More to You ✔

Chapter 54 - Rebound (Tom)

Earlier

Half an hour after Maria shattered his heart, Tom descended past a couple waterfalls until he reached one people were sliding down despite the two-metre drop. The water fell as a trickle, but the surrounding pool was deep enough to catch their tumbling bodies. Shawn, Emma, and Prae stood at the top of the falls while Mitch was in the water alone. On a bamboo bench overlooking the falls, Maria sat, and as Tom approached, sniffles came from her crumpled form.

Had Mitch rejected her? It wasn't Tom's business anymore, although Prae had implied Mitch had feelings for Maria, and his eyes kept darting to the woman. Was she upset over their break-up? A small spark of hope flickered in Tom's chest.

"You okay?" he asked, kicking himself seconds later. He couldn't help but invite more pain into his heart.

She turned around, and her blotchy face morphed into a smile. "You're back."

Was she having second thoughts? As much as the possibility thrilled him, he couldn't trust that optimism. It was far more likely she'd struck out with Mitch. The man she actually liked. "You're crying."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you. When you started confessing about Prae, I thought... It was stupid. I should have told you differently after the trip."

Tom chewed on his lip. Did she think his feelings would magically transfer to a woman who cared about him after her confession? His heart wasn't as fickle as hers.

"Is that why you're crying?"

"I'm no better than my or your ex."

While she was right and hadn't blamed him or waged an emotional abuse assault on him, her actions still stung. "At least you told me instead of doing it in my bed."

When she cried again, Tom sat beside her, cursing his instincts. Not only did he not get the girl as the honest guy, but he had to console the woman who'd hurt him.

"I never wanted to be this person," she muttered.

"I didn't want to be this person twice, but here we are." Bitterness laced his voice.

"How do I make this better?"

He shrugged. Stay away from Calgary and never flaunt your inevitable new relationship came to mind, but he kept it to himself. It would only make her cry more. 

A question still burned inside of him, and perhaps in this state, he'd get a sincere answer from her out of guilt. "Did you two ever do anything?"

"Not while you and I were together. We kissed in Samet months ago."

Then Mitch had shown in countless of her social media posts and she'd doted on him at work until they'd fought on Christmas Eve. Christmas day and New Year's swung by, and Tom thought he'd impressed her.

"I was a rebound," he muttered.

More tears left her eyes. "I wanted us to work out badly, but my feelings for him won't disappear. It's not fair to you to pretend they don't exist. None of this was your fault."

That was the problem with dating. He had the best intentions, and it counted for nothing while someone who treated love with reckless abandon won. Another dreaded question rested on his tongue. "Did you tell him?"

Maria shook her head. "I'm surprised I can talk to Prae or you. I wish those waterfalls led to a portal I could jump into to stop myself from hurting you."

Tom squeezed her hand for probably the last time. It was small and slightly calloused. "It hurts a little less hearing that."

"You are a great guy and you'll be the centre of someone's universe one day if you aren't already."