“Your mom invited me here,” he told me. Honestly, it wouldn’t have surprised me if she did. She didn’t want me to be happy and knew that I was miserable with Brad. It wouldn’t have shocked me if they had come up with this plan after I told my mom that I was bringing Cayden to dinner.
“Fine, I’m leaving, but not because he’s telling me to,” Brad said to me. “We’re not done talking. I’ll call you later.”
He turned to leave, flipping Cayden the bird in the process.
“I am so sorry,” I said as I turned to Cayden. I couldn’t read his face. I wasn’t sure if he was angry or sad. He didn’t speak for a while.
“Was that him?” Cayden finally spoke. I nodded.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“And you went out with him Thursday night, I’m assuming. That’s why you acted so weird after Thursday? You met up with him behind my back and didn’t feel it necessary to tell me?”
His voice was beginning to shake, and I couldn’t tell if he was about to start yelling at me.
“It’s not like that,” I said. “I did see him, but it just reinforced the fact that I’m not supposed to be with him.”
Cayden scoffed.
“I just can’t believe that you didn’t tell me,” he said. “I gave you a million chances to tell me. I knew that something was wrong, but you lied to me. You lied to me numerous times, Tiffany.”
I looked down at the ground, not sure of how to respond.
“Are you going to say anything?” Cayden questioned. I could tell by his tone of voice that he was beginning to get angry.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I tried to talk to you before I went out with him, but you were rushing out of the office to get Austin. Afterwards, I didn’t want to bring it up because I knew you would get upset…”
“I’m out of here,” Cayden said, shutting the door. “Tell your mom thanks for having me over.”
He walked down the steps and got into his car. I wanted to chase after him, but I’d nothing to say. I deserved to be left behind.
Chapter 35
Cayden
I drove toward my parents’ house. I was furious. Not only had Tiffany lied to me about something being wrong, but she had seen her ex-boyfriend behind my back. To add fuel to the fire, her ex-boyfriend was the asshole that I’d the run-in with at the jewelry store. I could not believe it.
I felt stupid for letting myself fall for her so quickly. It was obvious that I didn’t know who she was, and I didn’t know about the feelings that she still had for Brad. I should have known better. There was a reason that I kept my heart guarded, to avoid moments like this.
I wasn’t sure what to do next. Did I give her a chance to explain? Did I never talk to her again? I knew the second option wouldn’t be possible, as we still worked together. That was another reason that I felt stupid. Why did I date someone from the office? Everyone told me that work and romance didn’t mix. I was honestly a believer of that until Tiffany came along.
I parked my car at my parents’ house and debated going in. She wasn’t expecting me until much later. She would want to know why I was there and what happened with Tiffany. I did not feel like explaining it. I thought about leaving and going to a bar, but I knew my choices were limited on Christmas Day. Plus, I still had to drive Austin home later that night.
I decided to go in and face my mom. Maybe she wouldn’t press the issue too much. Maybe I could lie and tell her that Tiffany and her mom got into a fight and we left early. No, that wouldn’t work. She would wonder where Tiffany was. I also didn’t like lying to my mother, either.
I grabbed the purple dinosaur gift from my backseat. Austin would be thrilled to have it and especially happy that it was a gift from Tiffany. I almost didn’t want to give it to him, but that wouldn’t be fair to him. It wasn’t his fault that Tiffany had screwed up.
I walked inside and was surprised to hear silence. Austin wasn’t running around and screaming, and my sister and her family had left, too. I went into the living room to see my mother curled up on the couch under a blanket.
“Where’s Austin?” I asked, walking into the room. I sat down on a chair and placed Austin’s gift on the side table. My mom sat up straighter. It looked like she was about to fall asleep as well.
“He is upstairs taking a nap,” my mom responded. “Why are you home?”
“I really don’t want to talk about it,” I said. I hoped she wouldn’t press any further. We sat in silence for a few minutes, watching a Christmas movie on the television. Finally, she spoke again.
“Did Tiffany get Austin a gift?” my mom asked, pointing to the bag on the side table. I nodded.
“She got him the damn purple dinosaur.” I’d to crack a smile. Even though I was pissed at her, I still couldn’t believe that she had figured out a way to get it. Austin would probably be happier about the purple dinosaur than he was about the green one.
“Wow,” my mom said. “That was nice of her. Too bad she wasn’t here to give it to him herself. He is going to love it.”
I nodded. He would love it.
“I hope things aren’t too bad between you and Tiffany,” she said. “You have to realize that all couples are going to go through trials and tribulations, but it’s about working through them and making your relationship stronger. Whatever happened can’t be that bad. She obviously cares about you a lot.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked. My mom had only seen us interact for a little while. How could she tell that Tiffany cared about me? My mom pointed to the gift again.
“She got Austin a gift,” my mom said. “Not only did she give him a gift, but she got him one that he really wanted. She is trying to get Austin to like her because she knows that Austin is so important to you. Some women out there don’t care about men’s children. You have landed yourself a good one, Cayden.”
I bit my lip. My mom did have a point. Tiffany got Austin a gift that meant a lot to him. It may have been a silly purple dinosaur, but it was a way to get Austin to accept her. She wanted Austin to like her.
“Maybe you’re right,” I said.
“Give her a chance,” my mom said. “I’m telling you, Cayden, it’s hard to find a good woman, especially one who is open to dating someone with a child.”
Part of me wanted to tell my mom about what happened, but the other part didn’t want to get into it. She obviously knew something was wrong and she knew that Tiffany had done something to upset me. I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t want my mom thinking that Tiffany was a bad person because she had seen her ex behind my back.
“I’ll play it by ear,” I told my mom. “Without getting into too much detail, I’ll just tell you that she did something that I don’t agree with.”
My mom nodded.
“You don’t need to tell me the details, Cayden,” she said. “I just want you to go into this with an open mind. I know it’s been a while since you’ve dated, but no one is perfect. We all have our flaws.”
My mom was right. Everyone, including me, had their flaws. I knew Tiffany had some, but I didn’t know keeping secrets from me was one of them. No matter what my mom said, I still felt betrayed. Tiffany should have told me the truth from the beginning. I didn’t care that I was busy with Austin being sick. She had plenty of opportunities to tell me and she didn’t take any of them.
I sat with my mom for a little while longer when Austin came in the room. He still looked exhausted but smiled when he saw me.
“Are you ready to go home, kiddo?” I asked him. He nodded.
“We need to take all my toys,” he said. I looked at the huge pile of toys under the tree. It would take me a while to cart all of them out to the car.
A few minutes later, I’d the car loaded with all of Austin’s Christmas toys. I said goodbye to my mom and dad and left for home with Austin.
“Where’s Miss Tiffany?” Austin asked. I looked back at him in the rearview mirror. I wasn’t sure how to respond to him, but I knew that I’d to pretend that everything was okay. I didn’t want him to get worried about me or Tiffany on Christmas Day.