Three Square Meals Ch. 117

He rolled back, his blue eyes hard and angry. "Fine, you want to talk? Let's talk. You remember I was worried sick about Anna? I was calling constantly to check she was alright, but hadn't heard anything all week?"

She nodded slowly, looking at him with concern.

"Well Kyle finally tracked down my loving fiancée. While I was panicking that she might be in trouble, that bitch was busy fucking up a storm with Archie Davenport! Is that what you want to hear, Beth? That the love of my life, my soulmate... is a cheating slut?"

A tear rolled down her cheek as she shook her head. "I never wanted to see you get hurt, Tom. You never deserved this..."

Tom's tortured expression softened and he reached out to squeeze her hand. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just... I feel like I'm dying..." His voice broke as he continued, "I've known her all my life... how could she do this to me?"

Beth stroked his hand and said quietly, "Are you really sure she did it? I've known Anna for years; she adores you, Tom... I can't see her cheating on you. It just doesn't make any sense."

His jaw clenched with anger. "Kyle caught her coming out of that bastard's apartment after staying there all night... it looks pretty obvious to me what's been going on." He waved a hand at the comms interface and added, "Up until now, I can't even remember a day we haven't spoken... but it's been over a week! I've left hundreds of messages and she's not even called me once..."

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, wishing she could take away his pain.

Tom gave her a grateful smile, although it didn't reach his bloodshot eyes. "Thanks for caring, Beth... I appreciate it." He let out a heavy sigh. "I really am exhausted though... I've been training round-the-clock to get qualified on Claymores and I desperately need some sleep."

Beth nodded her understanding. "Okay, I'll let you get some rest..." She hesitated and nibbled at her lower lip. "But... there's something else I need to talk to you about. It's important."

Puzzled by her anxious tone, he looked up at her with concern. "What's the problem?"

"It's Mace..." she said in a hushed voice. "When I was trying to find you, I went to see him... something's very wrong."

Tom grimaced and shook his head. "I've tried getting him to open up about his dad... but with everything going on with Anna, I just... I couldn't deal with it anymore."

She shook her head. "No, it's not about his father..." Beth faltered, not trusting herself to continue.

His brow furrowed with confusion. "What then? Is Mace in some kind of trouble?"

"He hates you!" she finally blurted out, kneading her hands in her lap.

Tom gaped at her in astonishment. "What?!"

"I saw Mace the other day. He was incredibly bitter with me... but he was so cold about you, Tom... he scared me."

"What the fuck?" Tom blurted out, shaking his head in disbelief. "His sister cheats on me and he's mad at me about it?!"

Beth hesitated again, then slowly shook her head. "This isn't about Anna..."

Tom sat up and looked her in the eye. "Beth... I'm not in the mood for games right now; I can't handle it. Just tell me what's going on."

She wasn't able to maintain eye-contact with him and turned away as she whispered, "You know I broke up with Mace? After he proposed?"

He nodded. "You mentioned it before. Mace told me a different story, but he seemed okay..."

"I couldn't be with him anymore because I fell in love with someone else..." Beth said in a hushed voice. "And Mace knows..."

Tom pulled away from her, frowning with disapproval. "How could you cheat on him, Beth? Mason loved you... he spent weeks picking out that engagement ring!"

"I never cheated on him!" she exclaimed passionately. "But I couldn't marry Mace... not when I didn't feel that way about him."

He looked at her in confusion. "Wait a minute... so you loved someone else, but nothing happened, then you broke up with Mason. What the hell does this have to do with me?"

Beth turned to look at him, her green eyes softening. "It was always about you, Tom..."

His mouth fell open in shock.

"I never wanted to say anything!" she said urgently. "I know how much you loved Anna and I promise, I'm not telling you this now because I'm trying to take her place. But Mace knows how I feel about you and he resents you, Tom. I've never seen him like that before..."

Tom gaped at her, looking completely bewildered. "But I never meant to lead you on... we were all friends... I was just being friendly."

"You didn't do anything wrong," she murmured, reaching out to touch his arm, but stopping herself at the last moment. "You're a wonderful guy, Tom. I couldn't help feeling the way I do about you..."

He shook his head and sighed. "Thank you for telling me... I know that must've been hard."

She bit her lip and nodded. "I-I better go... I just wanted to warn you about Mason..."

He nodded and watched her rise from the bed then walk to the door. "Beth..."

"Yes, Tom?" she asked quietly, turning to face him.

"I like you too... but I'm in a really bad place right now. Give me some time... then we'll talk..."

Her face lit up with joy and she nodded eagerly. "Take as much time as you need. I can wait!"

"Bye, Beth," he said with a fond smile.

She opened the door and slipped outside, waving goodbye as she returned his smile.

Tom watched the door close behind her, then sprawled back on the bed with his head in his hands. "Fuck me..."