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“I just told him you never brought him around. That Cross is the only guy you’ve ever trusted with the family. Pretty much the same shit I told him before. I mean, seriously, what am I supposed to say to the guy?Hey, congrats on bagging my sister. Good job.Doesn’t really work that way.” He moves to walk away, but I step in his way.
“Leo,” I push him back, and he lets me. “Did you say Keith’s name? Like his actual name?”
“Jesus, Evie. Chill the fuck out. Your man has been in the NHL for a decade. He’s not gonna get all freaked-out because your ex went first round in the draft.”
“Did you use his name?” I seethe through gritted teeth.
“He did,” a voice answers from behind me, and I cringe.
This is so bad.
EVERLY
The car ride back to Cross’s house is driven in silence. Luckily, Bellamy was crashing on campus tonight with Caitlin, and Ares took his own car to the stadium, so he could skip dinner after and do whatever he does when he’s not home. He and I have a don’t ask, don’t tell understanding. It’s working so far. That left Cross and me and the kids, who both zonked out during the short drive from my parents’ back to their house.
The stormy sky looks ominous, which is pretty fucking fitting because the tension in the car is thick enough to cut with a dull butter knife. The awkward silence continues once the car is parked. Cross grabs Kerrigan, and I take Jax. We bring them both into the house, get them changed, and put them to bed.
Kerrigan goes without a problem, but Jax wants a bottle and a snuggle before he’ll let me put him down, and even then, I don’t want to let him go. Because once I do, I’m going to have to deal with his daddy. And I’m not sure how I feel about that. Fear is warring with anger, and I have no clue which is going to win out.
Cross watches me from Jax’s open doorframe, not saying a word as I rock his son, soaking in his sweet baby scent. Tryingto enjoy the calm innocence before the storm brewing inside and out explodes around us.
Once I’m sure he’s asleep, I lay him down in his crib and follow Cross into his bedroom. He’s sitting on his bed with his head in his hands when I walk in, and my stomach bottoms out as I reach for him. “Cross...”
“Don’t, Everly,” he bites back softly, but there’s no mistaking the anger in his tone. An anger I’m not used to hearing from him. “Were you ever going to tell me?”
“Tell you what?” I wrap my arms around myself defensively.
“Keith Dolan?” He looks up at me, and his onyx eyes are raging with the heat of a thousand scorched suns. His anger is so visceral, I have to look away before I get burned. “I know him. I play against him at the end of the week. How could you not tell me it was him?”
“What?” I step back, feeling the stinging slap of his words against my skin. “How could I not tell you? You’re kidding me, right?”
He looks completely wrecked when his eyes meet mine. “I promise you, baby, there isn’t a single thing about this I find funny. I want to kill him. Like with my bare fucking hands, kill him.”
“This isn’t about you, Cross. It never was. I didn’t tell you who he was because I didn’t want you or anyone else to know. And what you just said is my number one reason for keeping it to myself. If you kill him. Or hurt him. Or do anything stupid... If you do any of that, it ruins your life. It could potentially ruin the kids’ lives. And I have to go through the hell of reopening myself up to all this again. It’s not worth it.He’snot worth it. You are. And I refuse to let you get in trouble because of me.”
Cross runs his hands through his hair, tugging on it, frustration obviously eating him alive. “I will always protect you. You and the kids. You’re my world. Making sure you’re safe willalways...alwaysbe my number one priority. And this piece of shit made you feel unsafe. He took advantage of you. He?—”
“Don’t.” I hold out a shaky hand, stopping him. “Don’t say it. I know whathedid, Cross. I’ve lived with it. I’ve dealt with it. I’ve moved on. You don’t get to be mad at me because now you know who he is.” I ignore everything else he’s said. It’s so much easier to be mad at him right now, instead of feeling hurt or scared or guilt-stricken, even though I’m feeling all those things, rolled into one big, ugly black ball of pain and grief.
“But have you, Everly? Have you dealt with it?” Cross stands and moves in front of me, but he’s smart enough not to touch me.
Not yet.
Not right now.
“Yes. I’ve dealt with it. I talked to a therapist for a year, Cross. I’ve dealt with it. It might not be the way you want me to have. But I did deal with it. And I seriously can’t believe we’re arguing about this.” I’m so angry, I could scream or cry or hit something.
Any of those options work right now.
“Then why is he still walking around a free fucking man, baby? Why didn’t you go to the police? How could you not press charges?” he yells at me.
Actually yells, and I shrink in on myself for a second before anger blooms and I fight back. “No. You do not get to decide how I handle this. You weren’t there,” I snap, my stomach churning and threatening to bring up everything I’ve eaten today. “This didn’t happen to you. It happened tome. And I don’t want the world to know about it. I don’t want to tell my family. I don’t want my father and my brothers to look at me differently. I don’t want people to pity me. Or some troll on social media to wonder whether I’m lying or trying to get attention. I choose what I want to do. And I dealt with it how I wanted to.”
Cross moves into my space and gently cups my face in his hands. “Baby... what would you do if someone hurt Kerrigan the way he hurt you? Wouldn’t you want him arrested? Prosecuted? Convicted? Wouldn’t you want to make sure he couldn’t do the same thing to anyone else ever again? Every day this motherfucker is free is another day he can hurt someone else.”
“Low blow, Cross. Yes. I would want anyone who hurt her to be punished. I’d want him to be thrown in prison and the key thrown away. But I’m not your daughter,” I yell back at him.
Cross’s eyes flare before he roars back at me, “No. You’re the love of my life. And I can’t fix this for you. Let me fix this.”
