Love Hurts Read Online Free PDF

her legs, Jilly jumped to her feet. She couldn’t stay in the tub. She stepped onto the mat and groaned at the pain. What the hell?
     
    Her legs were bright red from the heat. The tub water still steamed. Why didn’t it seem that hot when she got in? I really am fucked up.
     
    Jilly slipped her gown over her head and reached for the plug in the tub. She quickly yanked it open and pulled her hand back out, surprised at how much it stung. She sat on the toilet lid and hung her head. She had a son to think about; she couldn’t afford to foolishly indulge herself.
     
    No sound came from the bedroom on the other side of the door, so Jilly peeked out. Gregg had made the bed and left the room. She hurried to her dresser and pulled out pants and a long-sleeved shirt. It would be a warm day—the sun streaming in the window told her that—but she wanted to cover up her reddened skin. She didn’t want any questions from Gregg. He hadn’t said anything about her outburst at the gala yet, but she knew that conversation wouldn’t be far away. Jilly rested her hands on top of the dresser. She considered leaving the house before Gregg caught her, but knew it would only scare him.
     
    Jilly got dressed, wincing from the pain of her tender skin. She hoped the redness would go away before bed that evening. The tip of her finger burned when she pulled on her pants, but at least it had stopped bleeding.
     
    Matty chattered at his father in the kitchen. She steeled herself, put on her Mommy face, and joined them.
     
    “Mommy!” Matty cried with a huge grin. He threw his arms in the air for his morning hug. Jilly usually got him out of bed and made his breakfast. She scooped him up, happy to see the change in his routine hadn’t upset his normal sunny disposition.
     
    “Hi, honey.” She hugged him so tight he squirmed. He was just the medicine she needed. She didn’t want to think about what would happen to her once he didn’t need her anymore.
     
    Jilly hadn’t planned on being a mother. She would have gotten a tubal ligation if any doctor had been willing to perform one on a sixteen-year-old. She’d met Gregg soon after arriving in Hope, two years after her sister, following the only person who’d ever loved her. She’d stayed in Toronto only long enough to finish her arts degree and then made her escape. Jilly’s family home had become like a black hole for her hopes and dreams. She’d followed Anna, trying to forget the past and find inner peace. Gregg, and then Matty, had given her as much as anyone could ask for, but even their all-encompassing love didn’t fill the chasm deep in her soul. Why? It was the question she asked herself daily. She neither knew what the question really asked nor the answer.
     
    Anna had welcomed her with open arms. She lived in her own apartment and worked for the local newspaper. Jilly had never been so happy to see someone in her life. They’d found a quiet peace together after making a pact never to discuss Mamma. Jilly had insisted on it.
     
    She soon got a job at Silver Creek Elementary School as a primary art teacher. They didn’t have a lot to choose from, so Jilly had been hired on the spot with her shiny new arts degree. She never told them about her famous Mamma.  
     
    Gregg also taught at the school. Math and science were his specialties. His gentle strength drew Jilly, so she ran from him. He pursued her in his quiet, relentless way until she admitted that she cared for him too.
     
      They dated for five years, Jilly keeping him at arm’s length every time he suggested they take their relationship deeper. He had begun sleeping at her apartment most evenings until one morning Jilly made a decision that could have destroyed them.
     

     
    Jilly looked at her watch and then scanned the highway for the bus. She was anxious to get out of town before Gregg called her cell to wonder why she hadn’t gone to work. Lately, he’d been coming into the staff room each morning