AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I choke as I try and force back a sob and wrap his hand with mine. “I love you too, buddy, so much.”
“And if Linc doesn’t love you then I don’t want to see his stupid face.”
I know I should correct him and tell him it’s wrong to call anyone stupid, but it feels so good to have him in my corner that I let it go.
He heads to school with a smile this time and I have hope that I might get some remnants of my life back one day. Not my heart, that will forever belong to Lincoln. I head to the park for some fresh air as I’ve done every morning after school drop-off. I can’t stand being in my apartment alone and people-watching allows me to weave happy stories around the people I see here.
It’s the end of summer, and the fall is starting to push its way in, but the summer isn’t quite done and it’s a beautiful day as I sit and watch the dogs play and little kids giggle with the excitement of youth.
I feel her before I see her, and I tense, wanting to run away but also wanting to cry and beg her to tell me how Linc is doing.
“Can I sit?”
I shrug at Audrey who takes it as my assent. Silence fills the air for a few minutes until I can’t take it a second longer. “What do you want?”
“How are you?”
I turn to look at this formidable woman who runs an empire and goes toe to toe with the biggest hitters in the city without flinching and see unease in her expression. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not.”
I look away, shaking my head. “Why did you ask if you knew the answer?”
“I wanted to see if you’d lie to me.”
“What does it matter?”
“It doesn’t but I thought we were friends.”
I sigh and cross my arms over my midsection. “We were, but you’re Lincoln’s cousin.”
“I know and that’s the only reason that asshole still has balls.”
A laugh escapes me, and I look at her with a tilt of my head. “Don’t stop on my account.”
“Nah, it feels too much like kicking a puppy right now. He has no defenses.”
My mood sobers at the thought, and I have to harden my heart not to ask if he’s okay.
“He misses you.”
“No, he misses easy sex.”
“He made a mistake. He saw you with Hudson and instead of talking to you like a normal human being, he went off the deep end.”
“Yeah, I heard. That doesn’t excuse what he did. But it’s not even that, although that hurt like a bitch. It was the way he spoke to me and the things he said.”
“He regrets it.”
“I’m sure he does, but I can’t forgive him. I won’t give him the chance to do it to me again.”
“He loves you.”
I shake my head, my hair flying around my face as tears prick my eyes and clog my nose. “No, he doesn’t get to use that as a way out of this. You don’t hurt the people you love. You protect them at all costs.”
“True, but you left him before and it almost broke him.”
“That wasn’t my fault, I had no choice and anyway, he had Arabella.”
