was on the pill, so we weren't using condoms anymore.

Taking a slow, deep breath, I resumed my key quest but couldn't find it. Tears of desperation slid down my face because all I wanted was to get the hell out of there.

A million disturbing thoughts flooded my mind like a whirlwind: He wouldn't do that to me. There must be an explanation. No ... he's cheating on me. Could they be his father's? How many times has he done this? They must be his father's. But what if they're not?

There were only two options to choose from: either his father was cheating on his mother, or Thomas was cheating on me. But someone, either way, was a dirty cheater.

"Everything okay?" Caleb asked from the other side of the door, lightly knocking on it.

Damn it! Where's that goddamn key?!

I kept frantically looking for it, which caused Caleb to come inside and dart in my direction after I didn't answer.

"What's wrong?" he demanded, locking his gaze with mine.

"The key!" Tears kept streaming down my face. "I can't find the fucking key!"

"Hey, it's okay." He placed a hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes again. "I'll help you find it." He must've thought I was PMSing or going insane because who cries for losing a key?

I did. And I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

Caleb dropped to his knees before I could tell him not to. I didn't want him to see what I'd seen, but it was too late. Caleb peeked under the bed, then glanced back at me with a fiery gaze. He could obviously put two and two together.

I crouched on the floor and cried my eyes out while Caleb searched for the key.

"I found it," he said a minute later. "Now, let's get the fuck out of here." Caleb grabbed my arm and helped me up. I stood there like an ice statue, staring out the window as Caleb grabbed the documents. "Come on, Red, let's go. Now."

We stormed out, and Caleb locked the apartment door behind us, placing the key back in the lockbox.

They can't be his, I kept wishing.

"I fucking knew it," he uttered a few times while we made our way to the car. "And you wonder why I hate the guy? He's a cynic and a—"

"Caleb, stop," I begged with a stuffy nose. I couldn't pull any air in. "Please, just stop. This is his father's apartment. He often comes for work and stays here. Your assumptions are not helping." I couldn't deal with my thoughts on top of Caleb's contagious speculations. It was making me anxious, and I needed to think straight.

"When's the last time his father came to New York?" he mused.

"I don't know, okay! I'll figure it out. It's my problem. And you better not say a word of this to anyone. Especially to my father. I'm begging you to stay out of it."

Caleb's hands went into tight fists that made his knuckles turn white. If he could've, I'm sure he would have gone to D.C. to track Thomas down.

I stepped into the car, forwarded the D.C. address to the security group chat, and asked David to find the nearest FedEx.

"You're still going to send—"

"Stop!" I shouted. David kept a straight face, but I could see the confusion in his eyes as he probably tried to understand what had happened. "David, take me to FedEx. Please."