I love you. More than anyone. (Except Ezra. lol)
Please take care of our baby.
Love, Gemma
I set the letter on the ottoman, but Tristan made no move to pick it up. “She wants me to raise him.” I stood and paced the room. “And all I can think about is why the fuck did she leave me?” I broke down crying. “Why did she have to die, man? I’m not ready to live in a world without her.”
Duke pulled me into a hug, placing his hand on my head. Soon, Dex and Tristan joined him, wrapping their arms around me. Then I cried for my friend, for the person who accepted me completely, for the person who never held a grudge when I was an asshole, for the friend who made me laugh when I wanted to cry, for the woman who made every other woman work harder to get my attention.
And for the son who would never know what it felt like to be loved by her.
She was the shit.
“I’m gonna miss her,” I whispered.
“I know, man,” Duke said. “But we’re here for you.”
“No matter what,” Dex added.
Tristan squeezed my shoulder. “Every damn day for the rest of your life.”
And for the first time since I’d seen Gemma’s lifeless body in that hospital bed, I felt peace. Because I knew for sure everything was going to be alright.
five
FATHER IN YOU
LARISSA
Icould sleep if my phone stopped ringing.
Groaning, I rolled over, kicking the thin sheet off. The last few years had been one long night sweat. Which was why I’d started sleeping naked. Mostly, it worked. Except when it was still too hot to breathe.
It would’ve been so much easier if I didn’t have an aversion to sleeping without a cover of some sort. Call me crazy, but I hated the thought of someone walking into the house and finding me knocked out with no clothes on. Or even worse? A robber could break in. Not that a flimsy piece of fabric would protect me.
It was a mind thing.
My phone started ringing again. What the hell was I thinking by not putting it on silent?
“What?” I shouted into the receiver.
“Are we yelling at mothers now?”
Sitting up straight, I peered at the screen. Noon?Shit, I’m late.“I’m sorry, Mom,” I grumbled, sliding off the bed. “Are you here?”
My mother had sent her itinerary as soon as she booked her flight. Her flight was scheduled to land at eleven-forty a.m. It wasn’t like me to sleep through my alarm. Hell, it wasn’t like me to sleep past six o’clock.
“Are you still at home? Mom asked.
“I’m on my way.” I tripped over a slipper on my way to the bathroom and nearly slid across the floor. My phone did, though. Crawling toward it, I picked it up. “Sorry, dropped my phone.”
“I’ll grab breakfast in the lounge.” I heard the click of heels as she walked. “Maybe they have an opening for a massage.”
“Okay,” I mumbled around my toothbrush. “I’ll be there soon.”
The heat from my shower ruined my silk press. The hot girl summer I had envisioned had officially turned into a hotflashsummer. The central air was on, but I couldn’t seem to cool down.
Every attempt to flat iron my hair failed. I couldn’t get a single strand to curl. I peered up at the ceiling.
