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My heart bleeds when he sees and recognizes me. Wearing jeans and a faded plaid shirt in shades of gray and green, he is no longer the dashing man who once had me for what was supposed to be a lifetime. His stubble is growing into a full, unkempt beard, and his eyes look tired, shadows arching beneath them.
“Oh, wow, I didn’t think I’d find you so quickly,” Elijah says.
He’s mere feet away, and I cannot, for the life of me, muster a reaction. Connie stands nearby, watching us both with confusion and curiosity. I can still hear Samantha talking Noah’s ear off close to the reception desk, but I don’t know if Noah can see us. What would he say if he knew who this man was? What would his reaction be? Would it even matter? I glance back and see Isaac standing next to Noah. Both of them can see me. And they can definitely see Elijah.
I feel like I’m alone in the eye of a dangerous storm. The present and the past have decided to join forces and throw me for a loop while I struggle to look forward into an increasingly uncertain future.
17
Isaac
“Who’s that?” I ask my brother.
We’re eyeing the dude with sharp interest. I barely notice Samantha still moaning about not getting what she wants—then again, I’m used to her as background noise. Once she realizes it’s not going to work out the way she wanted, she’ll either take what we have or piss off. Right now, I need her to piss off because I can’t focus on her or anybody else’s whims.
“I don’t know,” Noah says.
But I think we do know. I think we can tell from how Stella has frozen before him. The shock and pain I see in her eyes is something I never wish to see again. It’s making my heart twist itself into an agonizing knot, my stomach churn, and my nerves ignite all over. And he has some familiar features I’ve seen before. The eyes, the curls, the lines of his face. I’ve seen bits of him in Lucas and Ava. His children.
“Elijah,” I hear Stella say. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” he replies.
Noah is about to walk over to them, but I pull him away and back into his office.
“Excuse me, we were talking!” Samantha scoffs. But I can’t even be bothered at this point. My blood is boiling as I close the office door behind us, leaving Stella to deal with her ex-husband.
“What the hell?” Noah asks, downright outraged.
“Hold your horses,” I tell him. “Think about it for a moment.”
Noah scoffs, his eyes wide with fury. It’s always been strange to see myself like this—because we’re twins, I know each of his expressions is identical to mine. It’s as if I grew up with my own reflection, and Noah grew up with his through me. The familiarity we share, our blood bond, they’re powerful and transcending. We’re able to read ourselves by reading each other, and I’m well aware we’re both angry right now.
Our first instinct is to go out there and kick the bastard out.
“What could he possibly want from her?” Noah asks. He’s been giving it a moment’s thought, as well. “How could he have found her? Stella said she didn’t want anybody to know where she’s staying. Only Theo knew.”
Then it hits me. “Theo.”
“She wouldn’t have told him,” Noah says.
I shake my head and take my phone out. As soon as I find her number in my contacts, I call her. Fortunately, she picks up right away. “Hey, Theo, it’s Isaac.”
“Hey, you! I know it’s you, though. I have your number saved,” she laughs. “What’s up? Is everything okay?”
“Not sure,” I reply, putting her on speaker so Noah can hear. “I wanted to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
“How did Elijah find out Stella is staying here?”
A sudden and heavy silence follows. Then a sharp sigh. “Oh, God. He found her.”
“He did, yes. Should we be concerned?” I ask.
“I don’t know what to tell you. Stella wanted nothing to do with that man, but he’s still Lucas and Ava’s father. Parental rights and whatnot,” she says. “He’s been calling me, trying to reach her, but I only reminded him to call her attorney. I doubt her attorney would breach professional ethics in such an egregious manner, though.”
“Did you post anything from your last visit here?” Noah asks. “On social media, I mean.”
