by L. B. Reyes
Seeing my determination, Derek gave in. “I was meant to make your life miserable, cause problems for you and Nathan. I figured Hannah is in jail, so you needed to suffer too.”
“What does Hannah have to do with any of this?” I asked this time. Derek didn’t seem like a vengeful person.
He grimaced. “We had issues. I thought you were like her, and well…you’re not, clearly. But now I need to get out of the shit I got into, and it’s not as fucking easy as I thought it would be.” Derek placed a tentative hand over my belly, a soft laugh leaving his lips. Admiration covered his features, and when his eyes met mine, I gulped, taken aback by the intensity of his emotions. “You are everything I never thought you would be.”
His words brought tears to my eyes. Why? Well, that wasn’t something that I could understand.
“I’m sorry about your relationship with Nathan. If I’d known, I would have never…I would have never tried to hurt you. Hate is an evil thing, though, and I was blinded by it.”
“It’s too late for that,” I whispered. “You’re here now. I deserve to know what’s going on.”
“Evie—”
“No,” I interrupted. “I received a call, and it was weird, Derek. I need to know what’s going on, and you need to tell me soon.”
The whole time, he didn’t move his hand away from my belly, his thumb now moving gently over the dress. After considering it for a few minutes, he nodded. “Just give me a few days. That’s all I ask for, okay?”
I said yes. Derek didn’t move his hand away from my belly, now both our attention on the sax player and the people dancing in front of us. It didn’t feel strange, didn’t feel odd, so I let myself relax for a moment, taking in his appearance.
He was very calm, at ease.
“How did you know I was here?” I asked him, breaking our silence.
“I didn’t.” He grinned. “I come here when I need time to think. I suppose great minds think alike.”
I scoffed, leaning back when I felt something…something I’d never felt before. The expression on my face must have changed, because Derek’s eyes widened in alarm. “Are you okay?”
I shushed him, placing my hand over his and moving it over to the left side of my belly, waiting. Sure that it was my imagination, I was about to remove it until I felt the gentle fluttering again.
“Did you feel that?” I asked Derek, smiling so widely my cheeks hurt.
He gave me a questioning look until I held his hand down firmly. Amazed, Derek laughed at the soft movement he felt. “Your baby is moving.”
As happy as I was, my happiness wasn’t complete, not until I shared that moment with Nathan. No matter the situation we were in, as the father of my baby, he deserved to be a part of this moment.
“Can you drive me to the gallery?” I asked Derek with a hopeful smile. “Please, I need to show Nathan.”
He chuckled, squeezing my hand. “Of course, let’s go.”
***
“I’ll leave you here,” Derek said at the entrance of the gallery. He shifted on his feet, sighing before pulling me into a hug.
I smiled, returning the hug just as strongly. “Take care, Derek. Call me when you’re ready to tell me what’s going on.”
“I will, I promise, okay?”
When I stepped inside, the first thing I did was search for Nathan desperately. His gaze was already on me, though, and my heart dropped. He didn’t seem happy to see me.
Nevertheless, I approached him eagerly. He excused himself from the conversation he was in and nodded towards his office. I followed the silent instruction, walking—nearly running—from the excitement.
“Hey,” I said, gazing up at him.
“Hey,” he replied, his gray eyes dark. Angry. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?”
Caught off guard, I stepped back, stunned at the ferocity in his voice. “What?”
He laughed humorlessly, the fury in his expression rendering me speechless. “We are on the fucking verge of falling apart, and you come here, to my place of work, with him,” he spat. This was the little spark that finally lit the fire. “Want to rub it in my face? Or what? What are you trying to do?”
The flutter came back.
My heart broke.
“I’m busy, Evelyn. So, unless there’s something else that you came to do other than to parade your little friend around, I need to go back up there.”
My lips parted slightly, a soft gasp escaping past them. I was too shocked to be able to speak. The baby began moving more, either sensing my distress or excited to hear dad’s voice, even if he was mad.
“Evelyn, I don’t have all day.”
I smiled softly, pretending like I wasn’t dying inside. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, averting my gaze. With all the tears in my eyes, Nathan looked blurry anyway. “I didn’t realize you were busy.”
“Well, there’s an exhibition going on so…”
“I’ll just see you at home?”
“Later. I may go out for a few drinks with Thomas and Jessica.”
My eyes met his briefly, and he furrowed his brows, looking ashamed in that moment, as if finally realized the things he’d said. “Was there something you came to tell me?”
I bit my lip, shaking my head. “No. Nothing at all.” Before he could say anything else, I reached up and placed a kiss on his cheek, though it was really his lips that I wanted to feel. “I’ll see you later. Have fun.”
It wasn’t until I was out of the gallery and in a cab that I finally let the tears fall freely.
The baby never stopped moving.
Chapter 26
Nathan
Drinks with friends suck if you have problems at home. Granted, I overreacted, and this was all my fault, but still, I was livid.
When Derek just happened to walk into the same bar, I lost my shit. Especially when he began approaching us. My grip tightened around the glass I held in my hand, the drinks I’d already taken doing very little to help me relax.
