Read The Last Time for Free Online

anything.”
    “Thank you.” Her voice was a whisper.
    “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    She looked at the ground and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not your problem anymore.”
    “You were never my problem,” I said. “I care about you and always will.”
    “You made it clear you didn’t want me to speak to you for any reason, and frankly, that’s a reasonable request. I honored it.”
    “But…this is different.”
    She sniffed then swallowed the lump in her throat. “I really appreciate you coming here to comfort me, but you can go now.”
    What? “I don’t want to go.”
    “I do.” She said it with a straight face.
    “What?”
    “Cortland, I know you feel obligated to be there for me. But please don’t. You came all the way here and gave me your condolences, and that’s more than enough. But now it’s time to go.”
    “I’m not leaving,” I said firmly. “You need me.”
    She sighed. “Cortland, it’s okay. Really. We aren’t together anymore. I will get through this on my own.”
    “But I don’t want you to.”
    She turned away slightly. “Please leave.”
    “No.” I held my ground. “I’m not turning my back on you. I’m here now and I’m staying.”
    “I don’t deserve your compassion or concern.” She said it venomously, showing all her self-loathing in just her words. “You’re better than me, Cortland. You deserve better. I want you to leave.”
    I grabbed her arm and turned her to face me. “You can talk me out of it all you want, but I’m not leaving you. No matter what happens between us, I will always love you and care about you. I will be here for you through this. You’re the love of my life. That doesn’t change, even with the passing of time.”
    “This is why I didn’t want you to know…”
    “And I’m really glad Scarlet told me.”
    “But you hate me.”
    “No,” I said firmly. “I would never hate you. I said a lot of mean things in my anger, but of course I don’t hate you. I love you…”
    She closed her eyes for a moment and breathed through the pain.
    “So, we can sit here and argue about me leaving, or we can just stop this and let me be there for you.” I wasn’t going to leave her high and dry. No one would judge me if I turned around and left, but I wanted to be here. It didn’t matter how angry or upset I was. When it came to Monnique, I was a different person. She had her own set of rules. I made exceptions for her when I shouldn’t. Because I loved her so damn much.
    She finally fell silent and didn’t argue with me.
    “That’s better.” I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. Her face pressed to my chest and she started to cry, to grieve.
    I stood there silently, listening to the sound of her pain. She cried for an hour while I held her, my own heart hurting. I finally scooped her up in my arms and carried her into her bedroom. Her arms hooked around my neck and she still sobbed.
    I pulled her clothes off then my own, leaving on our undergarments, then crawled into the bed beside her.
    She immediately cuddled wi th me and cried quietly, slowly starting to stop. “It’s my fault. If I never followed you here, I’d be with him. He’s been drinking and staying home all the time, depressed and unable to go out. If I were there, I could have stopped it. If I were there, I could have done CPR…something.”
    I cupped her cheek and pressed my face close to hers. “No. Don’t blame yourself. This didn’t happen because of you.”
    She sniffed and didn’t argue with me.
    “Sometimes things happen for no reason at all. If someone is determined to keep bad habits, they’ll do it even if someone tells them not to. Do not blame yourself. I know he wouldn’t want that.”
    “He died all alone…”
    I ran my fingers through her hair and down her back, trying to calm her. “We all die alone, Monnique.”
    She closed her eyes and squeezed a few tears out.
    I pulled her close to my chest and listened to her