Devotion Page 15

  I remain silent for a moment, letting Corey fret over each question. "Whatever has gotten into her, you don't deserve it. Kat should appreciate what an amazing man she has and not take you for granted."

  Corey smiles at me out of the corner of his mouth, blushing at the same time. "You don't have to say that. I have my faults too."

  "Everyone does, but some are much worse than others."

  "Yes, they are."

  A quiet seeps into the room as I pretend to hang my head down in thought. I take a peek at Corey to see a shattered look on his face as Katherine's cell hangs by his side, loose in one hand. Is he contemplating his relationship with Katherine over in his mind? Has he finally realized she's not the one?

  "Thanks for returning this, Annette," Corey says, avoiding my eyes.

  "Any time. Is there anything I can do to help? I could drive Ava home for you today."

  "No, it's okay. I'll pick her up. I need to take some time to think about everything."

  "Okay. That's probably for the best. If you need anything, I'm here for you." I grab his hand and brush my thumb over the back of his fingers. "I hope your day improves."

  "Me too," he says, looking me in the eyes.

  I give Corey one last smile with a hint of what I really want him to feel before I exit his classroom.

  "Annette."

  I stop short of the doorknob with my arm extended out to twist it open. The huge grin on my face is almost uncontrollable. I contain it as best I can and turn to Corey.

  "Thank you for being here for me despite our history. It means more to me than you'll ever know."

  My heart slams against my chest. Finally, he's acknowledged our past. I'm so close to getting him. I just need to keep my focus.

  "I'll always be here for you, Corey. No matter what."

  49

  Katherine

  The sound of Corey and Ava coming through the front door with a bang wakes me. I was only half asleep, so I don't freak out when I wake during the day. My head pounds even worse than before, feeling like an egg that's got a crack in it. Whatever's hit me has done so with fury.

  I've stopped throwing up finally. For hours after Annette dropped me home, I couldn't keep so much as a glass of water down. My body was trying to remove the evil that had entered my system in whatever manner it could, leaving me dehydrated.

  After a slow stumble to the en suite, I realize every muscle in my soul hurts. I swear I'm recovering from being run over by multiple buses the way I'm shuffling about like my legs need to go through a swift round of rehabilitation.

  My eyes avoid the mirror at all costs. I can't stand the thought of seeing myself at the moment. I'll deal with that problem later if I ever feel a lick of energy return to my body.

  "Mommy?" Ava asks, knocking on my bedroom door.

  "Come in, sweetheart. I'm in the bathroom," I reply as I run the tap to splash some water on my face.

  The door gently opens with a squeak, so I quickly pat myself dry with a towel. Ava's footsteps move toward me one small patter at a time until I see her eyes.

  "Are you okay, Mommy?" she asks, a single wrinkle over her forehead.

  "I'm okay, honey. Come here." I open my arms and drop to my knees to invite her in for a hug. She rushes over and dives into my chest the way she used to when she was three.

  "Corey said you weren't feeling well and that you'd made a mess."

  "Yeah, I did, sweetheart. Mommy was silly last night. Now she's paying the price."

  Ava stares back at me, confused by the situation. I don't have the energy to go into detail more than I have, so I change the subject. "And how was your day? Did you have fun?"

  "It was amazing!"

  Ava fills me in on almost every activity she did over the day. It's nice to listen to her talk passionately about cutting something out with scissors 'without going outside of the line' as she so proudly tells me.

  "Wow. That sounds like a cool time to me. Are you hungry?" I ask.

  "Yes!" she shouts.

  "Okay. Why don't you go watch some TV while Mommy fixes you a snack before dinner?"

  Ava nods with a big grin, one that warms my heart every time I see it. I'll never forget how that smile got me through the darkest of days when I had to single-handedly take care of Ava as a baby. She could give me hell for an entire day and then bring me back from the brink with her beautiful giggle.

