Bedrock Read Online Free PDF Page A

him by letting him see just how much it hurt.
    “Come on. Don’t run. Let me explain.”
    Addie felt like a fist was lodged in her throat. “What is there
to explain?” she choked out.
    Patrick kissed her forehead, brushed her hair away from her face,
and hugged her so tightly Addie was afraid she might suffocate. Her mind raced,
yet she was numb all at the same time. Feeling Patrick’s arms around her and
the love between them, it suddenly became clear to her exactly what she had to
do.
    “You’re right and we both know it.” She said flatly.
    Patrick smiled weakly before he picked her up. Addie wrapped her
legs around his waist as he carried her to his bedroom. He placed her softly on
the bed, where he made love to her gently, as if she might break, as if they
both might break. He kissed her face and searched her eyes, whispering, “I love
you and I’m so sorry,” over and over. It tore Addie apart, literally ripped her
heart in two. But she didn’t respond; instead, she showed him everything she
couldn’t say in the way she made love to him. When they were both sweaty and
emotionally and physically depleted, Patrick curled up next to her, his head on
her stomach. They lay there, staring at the ceiling for hours, without saying a
word. Once she was sure Patrick had finally fallen asleep and she was certain
that he was in a deep sleep, Addie got up and silently dressed. After she
gathered her things, she stood for a moment watching him sleep. Finally, she
gently kissed his cheek, and then quietly tiptoed out of his apartment and straight
out of his life.

    The next few months were a blur as Addie dated a flurry
of men. On the inside, she was devastated. Not only had she lost her boyfriend
and lover but her best friend. Her future. On the outside, however, Addie was
the life of the party. “Finally living,” she told everyone.
    Thankfully, Addie never ran into Patrick. She tried to avoid all
of the places they had gone, places where she thought he might be. In the first
few weeks after they split, Addie had received dozens of emails and several
phone calls from him. She never answered, deleting the voicemails. Addie read
the first email, mostly by mistake. She had been drunk, her defenses down. In
the email, Patrick explained that he loved her but that his parents had
threatened to cut off their financial support if he continued seeing her. He
apologized, saying that he would do anything if she would just talk to him. He
said he missed her and their friendship. Fuck him. She had enough friends. She deleted it without responding. Once, when she was out, Patrick stopped by,
hoping to see her. Apparently, Jessica had given him a piece of her mind in
such a way that Patrick finally stopped trying.
    During that time, Addie threw herself into her schoolwork and
spent all of her free time living it up. It was only after the party that the
truth would show, and usually it was Jessica who had to clean up the mess.
    After about the twelfth or so guy Addie casually “dated,” which
really meant slept with, she met Carter. Carter was a beautiful, tough, rugby
player. He was a known playboy, also the life of the party. They met at his
fraternity’s kegger and had a one-night stand, of which Addie remembered very
little. Afterwards, Carter called incessantly, hoping it would become a three-
or four-night stand. But Addie wanted nothing to do with him. Her heart was
broken, and she wasn’t looking to date, especially not someone like Carter.
Hell, in the daylight, she didn’t even like him. But Carter was relentless and
Addie was lonely, and soon he and Addie were spending a lot of time together, mostly
in bed. Or wherever, really. Carter was Mr. Fun, Mr. Help Her Forget. He was
gorgeous and crazy about her. But Addie knew she would never, could never, love
him. Her only investment was time.
    About three months in to “dating” Carter, they bumped into
Patrick at a party. He waltzed right up to her and Carter,