“You need to breathe,” Jesse whispered, leaning into my ear. “This is a public place. He can be here if he wants.”
I snorted. “I don’t want to breathe the same fucking oxygen he’s breathing in,” I muttered, fixing my eyes on Derek.
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to get kicked out because of your issues,” Lanthorn replied, swirling his whiskey around before finishing it all.
Derek got closer and closer, and my anger grew with every step he took. I knew the minute he opened his mouth I would explode.
“Can I join?”
No.
“Sure.” Jesse smiled, nudging me with her elbow.
“Actually,” Derek said, focusing his attention on me, “I would like to have a word with you.”
I shook my head. “Not happening.”
The man smiled, amused. I tried to ignore it, but when he sat next to me, it took all my self-control to not do something stupid. Breaking the glass over his head sounded like a great fucking idea.
“C’mon, man, you can handle a quick chat.”
“You better not test him,” Lanthorn said. The warning for Derek was in his eyes; he knew I wasn’t in the best state of mind.
“It’s about Evelyn,” Derek said, raising his eyebrows.
Gritting my teeth together, I finally turned around to see him. He wore the same clothes from earlier that day, the same clothes he had on when I saw him hugging Evelyn. The image of him holding her flashed in my mind once again as control began to slip away.
“What the fuck do you want with Evelyn?” I asked.
“Now you’re talking,” Derek said. “I don’t want anything with her other than a friendship.”
I glared at him. “You don’t do friendships.”
“Consider her an exception.” I fisted my hands, trying to hold on to the little shreds of sanity I had left. “I dropped her off at the gallery. You talk to her?”
I narrowed my eyes on him. What the fuck did he care? Whatever problems existed
between us were none of his business.
Unless she told him.
“Why aren’t you with her anyway?” he asked, taking a sip of the drink in front of him. “Figured you’d be with her.”
“None of your fucking business.”
His expression turned murderous. “I hope you didn’t speak to her that way. You didn’t even listen, did you?”
“What the fuck does it matter to you?” I sneered, standing up.
Breathe.
“You are a dick,” he muttered, standing up as well. It became obvious he was about to walk away, either trying to avoid a fight or because he truly didn’t want one, but it was too late.
My fist traveled across the air and to his nose with no reserves, the crack of bone meeting my ears. With the first hit, I felt a bit of the anger disappear. But it wasn’t enough. One punch turned into two, and soon the whole bar went as insane as I felt.
“See if you want to be a nosey ass still,” I spat, shaking the pain from my knuckles away. I turned around ready to leave when I felt two arms pushing me.
“Caught me off guard, Maxwell,” Derek hissed. I faced him. The man seemed fucking pissed.
Everything after that was a blur. Rage took over for both of us until Lanthorn attempted to stop us, and then security stepped in.
I wanted to continue the fight outside, but Jessica talked me into staying level headed for a moment. I decided to head home after realizing I wasn’t thinking straight at all.
At least I’d broken his nose.
***
When I got home, it was silent. All the lights were out, and when I searched out the bedroom, I realized the bed was empty. I saw Evie’s figure out in the balcony as she looked out at the city.
I opened the door, and if she felt me, she didn’t show it; she didn’t tense, and she didn’t say a word. The air surrounding her was solemn; it wasn’t lively like earlier that day.
“I’m sorry I arrived with Derek.” Her soft voice surrounded us; she did know I was there. There was a pause until she cleared her throat and spoke again. “I wasn’t thinking, but I didn’t mean to upset you. It was just that I was so excited because—”
“The last thing I want to talk about is Derek,” I interrupted. “Don’t you get it?”
Even with the distance between us, I could clearly hear the gulping sound. She simply nodded, not turning around or sparing me a glance.
“My appointment is in a couple of days. Will you be able to come with me?”
This time her voice was full of emotion; it almost seemed like she was having trouble speaking up, like it took all her strength to get the words out.
“It’s in the morning, isn’t it?” I replied, taking a step forward. I heard her shaky breathing, then a soft sniffle.
“Yeah. I know you’re busy, but…I would like for you to go.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course I’m going. No matter what’s going on between us, it’s still my kid.”
The words came out harsher than I intended. Everything added up: her reluctance to stop talking to Derek, her inability to care for what I’d said, and I still managed to feel bad about her being so distressed. I pushed it away in that moment because, despite how I pissed I was, Evelyn would always be my weakness.
“Am I still welcome…at the gallery?” My chest constricted at the tone of her voice. The events from earlier in the day replayed in my mind: the happiness on her face followed by the heartbreak when I’d been so cold to her.
“Not with him, you’re not.”
She nodded in understanding. “I understand. I just wish you’d let me explain.”
Whatever she wanted to say, I knew I wouldn’t listen, at least not in that moment. I was still too angry, too blinded by anger to pay attention to what she had to say. Instead, I excused myself and got in the shower, hoping to wash away the shittiness of the day.