  Ava rushes off before I can get to my feet. It seems like a long way up as I groan out loud. Never have I felt so drained of energy. This is the last time I go out on a school night.

  A slow walk takes me to the kitchen. I find Corey starting on dinner. "You don't have to do that. I'm happy to cook."

  "It's fine. You're not in any kind of state to be doing this, so please sit down."

  His words come out sharp around the edges. He's upset with me. No doubt for the whole incident in the faculty lounge. I guess me making a fool out of myself reflects even worse on him now we're married. Still, I can't help what happened to me. All I had was two glasses of wine. I swear it.

  "I can make dinner," I say. "You've had a long day of work. It's only fair."

  "It's only fair, is it? Well then, go for it. Make us some dinner. If you can handle it, that is." He walks off before I think of a single thing to answer back. What the hell was that all about?

  Corey leaves me alone in the kitchen when I need his support more than ever. I'm so run down I don't know how I'll prepare this meal without feeling worse. It's not like I plan on eating any of it. Corey got out the ingredients necessary to make a basic meatloaf. The thawed ground beef is already getting to me, causing me to gag.

  I fight through the churn in my stomach and follow the recipe as best I can while a thick layer of sweat coats my forehead. Slapping together a simple meal shouldn't take this much out of me but it does, so I quickly shove it in the oven. Before I leave the kitchen, I grab out a small packet of potato chips and give them to Ava on my way through to the bedroom. I need to lie down for a moment.

  When my head hits one of our thick memory foam pillows, my eyes close. I want a minute to rest and recuperate to get through making dinner. But before I know it, I'm slipping away into a dream.

  A hazy image of the bar from last night slides in front of me. I see flashes of Annette's face laughing as we enjoy a few glasses of wine. Then things transition into a strange mess. Some guys come over and hit on us, but I don't tell them I'm married. In fact, each time they make a move on me, I don't seem to mind. I laugh at first, but soon I become drained of all energy and realize my breathing has slowed down. I no longer have a sensation of elation consuming me, but the impression that I've disconnected from my body. That's when one guy kisses me.

  I snap awake and try to stand in a hurry. My feet ache underneath my weakened knees. Sweat soaks my head even worse than before as I struggle to remember where I am. My bedroom slowly rolls into focus, reminding me I'm at home making dinner for Corey and Ava.

  "Oh, crap," I yell, realizing I've fallen asleep with a meatloaf in the oven.

  When I reach the kitchen, I find Corey pulling out the burning dish as smoke fills the room. He throws the ruined meal into the sink and runs the tap over it, spoiling any chance I had to cut off the charred outer layer to save the rest.

  The smoke alarm down the hall blazes away as Corey turns around and faces me with yet another horrified look of disappointment. He brushes by me, heading for the alarm without saying a word.

  Can this day get any worse?

  50

  Katherine

  "I'm sorry," I say to Corey as he paces around the kitchen, making a sandwich for Ava's dinner. There isn't enough time left in the day to make her anything else. He doesn't respond.

  "I needed to rest my eyes for a moment but forgot to set an alarm. I'd normally use my cell to do so, but I don't know where the damn thing is."

  Corey stops what he's doing and pulls something out the front pocket of his jeans. He places my phone on the smal
l dining table and turns away.

  "Oh my god. Where did you find that? I thought I lost it last night."

  "Nope. You dropped it near the front of the house when you finally came home."

  I walk to the table and scoop up my phone, not realizing how badly I missed the device. It took today to make me understand the dependence we have on these damn things. I go to unlock my cell to check the million notifications that will demand attention when something Corey said hits me.

  "Wait, what time do you think I came home last night?"

  "Around two."

  I cross my arms. "But Annette said she dropped me here at ten thirty."

  Corey breathes out loudly. "She did." He faces me with Ava's sandwich ready to go. "But you decided to charge back out to the bar on your own." He walks off out of the kitchen through to the living room before I reply. I follow and watch him deliver the meal to Ava.

