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For the first time in what has to be the entirety of her life, she actually keeps quiet. A vein in her neck flinches before it jumps, but that’s it. She’s silent, letting me spew my thoughts as soon as they arrive.
It’s the least she can do.
“Just know, I don’t trust you, and with every breath I take, I only want to make you suffer the same way you did to me. I don’t want you here—fuck—I don’t want to be here, but I am. I’m doing more here and now than youeverhave.”
I lean forward, hooking the tips of my fingers around the frame of her door. She wants to go toe to toe?
Fine.
“So don’t.” My head shoves right to hers. “Don’teverdoubt me again when I tell you I want something.”
Her posture is stiff, spine straight as a rod. It’s a stark contrast to the dead stare in her eyes.
How small she looks compared to me, as I villainize her from this angle.
“Got it?” I emphasize, so done.
“You know nothing!” Her voice cracks and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she was on the verge of shooting tears.
I feel nothing. “And whose fault is that?”
Her cheeks tint to a nice shade of pink, either out of embarrassment or anger, but I’m impartial to both.
“Know that, just because you came here and want to start playing daddy doesn’t make you one. There’s a lot more to it than that.”
You mean the same way you stole from me but refuse to call yourself a thief?I have the urge to say but don’t because at least one of us needs to have a conscience.
I lift a shoulder instead. “I’ll figure it out.”
“Finn, you need to take this seriously.”
My tongue grows heavy as it cakes to the roof of my mouth. “I wouldn’t be here if that were the case.”
Hailey’s lids stutter in a mimicking fashion to her lips. I think I’ve stunned her.
I pull back, giving her the space she desperately needs.
Spinning back, I pity her in this moment. I know she can read and has registered every last grain of truth in what I’m saying because I don’t bother to hide it. Haven’t since I first showed up.
“What if something happens to my baby and I’m not around?”
“Our,” I correct.It’s ours.“And I said I can handle it.”
“What if they choke?”
“I’ll learn CPR.”
“And if they get stung by a bee or a wasp?”
“I’ll have a first aid kit at the ready.”
She chews at her lip. “Juice or milk before bed?”
“Neither. Water only.”
The answer must pacify her even though I pull it straight from my ass. Thank you, Rory, for forcing me to once again watch that rom-com after Cole refused.
It was decent, but I pretended I hated it, booing and tossing popcorn at the screen the entire time.
