Fighting Our Way (Broken Tracks 2)

“I missed our movie nights,” I tell Mom.

“Me too!” She sits down next to me, dropping a bowl of popcorn on my lap as she snuggles under the blanket with me. “What are we thinking?” she asks, grabbing the remote. “Rom-com? Horror?”

“What about something with superheroes in?” I ask, not wanting to be reminded of love in the rom-coms or to have the memories of Nate walking in on me while I watched a horror movie.

“Superheroes it is!” She clicks on one, and we’re not ten minutes in when she says, “So… tell me about Nate.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, taking a deep breath, knowing I won’t be able to get away with saying nothing.

“He’s… amazing,” I sigh. “Thoughtful, great with the kids and… romantic.”

“Yeah?”

I nod, my eyes focused on nothing in particular. “He took me for a picnic under the stars.” I groan at the memory of his food. “He’s a fantastic cook, like orgasmic.”

Mom chuckles. “He’s a chef?”

“No.” I shake my head, popping a few kernels of popcorn into my mouth. “Lawyer.”

“Prosecution?” Her voice is hopeful.

“Defense.” My voice is low as I turn toward her. “Dad probably wouldn’t be happy, but I know Nate would win him over.” I smile a secret smile, knowing there’s no way anyone could dislike Nate. He’s too nice, too addictive.

“That’s the look.” I raise my brow at Mom as she points her finger at me. “The look of love.”

My eyes flutter closed and I swallow before answering, “I love him more than I ever thought possible.”

Mom’s hand lands over mine, bringing my attention back to her. “Then why didn’t you tell him what was going on, sweetie?”

“I thought I was protecting him. If I could go back and tell him that first night, then I would.”

We’re both silent for a beat until Mom reaches for some more popcorn but comes up empty. She stands up, signaling she’s going to get some more and I pause the movie.

My gaze roves around the living room, over the open fireplace and the brown leather chair Dad always sits in. Images of me as a little girl sitting on his lap there while we watched cartoons on a Saturday morning together and eating our weight in cereal assault me.

“Hello?” I tilt my head as I hear Mom’s voice in the kitchen. There’s a beat and then she says, “I’m her mother, and who would you be?” Has she answered my cell? “Oh! Tristan, it’s nice to hear your voice after everything we’ve heard about you… yeah she’s here…” Her footsteps near and I jump off the sofa, not believing she’s answered my cell. “I know, she’s got some things going on at the moment. I’m sure she hasn’t been ignoring you on purpose.” She raises a brow at me when she walks back into the living room. “I’ll hand you over to her.”

She holds the cell out to me and I stare at it like it’s a bomb that could detonate at any second.

Wiggling it at me, I finally take it from her and put it to my ear.

“Tris?”

“A.” I hear his reli

eved breath come over the line and I immediately feel guilty. I haven’t spoken to him since I moved out over a week ago, not for the lack of trying on his part; he’s called me at least twice a day. “It’s so good to hear your voice.”

“It’s good to hear yours, too,” I reply, feeling a lump build up in my throat as I start pacing on the rug that sits between the TV and sofa. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah… well no, not really.”

My heartbeat accelerates, my pulse spiking. “What’s happened?” I ask, my voice loud and jarring. “Are the kids okay?”

“Ah, yeah. They’re good… missing you, but good.” A relieved breath rushes out of me. “I’m actually calling to ask if you can watch the kids for me tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” I ask, flicking my eyes to the front door as it opens and Dad walks in. He stops when he sees me, concern flashing over his features. “I’m not in the state right now—”

“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, A. Mom’s in Japan again with Edward and Nate can’t look after them because he’ll be in court with us.”