“But to answer your question, no. We are…in somewhat of a disagreement currently.”
“About me?” You don’t have to be a mind reader to understand that.
“Yes.”
“He didn’t share with you why I left.”
He lifts his chin, looking down at me now, and I hate it. I hate this coldness from someone I used to hold so close. But I can’t blame him. He thinks I left Ev, left him without any justifiable reason or explanation.
“Does it matter? You ran, Leo, after you promised me you wouldn’t.”
“I know, Gage. I’m sosor—”
“Don’t!” He slams his fist onto the table, rattling my mug and drawing eyes of all those around us,
I catch Cole removing the portafilter from the machine and shake my head at her.
“Don’t you dare say you’re fucking sorry, Leo. Words mean shit, and your words mean even less.”
The hatred in his tone hurts, but he doesn't know. He’s hurt, but more than that, he is scared. He is scared that I am going to break Ev, break my promise that I made him. So I let him get it out, and then I’ll put him in his place like I know he needs. Gage feeds off fear. He wants to draw it out of you, but if you’re bold enough to stand up to him, show him that you are strong enough, that’s how you gain his respect.
“You ran with his son. How could you do that? You knew better than anyone how much Everett wanted a family, a life with you, and you ran like a fucking coward. And you left me.” His voice breaks with that last admission. “We grew so close, Leo. I trusted you, confided in you about my dad. I found in you someone who understood me, and you fucking left.”
“Are you done being a dick so I can tell you the truth?”
His eyes shift from dark to deviant. He’s pushing me, seeing if I still have fight in me after all these years.
He is silent, allowing me my time to find my strength. “I did hide my pregnancy from Ev, and the night I was going to tell him, Ev’s mom found me at work and gave me a letter that Ev wrote. The letter was for Natasha, ending things with her, but his mom played it like he wrote it to me. She also told me that Ev knew about thebaby. Everything aligned so perfectly that I missed the small signs that Ev never wrote that letter for me. So I did what I thought I had to do to protect Rune. Yes. I ran. And I could have done many things different over the years, but like I said then and I’m going to say now… I don’t have to defend my relationship with Ev to you. So you can either accept my apology, because I am really fucking sorry that all this happened, and be an uncle to Rune, or you can back the fuck off.”
He doesn’t break eye contact with me, his face like stone, not giving me an ounce of what he is feeling. Where Ev is expressive in every line of his face, Gage is solid. If he doesn’t want you to know what he is thinking or feeling, you never will.
But then a smirk pulls at his lips, even though his eyes are still dangerous. “God, I missed you, Leo.”
I release the breath I was holding. Telling Gage off is like clipping a wire on a bomb. You never know if it's the right move till you do it.
His whole body relaxes, and I can see my Gage again. I can tell he has been through some stuff since I last saw him, but he is still my teddy bear under it all.
“Why are you and Ev fighting?”
“Because I found you four years ago and didn’t tell him.”
Okay, I was expecting him to say he wrecked his car or something, not that.
“You found me four years ago and you didn’t tell him! Gage! How could you! Now I’m fucking pissed off at you.”
He just shrugs and looks out the window like I’m a fly that landed on him, not a raging mama bear who just found out that Ev could have been in his son’s life four fucking years ago!
“Gage!” My furious voice brings his eyes back to mine. “Don’t pretend like you don’t care with me, Gage Eros. We both know it’s a mask.”
He rolls his eyes. “Ev had me searching every day for you. For four years, I couldn’t track you. Which, by the way, was really fucking irritating for a guy like me. But then you changed your name. There was finally something on you. I was so pissed off at you, Leo. I didn’t trust you and I didn’t want you near him, but I felt fucking awful hiding you from him, so I came here. I saw Rune. I heard him call you mommy, and I assumed… “
It all clicks into place.
“You assumed I had moved on and started a family with someone else.”
“I was just trying to protect Everett. Seeing you like that, I felt rejected. Like we weren't good enough for you so you found someone better. I had to protect him from feeling that way, Leo. I didn’t know Rune was Everett’s. I was too blinded by my anger and jealousy that I didn’t think about how old the kid was.”
I lay my hand on his, and he pulls it away. Before I left, I was able to help Gage with his fear of touch, but I guess we have regressed, understandably so.
