Loving Lena Read Free Page B

What if behind his take-it-or-leave-it attitude, he really had no interest in sex with her or any woman? He’d been the only one she’d been with the past five years, but the way he acted, they could’ve been room-mates with occasional benefits. Hell, one of his members could’ve cooked, cleaned, and made sure he made his appointments on time. If she pushed through the pain of his deceit, what was there after the hurt? Tears leaked through closed lids. She’d done everything she knew to be good, to do right, and this was her reward.
    “God!” she screamed, the sound reverberated through the car. “Where were you in all this? Why didn’t you tell me?” Anger and shame at her stupidity heated her face in the silence after her outburst. Squeezing her eyes, she thought long and hard. Once she dismissed the shame, there was little else. Leaving the comfort of her car, she headed inside Faye's home, took a painkiller, and lay on the sofa.
    Much later, while the house was still quiet, she grabbed a piece of paper, and wrote two columns. Pros and cons of her five years. She'd just started when Faye walked in.
    “What's up?” her friend asked taking a huge gulp of her soft drink while looking at her.
    “I'm writing down all the things I accomplished in the past five years. Good and bad.”
    Faye's brow rose. “Really? What brought this on?”
    Lena ducked her head. Faye had been trying to get her to open up the last two weeks about the divorce, but she'd blown her off, not ready to discuss it. Maybe the discussion with Kurt, hearing him talk about his owned failed marriage, bolstered her courage. “I read a letter from Elijah and something he said made me wonder.”
    “What'd he say?” Faye sat in the chair across from her.
    “Hold up.” Lena left the room, and on her return, she handed Faye the envelope. Seconds passed as she waited for the explosion. It didn't take long.
    “What the fuck?” Faye jumped up, eyes wide. “You caught him in bed with a man and his daddy hit you ? Who the hell are these assholes? And why am I just finding out about this?” Her eyes blazed before narrowing.
    Lena shrugged, ashamed. “I couldn't talk about it. Notice, I let you read it instead of saying what happened.” Her eyes remained fixed on the columns as if that could magically make everything more palatable.
    “Can you tell me what happened?” Faye asked her voice softer. “I know we were out of touch during that time, but we've always been girls.” Lena looked into the earnest eyes of her childhood friend, nodded, and sat back.
    “Okay, let me get something to drink first.” Lena stood and retrieved her bottle of water from the fridge. “We were all good friends; Elijah, Anthony, and me. They were roommates at Bible College and worked together in the ministry.”
    “So that rumor was true. You married a Baptist preacher.” Faye looked at her before returning the tattered envelope.
    She nodded. Her chest tightened. “Yeah Elijah took over the church from his dad not long after we were married.”
    “I've always felt like something happened when your Nana died to set you off. Am I right?” Faye leaned back on the sofa.
    Lena closed her eyes remembering how scared she'd been at the time. Her girlfriend touched her hand; her eyes opened. Faye had tears in her eyes. "You'll never know how much I regretted not going with you to visit your Nana after you asked. As soon as you left on the train, I felt I'd let you down. I swore I'd make it up to you when you came back, but you never did."
    She nodded, too full to speak.
    "For days, I asked around, trying to find out what happened,” Faye said. “Somebody told me your grandma died. Your mom left and came back, but you never did. Andre, Malik, Raoul, they all kept asking me what happened to you, where'd you disappear too? That's what it felt like, like you pulled a Houdini. Your cell number didn't work. I couldn't make contact with you. Nothing. Finally, your mom told