So Wrong. Part 12

He gently touched my knee. “What are you thinking? Talk to me.”

My head shook back and forth. He wanted me to talk? But soon I found myself talking regardless. “Patrick,” I sobbed, “I can’t believe ... Poor Chloe. Poor Chloe.”

“Do you hate me for it?” he asked softly.

“A little,” I said around my sobs, “for her sake. For yours. All that wasted time because it was ‘convenient’. You’ve really destroyed her, you know?”

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do for her anymore. And she’ll recover. She isn’t destroyed. She’s just stuck on this because it was convenient for her, too.”

“I know,” I said, my sobbing calming somewhat.

Somehow I knew that, too. Tears still came from my eyes in a never ending river—I could name each drop. Fear. Hate. Love. Disbelief. Shock. Sympathy. Lust. Guilt.

“But this has to stop. I’ll never be able to face my family again. Not even sure how I’ll be able to do that now.”

“No,” he said firmly, tugging a hand