All Chapters of Build You Up : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Missy POVWhat a horrible night. My eyes are swollen and puffy from crying all night. After Adrian left and I calmed down, I felt so guilty and awful for lashing out at Adrian the way I did. I let my own insecurities dictate the way I had handled the situation. I knew it wasn’t my place to make him feel bad for things out of his control, but the similarities between what he was telling me and what I overheard my father say to his mistresses all those years ago had all my defenses going up. Hearing him tell me he loved me before he walked out the door did me in. I curled into a ball on the couch and cried for hours until the smell of burning potato broke me out of my delirium. The kitten was roaming the house, mewling for her bottle of milk, my dinner was ruined, and my heart was breaking because of my own flippancy. I turned off the oven, set the burned rock that was once a potato in a bowl of water in the sink, fed the kitten, then went to bed. My guilt was eating away at me, but

24 hours prior…. Adrian POVMissy’s face as her tears spilled over tore at me the whole way while driving to the bank. I wish I had time to stay and make things better, to kiss away her worries and reassure her that she was the only woman that could ever have my heart, but I can’t let my daughter down. After tomorrow, I will do whatever I can to make this up to her. I believe in us. I believe that we can overcome this. I parked in the lot, and before I went in, I decided to count the money Missy paid me to see exactly how much I needed to withdraw while I was there. I pulled the thick stack of cash from the envelope, my brows pulling inward when I saw it was all hundreds and not twenties like I was expecting. My eyes filled with tears by the third time counting it. She overpaid me. By a lot. Even while pissed at me, she paid me knowing I would need the money for my daughter, and she had made it so I didn’t have to pull another cent from the bank. This, combined with the money I ha

“Yay! I’ll go tell my friends bye,” she cheers, running back to say bye to the group of girls. Monica heads back to the bench to get her jacket and bag while I stand there talking to my sister and dad. “What about Missy?” Brittany hisses at me. “What if she comes? I already told her a few days ago that I would see her there tonight.”I pursued my lips, thinking about that possibility. “Well, I told Monica about Missy. She seems okay with it now, and after what happened with Missy yesterday, I think she will likely give us space tonight. If she does show up, it shouldn’t be a big deal. Monica knows Missy is my girlfriend and not to mess with her.”“You think the witch will listen?” Brittany grumbles. "Don't be an idiot. You know she isn't the type to listen to shit you tell her."I gave her a disapproving look. “You guys will be there and it’s her last day with Hailey. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.”My dad huffs loudly. “Well, what’s one more meal? You can play nice for a bi

Missy POVLast night I was a mess. I cried hysterically for hours, sitting in Barry’s car. He drove to a random parking lot in the next town over, and just waited there patiently while I got it all out of my system. Or at least I tried to get it all out of my system. I never actually stopped crying. I didn’t want to go anywhere with him, and under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t have, but I was out of options, and I didn’t want to stick around the diner and have it out with Adrian and his ex right there for the whole town to see. Ex my butt. You don’t go around town with your ex, playing family and not tell your girlfriend anything about it. He told me that she stayed over at his house, but said nothing about spending the day with her. He wouldn’t even answer the phone for me at all yesterday, probably hiding me from her. Then, I had to see that display in the window at the diner.How am I supposed to believe nothing happened the night before now?I trusted him. I trusted him more

Adrian POV“Pokemon Go? Are you serious?” Missy asks after hearing my story about why I kept rejecting her calls. “I swear. You can go by the farmer’s market today and see the booth if you don’t believe me. Here,” I pull out my phone, showing her the new app on it Hailey made me download. “I don’t know how, but I’m sure there is a way to see when it was downloaded and how long she was playing it yesterday.”She looks at my phone in my outstretched hand speculatively, like she still isn’t sure if she believes me.“I’m telling the truth, Missy.”“Hmm,” is all she says in response. Hmm? What does hmm mean? This is stupidly frustrating. Earlier, when she first got out of the shower and allowed for me to hold her while we had our moment, I thought I had broken through to her, and she was letting me in her defenses.After several minutes, though, she kicked me out of her room and said to wait in the living room while she got dressed and we could talk after. Those defenses went right bac