AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Could’ve been a messy divorce.”
I stop myself from telling him about her being locked up. I’ll save that for another time. “There’s something I’m missing. He shuts down anytime I bring it up, and he does the same with Kyle.” I gulp and stop to determine if he can handle my next question. “How did you heal … you know … when you were broken?”
“I fell in love again.”
He tips his beer toward Willow. She’s in the yard with my dad now.
“She’s who healed me.” He goes on after taking a drink, “If Gage is broken, be his Willow. Don’t push him, because admitting you’re hurting takes time and courage.”
Twenty-Four
Gage
“You’ll makea great father one day.”
I tried.
I fucking tried.
And failed.
I don’t deserve to be a father.
Had that chance.
Fucked it up.
I stomp through the front door, chug down a glass of water, and rest my forehead against the cool countertop.
The five words that haunt me daily drift through my mind.
“What did you do, Missy?”
I throw my glass across the kitchen, hearing it shatter against the wall, hoping it does the same to those words crammed into my mind forever. I stare at the wall as if I’m stuck in a daze, wondering when the pain, the memories, the guilt will finally end.
Never.
My failure to protecthimwill haunt me forever.
I don’t move until I hear voices outside. I creep to the window that overlooks the driveway. Lauren is strapping Maven into the backseat of the SUV while Willow concentrates on getting Samuel into his car seat. Lauren slides into the passenger seat and slams the door shut.
It’s not until the car pulls away that I start to pick up the broken glass from the floor. Lauren has every right to be angry with me. I should tell her abouthim, but I can’t.
Can’t open those wounds.
She’d understand. She’d comfort me. She’d also look at me differently. I have yet to come to terms with what happened, so bringing someone else into it would only cause more damage. She doesn’t deserve that in her life.
Doesn’t deserve being around a broken son of a bitch.
* * *
“Hey, Pa, how are you feelin’?”
I drop the box of pizza I carried out on the table and start dragging out plates.
I haven’t talked to Lauren since I sped out of the loft as if I were on fire. There’s no way my behavior didn’t embarrass her. I’d finally gotten my girl back, had her in my arms, my bed, and I ruined it. I tried to handle my shit, but it was impossible.
Holding Samuel and hearing Willow say he was drawn to me was too hard on my heart. She was wrong. So fucking wrong.
