Lines Drawn (Drawn to You #2) - Ker Dukey Page 0,5
let alone answer it, but the idea of it being her and missing it hurts my chest.
Brad. Perfect.
“Yeah?”
“Hey, man. I know the timing isn’t right but I have those documents that still need to be signed off.”
These are the things I should have been doing instead of wallowing in my own grief and misery. Work doesn’t stop. Life doesn’t stop just because bad shit happens to us. That’s a tough pill to swallow and makes me question if I want to spend all my time, effort, life in this business.
You give so much of yourself for your career, and what for? My dad died, and it isn’t his great business savvy that I remember about him, it’s his absence to be that successful.
Gaby’s face comes to mind, causing aggravation to simmer under my skin. I shouldn’t have let my anger out at her and Gav and created a mess between us all. A test would be simple enough to determine the truth, and instead, I blurted it out like I was telling them they shared a birthday or some shit, not a parent. Urgh. Scrubbing my hands down my face, I swipe the bottle up from where I’d placed it an hour or so before, and gulp the burning liquid down my throat. The door opens, causing the hair on my neck to stand up when I see Antonia’s mother.
It takes a second or two for her to notice me, and when she does, it’s apparent in her scowl.
“What are you doing here?” She berates me like she’s scolding a child. I want to fucking scream at her but words won’t form, and it’s because Antonia is behind her, pushing her to the side so she can face me.
She’s so stunning. Her face bare of make-up, her hair pulled back into a messy bun. She’s pale, and there are dark circles under her startling green eyes. She’s tired of me, and I just want to wrap her in my arms and sleep for a week, healing us.
“Fin,” she whispers, and it’s like oxygen being pumped into my lungs for the first time in days. The room spins slightly when I get to my feet and move towards her. She doesn’t stop me as I approach. She’s almost in my arms. Her scent invades my space, encompassing me and caressing my weakened soul.
She takes the last couple of steps towards me and collapses into me; the relief is almost crippling. The soft planes of her body curl into my own.
Her body shakes as she cries and I want to disappear with her, erase every ounce of pain and fill her with color and wonder.
“You need rest, Antonia.” Her mother breaks our moment, and I want to strangle her with my bare hands.
“I’m sorry,” Antonia mumbles, pulling away from my body.
It wasn’t enough time. I need to hold her longer.
She turns to her parents. “I can manage from here, Mum. Thank you, but I need to rest. I will see you both tomorrow.”
MY MOTHER’S JAW ALMOST comes unhinged, but my dad comes to my rescue, taking her by the wrist and showing her out.
“Call us if you need anything. We’re just a call away,” he assures me, before closing the door behind them.
Turning back to a defeated Fin, my chest constricts, squeezing the airways, trying to rob me of breath. I’m cruel for leaving him to face his own sorrow alone.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Why wouldn’t you see me? Did you blame me? Do you blame me for what happened?” His brows are crumpling his features. Unshed tears gloss the green of his eyes, like the color of fresh grass coated in rainwater.
Closing some of the distance I put between us, I reach for his hand, tightening it in my own. “No. God, no.” I inhale a deep breath. “I just knew if I saw you and saw your pain that it would all be real.” I shrug, shaking my head. “I couldn’t deal with it, and so I pushed everyone out. I’m sorry, Fin.” Choking on the words, tears burn in my eyes, and I struggle for breath.
Tugging on my hand, he pulls me into his body. The familiar feel of his chest against my cheek comforts me in a way I didn’t realise I’d missed this much. His scent cocoons me. I breathe him in, letting him steal me away from everything.
“We can try again,” he says against my hair, kissing my head. It takes a few seconds for his words to