Page 35 of No Going Back

I hold my hand up, palm out, firm. “Don’t come near me.”

Hannah pales, eyes widening. “What?”

Cole closes the door behind her with a quiet click and moves to sit on the couch, closest to where I’m standing, for support. I resist the urge to crawl under his hoodie and let him handle this; I need to do it myself.

“Hannah,” I say, voice steady despite the tremor in my hands, “Rosa called. She told me you dropped out of college.”

Her eyes go wide, shock flashing, then she fiddles with her hands, laughing it off like it’s nothing. “What? No… she’s just… she’s foreign, so she must have got mixed up.”

Cole scoffs quietly from the couch, disbelieving.

I cross my arms. “Really? Rosa seemed to speak perfectly fine English to me.”

Hannah clears her throat, pout forming, classic manipulation, eyes big and shiny. “Okay… yes, she’s right.” She steps closer, hands reaching like she wants to touch me. “I just didn’t want you to be disappointed in me.”

I laugh, bitterly. “And the fact that your mom isn’t getting better? That this is a short trip before you leave again?”

She keeps coming, hands out. “I’m going to keep coming back. I’ll come as often as I can…”

“That’s close enough, Hannah.” I hold my palm out to stop her. “You’re never coming back here again.”

Her face crumples. “What?”

Then the tears start, big, dramatic, and heartbreaking if I hadn’t seen the truth. I’ve never seen this side of her: selfish, manipulative, and fake. The innocent act cracks wide open.

Cole’s voice cuts through from the couch, disgusted. “Jesus Christ, Hannah. What the fuck happened to you?”

She whips her head toward him. “What?”

He laughs, incredulous. “Hannah, we know. We know you’re trying to trick Remy into getting you pregnant. He found the fucking ovulation tests and your creepy notes.”

Her eyes go wide, shock and panic flashing. She stares at me. “Can we talk about this in private?”

Cole and I share a look, a silent agreement, neither of us is letting that happen.

“No,” I say. “Cole stays.”

She throws her hands up. “For fuck’s sake, Remy! You two are separate people… you do know that, right?!”

Her hands fly to her mouth, shocked at her own outburst, the mask slipping completely.

My eyebrows shoot up. “Wow.”

I move straight to Cole and sit on his knee without hesitation. He wraps his arms around my waist instantly, pulling me back against his chest like a shield.

Hannah swallows hard, frown deepening. She still doesn’t see it… the chemistry, the way we fit. She just thinks we’re, “constantly together.”

“Fine. Whatever.” She crosses her arms. “But listen… my mom isn’t going to live much longer and I… I wanted her to experience me being pregnant. Going to scans with me. Seeing her grandchild… even if only before they’re born.”

I scoff, disgusted at her. “You’re fucking deranged, Hannah. You’ve lost your mind. I’m really sorry about your mom, but you’re willing to trap me and throw my whole life off course, for a few weird pregnant months with her?”

Cole rests his forehead against my back, inhaling sharp, like he’s holding back his own anger.

Hannah steps closer. “Remy, listen…”

The way she says it, so condescending, so patronising, snaps something in me.

“Get the fuck out,” I say, voice low and final. “And leave the key.”