manages to force himself upright. “There’s someone here to see you.”
Avery blinks. “Um.”
“Your father’s with him right now. I…Avery.” She licks her lips. “You didn’t say he was…such a distinguished gentleman.”
It hits him all at once because there’s only one man in the world that would make his mother look like that. Alejandro is gorgeous and rich—and he’s old, and he’s not Jewish. He’s so far out of her expectations for him, and he always knew it would be an issue, but he never ever imagined he’d have to deal with it like this.
And the fact that he’s here sends Avery’s heart hammering against the inside of his ribs, because why wouldn’t he just let him go? He knows that Alejandro has honor, but he also hoped he had enough kindness not to torture him like this.
“I can’t do this with you right now, Mom,” he manages. He puts a hand against the wall to keep himself steady, and he debates about having his dad just throw him out because not dealing sounds so fucking much better than dealing. But he’s an adult. A young one, but still. “Send him back here?”
She opens her mouth like she wants to argue then seems to think better of it. Maybe it’s the open heartbreak on his face, or maybe she just trusts him. He’ll ask her later, because the only thing that matters is that she nods and takes a step away. “Alright.”
He’s shaking so hard his jaw is chattering, so he sits in the desk chair and clasps his hands, pressing them between his knees. He closes his eyes because he’s not ready to see him, and his pulse feels like it’s going to burst through his neck when he hears the door to his room open and then shut with a soft click.
Alejandro’s feet are without his shoes, because he can hear the way his socks slide across the thin carpet. And then the bed creaks as he sits.
“I wasn’t sure I should come,” is the first thing he says, and it stabs through Avery like a knife. “I…I called.”
“I know,” Avery chokes out.
“I texted. Quite a lot.”
He knows that too, even if he didn’t check them. “I’ve had my phone off. I’m…I couldn’t.” He stops and forces his eyes open. At first glance, Alejandro looks the way he always does—pristine, perfect, carved from marble. And then Avery notices little details. Like how his hands are shaking too, how he clearly hasn’t shaved all week, how his hair is lacking product, and his eyes are dark with sleepless circles.
He looks messier than Avery has ever seen him—and sadder too.
“What are you doing here?” he finally asks.
Alejandro swallows thickly. “My heart is a fool.” He drags his tongue over his bottom lip. “It wouldn’t let me rest until I knew the truth.”
Avery flinches because he can’t help it, and he sits back. “Does it know now? Did he take you back?”
The silence between them is profound, and Alejandro’s jaw works like he’s trying to speak but can’t. After a beat, he clears his throat. “Who are you talking about, Avery? Did who take me back?”
He wants to tell Alejandro to stop saying his name, because it’s just so damn hard to hear. Instead, he drags a hand down his face and lets out a ragged sigh. “Connor. I…I mean I’m assuming he will. I heard you talking to him, so…” He stops and shrugs, but doesn’t finish his sentence. There’s not really anything left to say.
Alejandro stares for what feels like an eternity. Then he opens his jacket and pulls out a folded stack of papers from his inside pocket. “I need you to sign these before we keep talking.”
Avery doesn’t need to look at them to see what they are. He’s terminating the contract because of course he is. Why wouldn’t he? He doesn’t need Avery to fill silences when there won’t be any more. His hand shakes as he spreads them on the desk, and he fumbles for a pen.
“You should read it first,” Alejandro says.
Avery laughs. “I know what’s on it. We had an agreement.”
“I’ve made an amendment.” Alejandro’s words are stiff, like the period at the end of a sentence, and it’s enough that Avery flips through and then his eyes widen when they land on the pay-out line.
Zero dollars and zero cents.
Nothing. He gets nothing.
The cruelty of it is almost profound, and everything feels like it’s crashing around him because what does that mean? Was it