AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“For the duck. Goose gets rowdy at night. I think it has to do with his trauma.”
“I’m not even going to ask,” Kon sighs, taking a step away. “I’m going back to bed.”
Chase absently bobs his head, their interaction too familiar to be a one-time thing. Kon lingers a moment, his eyes narrowed on me, his face etched with questions. Luckily, he decides not to voice any of them and grumbles a half-hearted goodnight before disappearing from the room on silent feet.
“I guess you can stay,” Chase mutters, still looking beyond uncomfortable. I scuff my foot on the ground, feeling equally weird.
Maybe I should have just stayed home.
Was I just overreacting?
Isaac’s words still hurt, and Roman’s one-upping game with his father still stings. But…was it that bad?
I could’ve gotten over it. Right?
Oli tosses her head back, laughing. The sound pulls me from my thoughts, and I blink as she slaps Chase on his six—no eight pack.
“It’s funny you think you had a choice in the matter, big bro.” Her eyes find mine over her shoulder. “Come on, bitchpants. I’ll show you to Roman’s room.”
“No!” Chase and I shout at the same time. Our gazes collide and for the first time tonight, I think we might be on the same page. Swallowing, I search the room for what I’m looking for and point to a pretty suede couch. “The sofa’s fine. I don’t need anything special. I’m just tired.”
I fold my arms over my chest, fighting the urge to completely curl in on myself when he finally takes me in. His head tilts to the side, his blue eyes narrowing to thin slits, no doubt assessing my red, swollen eyes, messy hair, and random clothes that are nothing like my usual style.
Chase heaves a sigh and nods. “The couch in the loft is way more comfortable and no—“ He breaks off, his jaw tensing, and I wonder if the words he left unspoken are no one’s fucked on it.
Then, I wonder if the no one he’s referring to is Roman. Before I can spiral all over again, Chase picks up Oli’s assortment of bags and leashes and spins on his heel.
“Go get settled, Eve. I’ll be back with blankets. Oli and I need to have a little chat.”
My best friend cackles and shoots me a wink before skipping away, her flock of animals right behind her.
The second they’re gone, my shoulders slump and my body caves in on itself.
I’m not even halfway up the loft stairs before the first tear slides down my cheek.
“Seriously, Chase?” Oli shouts, shooting to her feet as she points an accusatory finger at Kon. “Are you really going to let your boyfriend kick your nephew?”
Kon grumbles something under his breath but ignores the chaos around him as he continues to plate eggs while carefully dodging Robert’s unrelenting affections.
“First of all, Kon isn’t kicking Robert, but if you’re that worried, put him in his playpen.” Chase points to the next-level setup that appeared sometime between last night and when I woke up this morning. It’s kind of adorable, to be honest. “And second,” he crosses his arms over his chest, thankfully covered by a blue t-shirt today, “Kon isn’t my boyfriend.”
My eyes flick to Kon just in time to see him stiffen, but he shakes it off almost immediately.
“Oh, that’s right,” she murmurs, her lips tipping up in a slow grin that promises no one will like the next words from her mouth. “He’s your daddy.”
Chase gapes at her and Kon mutters something in Russian. Cackling, she drops to her chair and turns to me with a wink.
Sighing, I wrap my fingers around the cup of coffee Chase wordlessly handed me a few minutes ago, the ceramic hot against my skin. I spin the white and black polka dot cup around, my fingers skimming the uneven surface. My stomach drops when I see the large yellow smiley face staring back at me, mocking me, laughing at me.
I push the cup away.
God, it’s like the happy is following me.
Kon gives me a weird look as he sets a plate in front of me. My smile is just as fake as the one on the cup as I murmur my thanks and quickly look away.
I barely slept last night. Between the fits of restlessness and anxiety, there were bouts of heartbreak that had silent tears pooling on my pillow.
I didn’t break. Not yet. Maybe never.