  "Here, sweetie," he says to Ava's excited eyes.

  "Thank you," she replies, using the good manners I'd taught her.

  Corey brushes by me, ignoring the look on my face. He can't have missed my mouth hanging half open as I try to put two words together.

  "Wait," I say as we both head into the kitchen. Corey doesn't stop and makes another sandwich. I can only assume it's for himself. "What do you mean I went back out? I came home with Annette. She dropped me off. You must have thought it was later than ten thirty."

  With only a glimpse over his shoulder, Corey nods toward my cell. "Check your Uber history."

  "My Uber history? Why?"

  "Do it," he says firmly.

  "Okay. Not sure what that's got to do with anything but—"

  I see on my phone multiple trips made last night. The first one started after ten thirty from our house, with the destination being the bar Annette and I visited. I find a return trip below the record with me arriving back home after two. "What the hell?"

  "That's not all, Kat."

  I pull my attention away from my rideshare history and glance up to Corey. "What do you mean?"

  "Look at the photos you took last night."

  "Photos? What photos?"

  He scoffs at me. "Wow. You're unbelievable."

  "What?"

  Corey's brow tightens as he storms over and snatches my cell. He taps at the screen harder than is necessary and hands it back. "This."

  I take my phone and see a series of selfies from the bar last night with me and some guy getting more than a little friendly with one another. My heart beats so hard in my chest it hurts.

  "I don't remember—"

  "How convenient. You were too drunk to remember that you were practically cheating on me."

  "I wasn't. I wouldn't."

  "Really? I think these photos tell a different story, don't you?"

  I can't deny it. Each image is more damning than the last. There I am, sitting on some guy's lap with my arms around him, laughing, with a drink in hand. In the next image, he's nuzzling his mouth into my neck. Then I'm kissing him on the cheek. In every photo I look happy. And to make matters worse, Annette isn't in a single picture. She really dropped me home, but I took it upon myself to go back out.

  "Corey. I don't remember this. I swear to you. Someone must have slipped something into my drink. Maybe this guy did."

  "You don't appear to be out of your mind on some drug in any of these photos. You look like you were out to have a good night."

  "That's not it. I don't even recall this guy's name or speaking to him beyond a few short words."

  "Of course you don't. You were both too busy grabbing one another to waste time chatting. Answer me this simple question, Katherine: if this happened when you were taking selfies, what did you do when your cell wasn't being used?"

  My jaw falls open. I remember someone kissed me last night but hoped it was a bad dream. Did I cheat on my husband? I can't be sure, but it's looking more and more possible with every passing second.

  "Well?" Corey presses.

  "I don't know. But whatever happened was not what I wanted. I went out to have a drink with a friend and nothing more."

  "Oh, then that's fine. No problem at all," Corey says, exaggerating each word with sarcasm.

  I feel my hands shake as I stumble my way into a seat at our small dining table. The surface trembles beneath me as I grip it. "This can't be happening," I whisper.

  "It is, though, Kat. You don't get a free pass on this just because you drank too much to remember."

  "That's not what I—"

  "I don't want to hear it. You told me what you're like when you drink too much. I rarely worry about you going out because you always have Annette by your side keeping you from being you. But it wasn't enough for you last night. You waited until she dropped you home and ran back to that place so you could do whatever you wanted."

  I wrap my hands around my face and feel my body convulse as I sob uncontrollably. He's right. When I was with Peter, I'd drink to forget. So much so that I would either pass out or make a fool out of myself. It's the reason I only ever have a couple of glasses of wine with Annette and call it a night.

  "I thought we had something special," Corey says.

  I glance up to him as I cry and see him staring at a framed picture he's holding in his hands. The photo is of Corey, Ava, and me all cuddled up together.

  "I thought you were the one the way we hit it off. I never expected things to fall apart the second we got married." His eyes drop from the frame and focus on mine. "Is that what this is all about? You never wanted to marry me?"

