I breathed at all, racing down the hall to find Aiden outside the kitchen.
“Is that…?”
His brown eyes flickered, waves of emotion surfacing and fading. The most prevalent being anger. “It’s him.”
I drew a shuddering inhale, then let it barrel free when Everett pounded on the door. “Open the door, you fuck.”
“I don’t know what to do.” My voice and the fluttering of my heart were weak.
Aiden’s lips pinched, and then he started pacing. “I can’t make that decision for you.”
Why did it suddenly feel like I was standing upon a precipice, where one wrong move could cost me more than I might be able to bear?
“Aiden—”
“You can’t leave him banging on your damn door all night. Answer it, or I’ll tell him to get lost again.”
I knew he wouldn’t leave, not until he saw me, which was only reaffirmed when he shouted, “I’ll stay out here all night, Stevie. Not like I’ve got any place to be.”
What was he doing? Just showing up here like this and knocking on my door like nothing had happened?
As if he hadn’t left me for months.
Anger had my hand gripping the door handle, and I pulled it open to find Everett stubbing out a cigarette, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. “You didn’t last long this time.”
A wisp of a smile shaped his lips when he turned and saw me, then it fell, his mouth opening and a harsh breath caving his chest when his eyes dropped to my stomach.
They glassed over, and he took a staggering lurch forward as though he’d reach out and touch it.
I stepped back, clinging to the door to keep me upright.
He met my gaze then, his own still wet, his corded throat constricting. “You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, but that stomach, our baby… holy fuck, Stevie.”
He stepped forward again, and I held out my hand. “Don’t touch me.”
Scraping a hand through his hair, he blinked, and, feeling Aiden at my back, it seemed to register.
He didn’t look drunk, but he did look different. His stubble clipped back, showing the square angles of his shifting jaw and his complexion. It was sun-kissed and clear, almost as clear as his bottle green eyes that changed as each second ticked by. From relief to joy to regret, and finally, settling on anger.
“He needs to leave. Now.”
“He is taking me to dinner.” Why I felt the need to stab him a little deeper and twist the knife, I didn’t know. No, wait. I did. He’d ruined me, flayed me open time and time again. Then left me half dead on the ground for the flies to feast on what remained. Now he was back and making demands? “You’re the one who needs to leave.”
Thick brows gathered. “You’re not even going to ask me where I’ve been?”
“Like it’ll be much different to all the other times.”
He flinched, a sharp laugh escaping as he rubbed his jaw and swayed back. “Right, of course.”
“You fucking broke me, Everett. For the last time.”
“Stevie,” Aiden cut in.
Everett growled. “I broke you? I show up here, after missing you for months, and this same asshole is still trying to take what’s mine.”
“You two need to talk,” Aiden said, gently clasping my arm. “I’ll only make it worse.”
Then he was shouldering by Everett, stalking down the paved path to his car.
“Jesus.” I ran my hands through my hair, disbelief attacking every breath. “I swear you plan this shit. You always wait until I’m functioning like a semi-normal human—”
Everett’s voice lowered, his chest heaving as he visibly tried to calm himself. “Did you get my four-leaf clover?”
“Fuck your clover. If you think what I need is a weed in place of a supportive partner who won’t bail on me, you’re even more delusional than I originally thought.” The words tore out of me, cutting and slicing, jagged and loud, and had Everett’s expression blanking.
“You think pretty damn highly of me, don’t you?” he asked, tone dry.
My voice was caked in tears. “I once thought the world of you. I thought there was nothing you couldn’t do, that you were magic just waiting to be discovered. But every chance you got, you set that adoration, that love on fire and never stuck around to watch me burn.” My words cracked. “So no, Everett. The days of me thinking highly of you are over. And you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.” I marched forward and stabbed a finger at his chest. “So don’t you dare do