AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Giving me hope.
Then pushing me away again.
I had a temper and when I did, I didn’t exactly think my words through. So I spit that shit at her then walked away.
I got maybe to the corner of the building before I regretted them, before I wanted to turn back, tell her I didn’t mean it, that I wanted to keep having our hook-ups.
A little Nyx was damn sure better than none.
I had gone back too.
But she was gone.
Then I’d walked my ass home and stewed in what happened all night, trying to think of a way I could take those words back.
Unfortunately, though, I didn’t come up with shit.
See, I didn’t know all of Nyx’s secrets. The shows she binged watched, what she stuffed her face with on a bad day, what songs really cut her deep.
But I did know she had a fuckton of pride and walls that stretched up sky-high.
She wasn’t going to text me for sex. And she damn sure wasn’t going to show up at my door and confess all her dirty little secrets.
Hell, I’d be fucking lucky if she would even serve me again at the bar.
“Cat,” I said, coming in the door to have the grayish cat with blue eyes hop down from where he was sunning in the windowsill and rubbing himself against my legs.
“Sure, love on him. When I was the one who remembered to feed you this morning,” Delaney said, giving the cat small eyes. “Did Detroit strand you at the gym?” she asked when she looked out front and didn’t see the SUV.
“No. I wanted to walk.”
“Walk,” Dell repeated, brows furrowing. “Look,” she said, slipping a pacifier in her kid’s mouth in his crib thing as she passed without even breaking her stride. “I grew up with a bunch of tough guys,” she said, meaning Cillian and his brothers. “And I know it can be like extracting teeth to get one of you to open up about anything, but I just want to say that, you know, I’m here if you want to talk about something.”
“Don’t worry. Detroit already offered an ear,” I told her.
“Sure. Yeah. That’s great. I love seeing men support each other emotionally. I’m just saying that if it’s something you don’t want to talk about with the guys, I’m here. Or Morgaine, even.”
“Appreciate it, babe. But I’m fine.”
“You’re not,” she countered, making me turn back, surprised she was pressing that much. Dell wasn’t a pushy person. But, I guess, she had started to see us all as her family, so she felt more comfortable calling us on our shit than she used to. “I’m really kind of sick of people telling me they’re fine when they’re not,” she grumbled, collecting up random towels she always seemed to have perched on her shoulder under the baby when she was holding him.
“Who else is telling you they’re fine when they’re not?” I asked, keeping my tone casual even though I knew exactly who she was talking about.
“Nyx,” she admitted. “Did you see her at the bar last night?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Does she still look like she hasn’t slept in a month?” she asked.
“Pretty much,” I told her since it was the truth.
“She won’t talk to me,” Delaney said as she followed me into the kitchen. “And the more I try to push, the more she leaves me on read.”
“You worried about her?” I asked, putting on a pot of coffee since I was pretty sure sleep was going to be a pipe dream now that Dell was riling me up again.
“Yeah. Which is so weird because I’ve never had to worry about her before. She’s so strong, y’know? So independent. And I guess, with her upbringing, that’s to be expected. But I wish she would learn that she can let people in and lean on them. Burdens are a lot less heavy if you have someone else helping you carry them.”
“What do you think she has going on?” I asked.
