face. “Oh, Jesus fucking Christ, he doesn’t even know. How could you possibly think you could keep a man away from his child like this?” she reprimands.
“I don’t know! It wasn’t my intention. I just…I didn’t know how to tell him the truth. How could I? He didn’t even remember sleeping with me.”
She begins rubbing at her temples as if all this is starting to give her a headache. “God, Selene, how are you going to tell him?”
Grabbing the wine glass, I tip it back, downing most of it in one go. “I told him, and let’s just say…it didn’t go well. He hates me, Julia, and I know I deserve it. Hell, I probably deserve to be stoned or hanged or—”
“Okay, let’s not get too carried away.”
I blow out a sigh. “I know I deserve a lot worse, but it still hurts. His anger toward me. For the first time since I was that idiotic young girl, End was seeing me. I was the girl he wanted. He was chasing me.”
“Just give him time. Let him be angry, Sel. He has every right to be.”
“I know. I just wish it didn’t hurt so much.”
Julia scoots her chair next to me and wraps her arm around my shoulders, pulling me into her side. I rest my head on her shoulder, trying to hold back a fresh wave of tears. “Even though you’re an asshole who has been keeping major secrets from me, I still love you. You have a good heart and the sweetest soul. He’ll see that sooner rather than later. I promise.”
“Have I told you how much I love you lately?”
Julia’s chest vibrates with a laugh. “Not nearly enough, babe. You got a ton of repenting to do.”
“Don’t I know it.”
I keep my finger hovered over the call button, unsure if I should wait for him to make the first move. He dropped the lawyer bomb on me earlier today, so a part of me feels like I should wait for him to come to me, but if this is going to work, he needs to spend time with Luna. Especially now that she knows the truth.
Well, most of it anyway.
Just do it. For Luna.
Swallowing my pride, I dial the number my father gave me earlier. After my talk with Luna this morning, we had McDonald’s for breakfast, then I let her run amok to play. While she was playing, I asked Dad for End’s number. I noticed there was a bit of hesitation in his eyes, but I tried not to read too much into it. I’ve been sitting on the number for what feels like hours, all because I’m afraid of what End will have to say.
With my heart banging against my chest, I call the number and listen as the line rings once, twice, and a third time, before the deep voice erupts on the other end of the line.
“Black Construction, this is Endymion, how can I help you?”
I open my mouth, a hello, or something intelligible is on the tip of my tongue, but all that falls from my lips is a horrendous squeak. He sounds just as handsome on the phone as he does in real life. If possible, his voice even sounds deeper here. “Hello?” he calls again, this time a little louder with a hint of impatience in his tone.
“Endymion. Hi.” I pause, slamming my eyes shut as I try to gather my thoughts. “It’s Selene.”
Silence.
Deafening silence.
“You still there?” I ask, pulling the phone away from my ear. Glancing down at the screen, I check to see if he ended the call. He didn’t.
“I’m here,” he says, his voice sounding much gruffer than it did before. “What do you want?” I flinch at the ice in his tone. My grip tightens on my cell phone.
“I just wanted to tell you that I talked to Luna. She, um…she knows about you. And I know you’ve spent time with her before, but I thought it would be a good idea for both of you to spend some more time together.”
“When?”
“Whenever works best for you—”
“I can be there in a few,” he says, cutting me off. There’s a brusqueness to his tone. It’s almost like he doesn’t even want to hear me speak.
“Okay, cool. Great. This is great. Thank you.”
He scoffs. It’s such an ugly sound that stabs viciously at my soul. “Don’t thank me for spending time with my own daughter.”
With that, he clicks off, and I slam my eyes shut. I deflate