***
It was one of the longest showers I’d ever taken. Even then, Evelyn was still outside when I was done, remained out there even while I changed. Thinking we both needed the time and space to be alone, I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling like an idiot for a while.
It had to be another half hour until she walked back inside quietly, thinking that I was asleep. When I saw her out of the corner of my eye, however, it felt like the air knocked out of me.
Her eyes were swollen and red, her face splotchy. I knew her well enough to know her face looked like that when she cried hard and for a long time.
Still, Evie smiled weakly at me. “It’s the hormones.” She took off her slippers and crawled into bed with me. She stayed on her side, and I stayed on mine, precisely like we’d been doing the past days until she saw my busted lip and the bruise that started to form on my cheek bone. “You got in a fight.”
I barely registered her voice. Had I been too cruel? Why was she crying that much? Had she been crying all day? She hadn’t cried that much since that sex video got out, even after her mother’s death.
“…don’t have to tell me,” she whispered softly.
“What?”
“I said you don’t have to tell me…about the fight, I mean. Not if you don’t want to.”
“It was just a bar fight,” I replied, swallowing.
Knowing better than to think I was going to go into detail, Evie nodded, hugging a pillow beside her, between the both of us.
“Are you going to the gallery tomorrow?” she asked curiously.
“No, Jesse will take care of it.”
She didn’t comment on my reply. Instead, a smile adorned her features as she lowered her hand to her belly. I hadn’t touched her in what seemed an eternity.
If I touched her, though, I knew I wouldn’t stop there.
She had other thoughts.
Evelyn sat up, her warm, saddened eyes roaming my face hesitantly. Her hand contacted my jaw, then to the small bruise as she ran her thumb over it with a gentle caress. Finally, her eyes fluttered closed, and her lips met mine.
She breathed in then, as if she’d been holding her breath the whole time, as if I was her oxygen.
When she saw that I wasn’t stopping her, Evie kissed me again, her tongue seeking entrance almost immediately. I groaned, feeling her take control, letting the kiss speak for the words neither of us could say. She moaned softly when my tongue met hers, and I cupped her face in my hands, holding her as close to me as I could.
There was something in the way she was kissing me; it was desperate, longing. Heartbroken. I caught a tear with my thumb, but she didn’t stop, placing her hand over my chest even as her tears escaped.
“Evie—” I whispered, breaking it off. “Evie, what’s wrong?”
She rested her forehead against mine, keeping her eyes closed. “I’m losing you,” her voice broke.
I wanted to say no, that I loved her as insanely as I did before, that I had a fucking ring for her already…but my mouth stayed shut. We couldn’t talk then. She was too fragile, and I was on edge. Nothing good would come out of it.
I did the only thing I could, pulling her close to my chest and holding her like I knew we both needed.
And the strangest thing happened…
As I rested my hand over her belly, I could have sworn I felt a kick.
Chapter 27
Nathan
“What do you think of this one?” Evie asked, holding up a light blue bathing suit. It was the tenth option in less than three minutes.
We were going to be spending the day at the lake with my parents and Carter, and as always, Evie was debating on what to pack. She’d already prepared enough clothes for a week even though it would only be a day, but there was no arguing with a pregnant woman.
We’d go first to her appointment, get the baby checked out, and then have what we hoped would be a relaxing day. Things weren’t exactly tense between us anymore, but we hadn’t resolved anything, either. We were both walking on eggshells, trying not to argue anymore.
“Why don’t you just take all of
them? See what color you’re in the mood for when we get there?”
She frowned. “It’s pointless to take all bathing suits, Nate. I mean, it’s only one day.”
I laughed. “Then why do you have a whole suitcase packed?”
Evie glared playfully, and her lips tilted up to a small smile. However, her expression turned serious in just a matter of seconds. “You don’t think it’ll make a bad impression on your parents? Me wearing a bikini? They won’t think I’m showing too much?”
“Why the worry?” I asked, not understanding why now all of a sudden she had this irrational fear.
My parents adored her. In fact, they had been the ones to insist on buying the ring. I had planned a grand design, something that would completely blow Evie’s mind, but in the end, I settled for something more meaningful for her. The only problem was finding the moment to give it to her.
Shrugging, she replied, “Things are already weird between you and me. If they start not to like me, it’ll be the thing that finishes us…” She bit her lip nervously. “I don’t want anything to cut the small bit of thread holding us together.”
Since our argument a couple of days ago, she’d been very quiet, to the point I wondered if she was depressed. I realized we both needed to get the hell out of the house, change scenery for a bit to clear our minds.
I suggested going to the lake, knowing she loved the place. Her eyes had immediately lit up, and she began packing just minutes afterward to make sure she’d have everything.
I was even starting to think that it was a good idea to take a couple of days off at the gallery now that things had settled down to spend time with her. We needed the time together, apart from our problems. Away from everyone else.
“My parents love you,” I said with a reassuring smile.
Her gaze met mine, and I could hear the unspoken question.
Do you love me too?
Instead of saying anything, I stepped closer to her, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Let’s finish up to get you to your appointment, okay?”