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I shake my head and take another step forward. “Don’t you put that on me. I made a promise to keep Celine safe. Happiness was never part of the deal.”
Taylor freezes. “Still an asshole, I see.”
“Still a martyr, I see.” I straighten up tall, looming over her. “You did it your way, and it failed. Miserably. Now, it’s time to put an end to this.”
She fidgets with the hem of her uniform. “Y-you can see Adam—”
“‘See’ Adam?” I raise a brow. “I didn’t come all this way just to ‘see’ my son, Taylor.”
She backs away from me slowly. “What…what do you mean?”
“I came to bring him home.”
Even in the patchy darkness, I can see the shock on her face. The woman really is delusional if she thought I was here to check in and then leave without upending her perfect little farce of a happy ending.
“You can’t do that!” she blurts.
“I think you’ll find that I can. You’re welcome to come, too, but I’m taking Adam regardless.”
“Ilarion—”
“Look at your life, Taylor!” I spread my arms out as if the gesture will finally highlight everything she’s blind to. “You’re miserable here. Time to admit it and come home.”
“You’re not taking my son.”
I grab her arm and pull her into me. She hits my chest with a strangled gasp and I stare down into her beautiful green eyes. They’re just as deep and haunting as I remember.
“Here’s the thing, sweetheart: I’m not asking.”
11
TAYLOR
I stand there, shaking like a leaf, for a long time after Ilarion disappears.
Then I start running. I run back to the diner just long enough to grab my bike. Then I ride it home, reckless in my mad dash to get to my child.
I don’t bother locking my bike when I get home. I slide off, leave it sprawled across the grass, and sprint into the house. The moment I’m through the front door, I freeze.
The smell of freshly baked cookies hits my nostrils. I can hear the TV on in the next room. It’sCocomelon; that tune has been ingrained into my brain so deep that I hear it in my nightmares sometimes. I glance into the living room, and Dad spots me. He’s sitting beside Adam, reading a book on his Kindle while Adam stares transfixed at the screen.
Dad takes one look at me, and his face twists with unease.
“I’ll be right back, li’l man,” he says, patting Adam on the head before he leaves the living room to follow me upstairs.
“Taylor? Is everything alright?”
I don’t answer until I’m in my bedroom. It looks out over the street, so I walk over to the windows immediately and peek out through the closed blinds.
“That car down the road… Can you read the license plate number?”
Dad joins me at the window. “The Chevy? I’m not sure. Why? What’s going on?”
“I’m pretty sure it’s Ilarion’s,” I say, snapping the blinds shut. “Pretty sure he followed me here. Or put someone on me.”
“What in the world gives you that idea?”
I pace to the opposite end of the room. “The fact that he showed up at the diner today.”
