“I don’t feel like it.”
Ronan shrugs. “Come on. It’s only a bit of fun.”
I huff and take it from his hands. “Fine.”
Silas explains what to do as I attempt to reload and duck behind walls, but my head is not in the game at all. My phonevibrates, and I glance over at it to find Maya’s name on the screen. I throw the controller like it’s a hot potato.
“What the hell?” Ronan calls out, his eyes on the screen. “Thompson, I needed your backup, asshole.”
I ignore him as I scramble for my phone and unlock the screen to read the message, my heart pounding in my throat.
Maya:
We should meet
Finn:
Yeah, sure. Where and when?
The three dots appear and disappear multiple times. I run my hands through my hair in anticipation.
Not with Skye
Okay
We should talk first
Sure. Where?
At the Oak Tree Café in an hour
I’ll be there
I stare at my phone for a long moment as I psych myself up. She could be telling me that she doesn’t want me anywhere near our daughter, that I’ve fucked up too badly to fix, that she’ll grow up without a dad.
My stomach bottoms out, and I take a steady breath.
“Where are you going?” Silas calls out as I leave the living room.
“Got places to be.”
“Where?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
I get ready in record time and check my watch every five minutes before heading out of the house. I arrive at the Oak Tree Café early and perch by the window. My leg jigs as I study every person who walks in and out.
My eyes move to my phone to distract myself, but I can’t focus on a single thing. The bell above the door rings, and I glance over to find Maya strolling towards me. Everything starts to slow when my eyes land on her face, with her hair swept back into a ponytail.
My lips part at the sight of her and the way my body immediately craves her affections, but I’ve sent us a thousand steps back. Despite the exhaustion on her face, light shines from behind when I look at her like it always has. My heart weeps because it knows she’s my future, the only future I’ll ever want.
And I chose to destroy myself instead.
I hop off the seat to greet her. “Hey.”
Maya purses her lips. “Hey.”
She sounds defeated, and that fills me with dread.
