Where You Least Expect It...

Chapter 4

Day 217

Tommy leaned against the side of his car. Lizzie was doing a final walk-through of the guest house. He'd drive her to her apartment- the truck too high for her to get into. The last box was put into the back and Tommy watched as one of the men pulled down the door. A flare of anger rushed through him- dark and violent. His fist clenched at his side as the men got into the truck and drove off.

The anger only grew when Lizzie stepped out of the house. She eased down the front steps as Tommy watched. It was small, but he still saw the hesitation when she reached the last step. Like she didn't want to leave. Like she had no fucking choice. He forced himself to relax, to keep his face blank. But the closer she got, the angrier he became.

"Ready?"

Her voice was quiet- hesitant. Like it had been at the beginning, before the dinners and the fucking talks and the laughs. Back when she was just the surrogate and not Lizzie. The anger burned deeper in his veins. He didn't respond- just opened her door and helped her in. He forced himself to take a deep breath while he walked to the driver's side. He'd known this was coming. He'd know the day would come when things had to end.

He started the car and pulled away from the house. He'd done it dozens of times- after visiting with Lizzie, taking her for a drive. He'd come and gone from this house more times in the past six and a half months than any time before. But this time his hands gripped the wheel too tight and the idea of driving away made him want to fucking hit something.

"Tom?" He cut his eyes towards the woman beside him. She bit her lip the way she did when she wanted to say something he didn't want to hear. And he knew what it was. "I think- Maybe when I get back-" She let out a sigh and from the corner of his eye he saw her blink back tears. "Think it'd be best if we all kept our distance from here on out. Don't want to get attached, yeah?"

Fucking late for that. "Still got doctor's appointments." She nodded. "Grace'll want to visit- check up on things." Things like the baby. Things like whether Lizzie was being reckless. She nodded again. His grip tightened on the wheel again. "Alright. Yeah, alright, Lizzie. Grace can do all that, then." The words tasted like dirt in his mouth. Made him want to smoke. Made him wish he had a fucking whiskey.

She turned her face to the window. Her fingers bunched the bottom of her shirt. The anger flared again. "That sounds good," she whispered. "Thanks, Tommy." He didn't look at her. He didn't say anything. There was nothing to fucking say. Just kept his eyes on the road as they sped towards Lizzie's shitty fucking apartment. There was a new landlord, though. Like she'd heard his thoughts, Lizzie said, "At least I don't have to worry about Joe." Her fingers smoothed out her shirt- bunched it again. "Heard the new guy's okay. Doesn't try anything with the girls."

Again, he kept quiet. The rest of the drive was silent. By the time he pulled into the parking lot of Lizzie's apartment the anger was gone. In its place was a restlessness he refused to name. The movers were already unloading the truck. Tommy watched people peek out their windows to see what was happening. He'd have a man keep an eye on her- make sure nothing happened. "I'll walk you up." She turned and looked at him for a long moment, her gaze weighty in a way he didn't want to think about.

"Goodbye, Tommy."

She went up alone.

-

She'd been gone a week. One fucking week. And he kept seeing her. Every time he closed his fucking eyes, she was there, mucking about in his head. She'd show up in his damn dreams- laughing and smiling that Lizzie smile. It was worse than his nightmares. Worse than the memories of his mother's broken bones or the burn of his father's cigarettes. Because she didn't belong. Not in his head like this. Not in his fucking bed. He couldn't do that to Grace.