Free Triple Shot by Ava Riley Page B

could to swallow the lump
in her throat and fight against her own tears. When Susan left the nursing
home, she always resumed her daily routine, but her father returned to an empty
house. He left behind his other half in a place full of strangers, leaving them
to care for the woman he’d spent the entirety of his adult life with.
    Susan pushed the memory of that day from
her mind as she walked into her dark apartment, a simple reminder of how her
own life had lost the sunshine, the joy she once took for granted. All the
bottled up anger and hurt became the darkness that encompassed her now. She
wanted, needed to shake that darkness, but how could she when so much consumed
her? She was not the daughter she needed to be, wishing that her mother would
find peace on whatever plane she found after she took her last breath so her
father could move on with his life and focus on himself and his own health. She
tossed her keys on the coffee table, kicked off her shoes and lowered herself
to the comforts of her sofa and did the only thing she could do. The tears that
had been locked inside, the ones she had refused for so long to let out,
flowed, the sting of pain a warm reminder of all that Susan had waiting for
her. She didn't try to stop them. She needed to feel them burn her cheeks,
needed to watch through blurred vision as each one dropped to the floor between
her feet. Susan needed to release all the pent up emotions she held in check,
alone in her apartment without any others to see or experience her pain.
    As Susan felt the emotions tumble from
her body, a faint knock against her door made her suck back her tears,
swallowing any that tried to escape. She pushed herself up and grabbed the box
of tissues from the coffee table that had always been at the ready for this
inevitable moment. She blew her nose, then dabbed at her cheeks and eyes,
trying her hardest to erase the evidence of her breakdown. A quick glance
through the peep hole and fear slammed into her chest. She tried to catch her
breath, but it suddenly became difficult. Josiah came back and he waited on the
other side of the barrier of the door for acknowledgement. Of course she couldn’t
pretend she wasn't home, he'd just dropped her off. Although, she could pretend
she didn't hear him and that’s exactly what she did, waiting with her palms
pressed to the wood door, counting the seconds as they passed, her eyes squeezed
shut as if by doing so she could wish him away. Until that moment when he
knocked loud enough to wake the dead. Susan dabbed at her eyes in one last
attempt to rid herself of her tears and almost immediately they welled up
again.
    "Just one moment," she called
out as she tossed the used tissues into the wastebasket by the sofa, an attempt
to hide the proof of her breakdown.
    "It's me, Josiah."
    Susan opened the door to quite a sight. Josiah,
in all his manliness, stood with Susan's purse slung over his shoulder. She let
out a weak laugh as she signaled for him to come in.
    "You forgot this in the car,"
he said holding the purse out to her. "Obviously."
    "Thank you for returning it. I
appreciate it."
    "It's not a problem."
    Josiah stood motionless, his eyes locked
onto Susan's face. No doubt wondering why her eyes were red and her face
discolored. Yet, he didn't question her, or remark about the state he found her
in. She wasn't sure if he had panicked and wished he'd not come back, men often
panicked at the sight of tears, or if he were waiting for her to divulge any
information she was willing to offer.
    She had no intention of just offering up
an explanation, although she wasn't even positive she would tell him anything
should he ask. The two of them stood in silence as the seconds ticked by before
Josiah spoke.
    "I know you don't know me well, but
if ever you just need someone to talk to, well..."
    "Like I said earlier, I'm just very
tired. When I get tired, I get emotional. I'm fine, really." Josiah kept
his eyes focused on her, she supposed for