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Stepping out of the way, she held the door open long enough for him to rush inside, not letting her change her mind. He set the takeout bags on the kitchen counter, shoving stuff to the side as he took the styrofoam containers out.
“I got enough for leftovers, since I’m assuming you haven’t been eating.” He sent her an accusatory look, but she just folded her arms over her chest.
“I had grilled cheese.”
“It’s been three days since I last saw you.”
“I had chocolate too,” she mumbled, pushing herself up onto the counter. She swung her legs back and forth, letting her heels slam into the cabinet below. Chris sighed and shook his head, going back to distributing the food. “Why are you here? I’m still mad at you.”
She watched his throat bob, his eyes glued to the food inside the bag. Neither of them said anything, and tension grew in the little kitchen, suffocating her. Was she too harsh on him?
No, she wasn’t. She had every right to be upset. Upset at her father for embarrassing Jett, and upset with her mother for gloating and being happy at her downfall, and Chris for…for choosing her parents over her.
Even if he’d been protecting her, in her parent’s eyes, he’d sided with them. He thought Jett was bad, too, even though he was the furthest thing from it.
“I’m sorry,” Chris finally said, his voice low and breathless. A lump formed in her throat as she stared at him. She tried to swallow past it, but it was hard. When was the last time she’d ever seen Chris look like this? Sad? And almost as lost as she felt?
“He’s not a bad person,” she muttered. “He’s a good man. He’s—he’s everything to me.” Chris shifted his head to look at her, his gaze burning her alive.
“You love him?”
“Very much.” She said it without any hesitation. Maybe that was what made Chris believe her.
He let out a long breath, dropping his head forward as he gripped the edge of the counter. “General Tso’s isn’t the only reason I’m here,” he finally said. “I found some information about your…friend.” He glanced at her, and she glared at him.
“Boyfriend,” she corrected, even though she wasn’t sure about that anymore.
He cleared his throat as he nodded. “Right. Boyfriend.” Scrubbing his hand over his jaw, he turned toward her. “I went to Dad’s office and found the case files. I was also able to call and get the rest of the files from New York.”
She went totally still. All the information was there. She could learn what really happened, but… “Have you already read it?” He hesitated before dipping his chin.
“I came to show you everything I found. Abbie, Jett’s?—”
“I don’t want to know,” she breathed, closing her eyes. “I want to hear it from him.” Reading the files, coming to conclusions and learning about this huge part of himself felt wrong. It felt like she was betraying his trust. He hadn’t told her for a reason. A reason that wasn’t to hide it and manipulate her.
“You’re sure he didn’t know you were Dad’s daughter before you started a relationship?” he asked, and she shook her head.
“It would’ve been impossible for him to know.” She rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. “He had a reason for not telling me.” Chris searched her eyes, and whatever he saw there made him nod.
“I know you’re not a baby anymore,” he said suddenly, shocking her. “I know you’re a grown woman and can make your own decisions.”
“Chris—”
“Let me say this.” He held his hand up as he took a deep breath. “You know I’ve always protected you.”
“Understatement,” she said under her breath, and his lips twitched.
“But if I didn’t, who else would? Mom and Dad? They didn’t know if you were alive or dead half the time.” She winced at the words. He wasn’t wrong, but hearing it like that made her realize how awful her parents truly were. “But I wasn’t there a lot of the time, either.”
Abbie looked up at him, finding him staring intently at her. “I left you alone when I shouldn’t have. I should’ve taken better care of you?—”
“Chris—” He shook his head, and she swallowed thickly.
“I was wrong to think I was protecting you,” he said, and she opened her mouth to argue, but he went on. “You’ve been protecting yourself all this time, squirt. It’s made me feel better to think it was me, but it wasn’t. You were the one who pulled yourself out of that place, not me. I didn’t even help you move your stuff out, for fuck’s sake.” She jolted at the curse. He rarely cursed, and when he did, she usually laughed. But right then, it wasn’t funny. Because right then, she realized he was right.
She’d protected herself her entire life. She’d saved herself.
“I should’ve trusted you to make the right decision,” he muttered. “I should’ve trusted that you’d only end up with a good man, not the man Dad tried to convince me Jett was.”
