Free Falling for Him 4 (Rachel and Peter in Love) by Jessica Gray Page B

retracted from me.”
    Peter nodded sadly, “I remember.”
    “I know now you felt trapped by me. But, I couldn’t risk you waking up one day and realizing that I wasn’t worthy of your attention or love. Those fears and insecurities drove me to become even clingier.
    The more distant you became, the more fearful I got. I couldn’t see it back then, but you weren’t ready for marriage and all the stuff that came with it. Neither was I. I see that know, but back then, I let my fears dictate my actions.”
    Peter looked at her with incredulous eyes and simply said, "Please continue."
    Lara nodded at him, getting more secure by the minute, "I knew things weren’t going the right direction, but I couldn't change it. It was like this invisible force was driving me to hold onto you however I could. When you turned away from me, I purposely started flirting with other men, just to get your attention. I thought if I could make you jealous enough, you’d realize the error of your ways and come back to me. But the more I did that, the more you drew away from me."
    Peter jumped up , displacing Rachel from his lap and grabbing her arm just before she fell to the floor, "What did you expect?" He gave Rachel a rueful smile of apology before turning toward Lara again.
    Rachel put her hand on Peter's shoulder and said in a calming tone, “Peter.”
    Lara continued , ignoring his outburst, "…and then you broke up with me." While saying this, she almost broke into tears. The emotions she’d been going through came rushing back and she struggled to deal with them on a rational and real basis, as David had taught her.
    "It was the first time in my life that I didn't get what I want ed, and I didn't like it one bit. When I heard that you were dating someone else, I saw red. I wanted to hurt Rachel and drive her away. I threatened her, and I tried to set her hair on fire.”
    Lara paused, trying to deal with the past emotions without letting them dictate her future. When Peter started to speak, she shook her head and stopped him, "There's more. Please, I need to finish this and tell you all of it."
    Pete and Rachel looked incredulous, what else could there be? L ara took a deep breath, and then in a rush, finished it, "I was the hit-and-run driver."
    Rachel jumped up from her seat on Peter’s lap, pointing her finger at Lara, “I knew it! You are vile!"
    Lara broke into tears of remorse, knowing that Rachel’s character assessment had been true at one point.

Chapter 15
     
    This isn’t happening! How could she! Peter stood between Rachel and Lara, a desperate look upon his face as he tried to assimilate what he’d just been told. But what was even worse was the situation he found himself thrown into now: To his left Rachel shouting exasperated, calling Lara every vile and hateful name she could think of. On the other side Lara sobbing noisily not able to stop.
    He was so uncomfortable being in the middle of two upset women, for a moment all he wanted to do was retreat to the bedroom and hide.
    Realizing that wouldn’t solve anything, he dealt with Rachel first. “Rachel, honey you need to calm down. Please, your tears are killing me here. Shush, please calm down.” She stopped shouting and cursing, but instead started sobbing uncontrollably.
    He knew that Rachel had suffered a lot from Lara’s actions, and had carefully constructed walls around her during the last several months. Lara’s name was never mentioned and both of them had tried to avoid that topic altogether. Now a ll the tears, sorrow, and pain the woman had caused came bursting forth in a rushing tide of emotion that wouldn’t be stopped.
    Peter tried again, with a pleading tone in his voice; he needed at least one of the women to stop crying so they could sort this mess out.
    After a while, Rachel finally managed to gain control of her tears. Peter rocked her in his arms like a baby and dried her tears, all the while whispering mollifying words into her ear. He