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“She doing anything for it?”
I’m not sure. It’s crossed my mind a few times to bring it up with Lauren, to see what she wants to do. But she’ll be turning sixteen, free to do what she wants. She might not want to stay with us anymore. She might want to leave and search for her brother, and what sort of position will I be in to stop her?
“Mads?” Vivian asks upon my silence.
“I guess she’ll see some of her friends, I don’t know.”
“So it’s Dean?”
It’salwaysDean. I fear if I share what’s going on, it’ll only open up questions I simply don’t have the answers to. She’s going to find out eventually, but, “It’s hard, that’s all.”
She gives me a sympathetic smile. “I bet, love. But you won’t be alone, okay? You’ve got all of us.”
“Thank you.” I smile, waving her off as she leaves. I check my emails, make sure nothing more requires my attention, then I head out.
Arriving home, I close the door, kicking off my shoes. My phone pings a message from Jess confirming our plans for going to see Dad and Bex. I really should call her before we travel tomorrow after my scan. I have no reason to feel pissed off with her. Everything she said was true; something clearly isn’t right with this entire situation. Dean being home. His shutting me out.
I wipe my face, mentally drained, and decide on a shower. There’s no ignoring the more frequent headaches I’m getting, orthe fact my body seems to be swelling at a rate of knots. I know at the check up tomorrow they’re going to tell me to take it easy. I can only laugh at how stupid that sounds.Take it easy.Like that’s the easiest thing to do considering who I’m in love with.
Towel drying my hair, I look for a pair of Dean’s joggers I’ve not seen for ages. I open the wardrobe spying the bag he packed for me when I was to leave to stay with Bex, at the top. I reach up, curious, then pull it down letting it drop to the bed. That seems so long ago now. I can’t believe I’ve left it so long to sort.
Actually, I can.
I unzip it, finding what I was looking for. There are enough clothes to have been away for a week. I pull out the joggers, chucking them and everything else in the washing basket when a rattle of something at the bottom, catches my attention.
Pushing aside the clothes, I find a key with a skull and crossbones keyring.Lauren’skey. So hedidtake it from her bag all those weeks ago.
I hear the front door open, hoping it’s him. Within seconds, I know it is. I hear him move my shoes to one side, then hang up his leather. It makes me smile. “Mads?” he calls.
“Up here.”
He makes his way up, stopping at the door. His eyes slip down my body, the towel still wrapped around me.
“Are you okay?” I wasn’t expecting him home so soon.
He pushes off the frame, slowly stepping towards me. My soul takes flight when he invades my space, his chest expanding as he looks down at me. “I am now.” Leaning down to kiss me, I smell the smoky stench, trying hard to ignore it as my head twists, our kiss deepening.
“Dean,” I breathe. He hums, not wanting to stop. “Brush your teeth.”
He smiles. “You’re getting bossier.” Tapping the tip of his nose against mine, he steps back and heads to the bathroom.
I use the time he’s out of the room to quickly change, not wanting him to get distracted. After earlier, we need to talk.
When he comes back in, his forehead wrinkles.
“Come sit.”
Disapproval gleams in his eyes that I’m no longer easily accessible, but he moves, sitting on the bed.
I take a seat next to him, relishing the relief in my ankles. “I’m going to stay with Bex after my scan tomorrow. I’ll be back on Sunday.” Dean tilts his head, looking at me, but I don’t look at him. “Remember when I asked you to come back to me, and you promisedneverto leave me again?”
He places a hand on my leg, holding me above the knee.
“It’s been three days and I already feel like I’m losing you.”
“Mads,” he tries to stop me.
“Please, let me finish.” His hand momentarily tightens, then relaxes. “I need you to know, that loving you is the easiest thing I've ever done.” Liquid pools in my eyes and my throat turns thick.
