Page 58 of The Deadbeat DILF
He nodded. “I couldn’t deal with it any longer. So, when the offer came, I took it and left. All I wanted was to get away from them: my ex-wife and my best friend.” He gave a hopeless shrug. “I became severely depressed. I got a basic construction job that pays barely anything compared to the money I used to earn, but I didn’t care. I didn’t want to try and make a better life for myself. What was the point? I lost my best friend and my wife, and my son hated me.”
It hurt me to see him like this. “You made mistakes, but it’s not all your fault, Robert. Your wife and best friend betrayed you. You weren’t the only one who cheated. Surely Mike sees that.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. Maybe I wasn’t around enough when he was younger, but he still blames me. He sees his mother as a poor, innocent victim. Noel’s like the white knight who saved her.”
“Just because Mike doesn’t see the good in you doesn’t mean that you’re a bad person,” I said. “I see the good in you.”
“Brooke,” he said, his eyes sad. “When I was living with you, I felt like I didn’t deserve you. You’re so beautiful andsmart and successful. And I’m…nothing. I’m not ambitious or hardworking. I’ve been living paycheck to paycheck for years now, and that’s how I ended up almost homeless in the first place. I did this to myself.”
I couldn’t let him beat himself down any longer. I reached out and grabbed his hands. “You’re wrong. Do you not understand all that you’ve accomplished? You started providing for your family when you were just a teenager! Sure, you’ve made mistakes, but everyone makes mistakes. It doesn’t matter if your family doesn’t treat you right.”
“I hurt the people in my life,” Robert argued. “I don’t want to hurt anyone else. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“The only time you’ve hurt me was when you left. You’ve helped me, Robert. You’ve made me realize that I deserve love.”
“Of course you do, Brooke. You deserve the world.”
“Then give it to me,” I said. “Come back with me. Be with me.”
He looked unsure.
“We’re alike in so many ways, Robert,” I continued. “We both know what it’s like to be alienated by family. We know what it’s like to be kicked while we’re down by the people who should be helping us up. But…maybe we can be each other’s family.”
Something like hope filled his eyes.
“Come home,” I said in a soft voice.
He didn’t say anything at first. As the silence droned on, nervousness swirled in my stomach. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if he refused.
“Okay,” he said quietly.
Relief washed over me, and I felt my shoulders relax. “Yeah.”
“I’ll come home with you,” Robert said as a small smile crossed his face. “If that’s what you want.”
He didn’t even have to ask.
“More than anything.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Our footsteps echoed throughout the apartment once we returned home, and even the sound of that comforted me. I had grown so tired of being alone in my own place. As much as I loved living here, it truly felt like home when he was here too.
I wasn’t the only one making memories within these walls. I wasn’t the only one enjoying and appreciating all that it had to offer. I wasn’t the only one who felt comfortable and at peace here.
It hadn’t even been a minute, and I could already see Robert visibly relaxing as he followed me to the living room. Just having him back here made my heart flutter as I took a seat, my eyes trailing him as he sat down next to me, only inches of space separating us.
It still felt like too much.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
Robert gave me a small smile and took my hand. “I’m just glad to be back here with you. I should’ve just talked to you instead of running off. It was stupid.”
I shook my head. I didn’t want him to feel bad. “We both made mistakes, but we’re here now.”
He rested his hand on my thigh as his eyes roamed over my face, skimming over my lips. “I missed you, Brooke. I didn’t stop thinking about you the whole time I was gone.”
My heart rate picked up as we moved closer to each other until the sides of our legs touched. “I missed you too. I didn’t like sleeping alone.”
