Chapter 35

Thirty-Five

TOM

I jumpedout of bed in a daze, hands shaking, body still pulsing with pure adrenaline, and soaked in a cold sweat. I shook my head, trying to understand what was happening. A fog trapped me, my senses flooded with images of war and gore. My gaze darted around the room as I struggled to regain my bearings. Amongst the muffled sounds of screams and gun fire still ringing in my ears, I heard the strained moans of a woman.

Slowly, the fog cleared and all other sounds, but the female coughing, drowned out. When my vision finally focused, all I saw was Tiffany lying naked on my bed, curved into a ball, clutching her chest and grasping her throat.

“Tiffany?”

She didn’t respond

I ran to her side. “Shit. Tiff? What’s the matter? Are you okay? What happened?”

She coughed some more, releasing her grasp on her throat. Red marks lined her neck, some already turning blue. I rushed over to my nightstand where I’d left a glass of water and handed it to her. “Here, drink this.”

She took the glass and gulped.

Finding my sweatpants lying on the floor, I quickly dressed, but not before noticing a bathrobe at the foot of my bed.

What the…

Then it hit me, why she was laying naked on my bed, grasping her neck. I grabbed the robe and threw it at her. “Cover up,” I said as I walked toward the balcony. The cold air welcomed me, cooling the anger blazing inside my chest.

A moment later, Tiffany joined me.

I stared at the ink-stained sky, fighting not to snap. “What were you doing in my room, Tiffany?”

“Tom…I’m sorry.” She began to whimper.

With my back turned to her, my jaw clenched. “Again. What were you doing?”

“I snuck into your room earlier while you slept.”

I swirled around, eyes flaming with outrage. “What in God’s name possessed you to do that?”

She looked down at her clasped hands, tears running down her cheeks. “I wanted to be with you.”

“I almost killed you!”

She looked back up, panic streaking her eyes. “Nobody has to know. I won’t say anything, I promise. It was an accident. You didn’t know what you were doing.”

I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Tiff, I almost fucking killed you. You understand how grave that is?”

“It was my fault. I shouldn’t have tried to…It was stupid of me, I know.”

My insides coiled, tightening in my stomach with consternation at her foolishness. “Stupid doesn’t even begin to explain what you did. Christ, Tiff, any longer and I could have—” I paused. “Why? You knew about my past.”

“Tom, please. I didn’t know you still had the nightmares or I wouldn’t have—”

“What did you think was going to happen in there? That I’d forget I’m with someone else?”

“You asked me to stay, I thought maybe—”

“What I should’ve done was drive you back to your hotel.”

“Why? So, you can keep denying what we have?”

I paced. “Christ. Listen to what you’re saying. This is why things would never work out between us. You are stuck in your own little delusional universe. Oblivious. You can’t stand that I actually let someone else into my life.” I scoffed. “Your so-called love for me didn’t spring up until you heard about Sara. I mean, weren’t you just fucking Jake up until a few weeks ago?”

Her eyes widened at the revelation. “Jake means nothing to me. You have to believe that.”

“Tiffany, I don’t care who the fuck you sleep with. I’m done with this conversation and I’m done with you.” I stalked back inside my room, barely missing knocking her over.

She ran in after me.

Sitting at the edge of my bed, I held my head in my hands, my body raging with anger.

Tiffany knelt down in front of me, tears still streaming down her face. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what went through my mind. I guess…I thought coming here tonight might remind you of the good times we shared. If we had one more moment…If you remembered how good we felt together, maybe, you’d forget about her.”

“I’m in love with Sara. Accept it and move on.” I stood and walked away.

“I’m not giving up on us!”

“I want you out of my house immediately. Get dressed. I will call you an Uber.”

“I drove the company car here.”

“I’ll arrange for someone to pick it up. Right now, I just want you gone. And don’t bother showing up for work tomorrow.”

“You’re firing me?”

“I’m telling you to take the day off, Tiffany. Now leave.”

She lowered her gaze and stomped out of my room.