  "I love you," I blurt through the tears. "And I love being your wife. I can't understand why we're having so many problems, but I don't regret marrying you." I rise from the chair and do my best to stop crying. "We can still make this work, Corey. This is a rough patch and nothing more. We can push through it. We can—"

  "Enough!" Corey shouts, throwing his hands out wide. The photo frame flies through the air and smashes hard against the kitchen floor. Pieces of glass spray out across the tiles, but he doesn't remove his eyes from mine. He takes a step toward me with a sneer on his lips.

  "Mommy?" Ava calls from the doorway.

  "It's okay, sweetie," I say as I rush to her side. "Corey and I are just having a little—"

  I don't get to finish my sentence as Corey brushes past us. He storms through the lounge and grabs his keys on the way through.

  "Where are you going?" I call after him.

  Without looking back, he says, "Out."

  51

  Annette

  I can't help but to be proud of my work. Today, I pulled off what I thought was the impossible. I made Corey feel nothing but loathing for his wife. That look of betrayal on his face was so intense, I could see the rage boiling his insides. He hated Katherine in that moment, but I didn't enjoy putting him through any pain.

  Soon I will take Corey's intensity and turn it into a passionate relationship with me. He won't ever have to experience a complete lack of loyalty again. I'll show him how better off this world can be without Katherine. She only holds him back.

  By now, Corey will have confronted her. There is no way around such a discovery. I gave him enough evidence to prove once and for all that she's not devoted to him. He cannot deny that he chose wrong and married a woman ill fitted to be his wife.

  So what happens now? The tracking virus I installed on Corey's cell tells me he's at a bar in town. Perhaps he might run into me there and find a sympathetic shoulder to cry on, so to speak. I'll listen to him unload his frustrations and help guide him on the right path. By the end of the night, we will have kissed, and he'll realize that he's wasted the last six months of his life with the wrong person.

  I get ready as fast as I can, while giving myself enough time to look perfect for Corey. I'm styling my hair and dressing the same as I had on that night we kissed, hoping the sight of me will trigger a wave of emotions within him.

  Never will I forget our short but amazing moment together. And I know Cor
ey hasn't tried to push it to the back of his mind for Katherine. I'm still in there. She didn't deserve to have someone as thoughtful and caring as Corey taking care of her and her daughter. Instead, the universe threw her a bone while it screwed me out of eternal happiness.

  A wave of giddy nerves washes over me as I think about seeing Corey. The second our lips meet, I'll again be complete. This constant pain that is my existence will be erased by Corey's flawless soul. My life can resume and return to the path it strayed from.

  As I finish my makeup and hair, my cell buzzes on the surface of the vanity unit I'm staring at. I scoop up my phone to see Katherine calling. "No," I blurt. But I have to answer it so she sees me as the caring friend who will always be there for her. I can't have her thinking I had anything to do with her being drugged.

  "Hey," I say.

  Sniffles and sobbing greet me on the other end of the line. "Anne."

  "What is it? What's wrong?"

  "It's Corey. He thinks I…"

  It's clear the two lovebirds have had their argument. "He thinks you what?"

  "I can't explain. It's too much for the phone. I need to see you, now."

  Dammit. What was I thinking answering my cell?

  "Please. Are you free? Can you come over?"

  "But isn't he—?"

  "He's gone out. I think to a bar, maybe. I don't know, but he's not here and I need you. Please, help me."

  "I…" My voice trails off as I try to think of a way out of this. I have to get to that bar while Corey is vulnerable. This opportunity can't be wasted. But a caring friend wouldn't say no to someone this desperate. And if I tell Katherine I'm too busy to help her, she will grow suspicious of my actions. She might work out what I've been up to and ruin the whole thing.

  With a sigh, I recognize what I must do to keep the wheels turning on my plan. As painful as it is to throw away such a golden opportunity with Corey, I have to remind myself to be patient. I've waited this long. What's another few days?