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Owen groaned. “Fine. But all of your little tactics tosavehim won’t work anyway. I happen to know that there’s a birthday party that requires his presence. I’d ask you to tell him happy birthday but I think I can just do that myself.” My eyes widened in horror as I heard the sound of a door opening and Owen greeting someone. When I heard ‘Ada’, I hung up and dialed Gianni. Goddamnit, we had sent Rhys right into that one.
Chapter thirty-five
GIANNI
I hadn’t seen him sleep well in the past few days so I felt pretty proud of the fact that his cute little snores permeated the room long after I was supposed to wake him. He needed the sleep and he would have never let us keep him in bed this long had he known that it was five minutes to eight. When Rhys opened his eyes, a slight glaze covering his normally vibrant pupils, I couldn’t help but kiss him. We had maneuvered around until he was sprawled on top of me like the most precious blanket and fuck, I never wanted to move.
Knowing that if we didn’t make it to his parents’ house in a reasonable amount of time, they’d start asking questions, I slowly let him go because that’s the last thing we wanted. I stole a few more kisses along the way before we made it down the stairs, Paval devouring what looked like his second bowl of ice cream that was most certainly going to ruin his dinner. It was worth it though, seeing the smile creeping onto Rhys’ face and especially when I watched him hop over to Dmitri and grab a kiss before slipping outside.
Shocked as I was, I tried to mask it, giving Dmitri a chaste kiss as well before following our fourth to the car. The truck was gone which meant Valentyn was still out so we’d have to take the jeep. I had a mind to call Valentyn and ask for a status but he’d update us as needed.
The ride to Rhys’ parents’ house was silent, Rhys nervously drumming along the dashboard as we pulled into a massive driveway. I had to look at the address he had given me twice to make sure because holy shit his parents were loaded. He gave me a sheepish smile as he slid out of the car and I made my way over to him. “I think we all kind of forgot to wish you a happy birthday, Rhys.” I kissed him, slowly and thoroughly until he was whining against the door and chasing my lips once I pulled away.
“As much as I love the kiss, can we forget about the birthday part? I know it’s supposed to be a happy thing but it’s mostly just bad memories and—shit.” His gaze fell on one of the vehicles behind me but I didn’t get a chance to ask as I whipped out my phone, Valentyn’s number rolling across the screen.
“What? Shit, yeah, I think we figured that out.” The visible terror on Rhys’ face told me that he had already clocked Owen’s arrival. I turned back to Rhys, placing a gentle hand on the middle of his chest to calm his breathing. “Hey, we don’t have to go in there. We can go back home.” I shouldn’t have said ‘home’ but it just slipped out. Rhys didn’t respond, still staring at the red Toyota Camry parked closest to the door. I grunted as Valentyn mentioned that it should be Rhys’ choice but that I should be ready on a dime to leave before hanging up.
Rhys took a deep breath and pushed up off the car, all the work from this afternoon undone by a simple appearance from Owen. “No… I need to say things. I have to let him know… I…”
He wasn’t thinking straight and I had no idea where this was going to leave us but I’d stand by him 100%. “You don’t have to do this, Rhys.”
“I… think I need to.” It was the last words he spoke before we walked into the house.
Chapter thirty-six
RHYS
The family was cackling and laughing as Owen told a story about how I had nearly burned down the kitchen while trying to make mac n cheese, putting it on for 30 minutes rather than 3 minutes in the microwave. The worst part was the fact that I didn’t make mac n cheese, in fact, it was one of the few dishes that Owenonlymade when he was trying to apologize. My entire house had smelled like burnt cheese for a week, reminding me of yet another terrible night in my life. It had been another one of those moments where he had been physically abusive and then tried to apologize with food.
It hadn’t worked and I had locked him out of my room for three days before letting him back in. It was becoming glaringly more obvious that I never truly forgave him after every incident; he just found a way to worm his way back into my head and I let him stay there until he hurt me again.
Liam caught me as I walked on, “We can call the police.”
I just shook my head. “I’m not staying.”
Joey saw me next, greeting me at the door with a wild smile. “Happy birthday.” My entire family chorused through their own greetings, Dad and my niece, Tia suspiciously absent. I suspected that they were on a grandfather/grandkid outing of their own since the festivities always ran late and Ada hated Tia around alcohol. Mom twisted around to look at me, perched right by Owen, her hands in his, a frown on her face as Gianni came into view.
Gianni tightened his grip around my waist, daring anyone to say something, which of course my mother took as a challenge. “Owen was nice enough to stop by, sweetie. Even brought you a bouquet. Who is this?”
Owen had wormed his way into my family too and I had no idea how to undo that. They all saw him as this perfect boyfriend and me as the kid who had never been able to get my act together. I hated it. “My boyfriend,” I spat. Gianni leaned in to kiss my cheek, selling it as best he could but I knew that that was more for my confidence than anything.
Owen laughed and stood up, grabbing the bouquet he had bought. “You can stop the jealous act, Rhys. We get it. I made a few mistakes but I’m here now, alright?”
A few mistakes?I didn’t want to air our dark past in front of my entire family but it was a better place than any because maybe for the first time, they’d finally understand that Owen wasn’t the angel he professed to be. “It’s not an act. I broke up with you months ago.” My voice wavered but I didn’t step back so I called that a win.
Owen moved toward me, placing the bouquet in my hands. “Sweetheart,” his eyes darted to Gianni and he stepped back, out of reach. “Stop playing. It’s not funny anymore. Your family is worried.I’mworried.” Owen still terrified me a little but thank god for my bitch of a sister as she tried to clean up a mess that she was partly responsible for.
“Lay off him, Owen. This is his birthday and we’re here to celebrate him. You can figure out the relationship when you guys leave tonight.”
“No!” I slapped my hands over my mouth, not meaning to yell it because now everyone’s eyes were on me and my mother was standing up, wondering if I needed more help than she already thought I needed. “There will be no figuring it out. I… don’t want him here.”
Owen snorted, pointing at Gianni. “So, you’d rather choose the conquest you picked up a few days ago, instead? Ada told me all about the little family you flung in her face. Where’s the boy by the way?”
I knew for a fact that no one knew that Ada and him talked regularly for them to be sharing that kind of information. Strangely, it was Mom and not Ada's husband, Ernest, who asked the next question. “What is he talking about?” Ada sputtered some excuse, waving her hands frantically to dispel an argument that was only going to be postponed.
Gianni shook his head, chuckling. “Is this a good time to mention that Ada and Owen have been… acquainted? Or the restraining order?” It was one hell of an entrance as Gianni puffed out his chest, standing a few inches taller, the look in his eyes darkening until they were almost murderous. Liam and Joey confirmed Gianni’s statements, silence meeting the announcement.
Mom let out a deep sigh, the house quiet except for Owen shuffling from foot to foot. Gianni was chomping at the bit, hoping to do some damage but I could still see the minor bruising around Owen’s face and knew for a fact that if Gianni let loose, he would be in jail by the end of the night.
