“Yeah, well,” I mumble, looking out my window again, not even attempting to make sense of his nonsense. “Spoiler alert: Mr. Hyde dies in the end.”If there’s one place in the world that could help bring me reprieve in a moment of weakness, it’s Blackline Academy. I was nervous to walk in, but once I did, it was like my dad was right beside me. And I just wanna feel close to him for a little while longer.
I hate to admit it, but Alec was right.
I needed this.
After the long weekend spent indoors and the taxing day I’d had, the solid workout and good sweat definitely helped. Now, my muscles feel firm yet loose, and my mind is less foggy.
All I need now is a shower, some food, and a solid day’s worth of sleep.
And there is no fucking way it’s happening under the same roof as Marissa fucking Daniels.
I bend to grab my water and head for the locker room.
Alec’s weights hit the floor. “All done?”
“I was done the minute you said the word wife, yet here you are, still babysitting.”
I don’t look back, and he doesn’t say another word.
I mean, what can he really say?
Oops, my bad. Forgot to mention that minor fucking detail. Don’t be mad.
Piece of shit.
I turn on the shower and pull my soiled clothes from my body before stepping under the cold spray. The freezing water stings like tiny needles, but I welcome the sting, and my head falls back to hit the wall.
Things will be so different now.
This place is—was—my dad’s whole heart and soul. He ran Blackline with more passion and dedication than any normal person could be known to possess for any one thing. He gave everything to this school while still giving everything to me.
That’s one thing that made him so special. He broke a mold not a lot of men are strong enough to break. My dad wasn’t only one hundred percent devoted to his career, as many men are raised to believe they should be, but he was a hundred percent there for me, too. Always, no matter what.
He was my mother and my father and my friend. The strongest, bravest, best man I knew.
He was my hero.
Tears fall before I know it’s happening, blending into the water as they both run down my face, and my body slides to the floor, my shoulders shaking as I cry into my palms.
My skin prickles with awareness, letting me know he’s coming.
He doesn’t say anything, and he doesn’t lift me from the cold tiles, but he squeezes himself behind me so he can wrap his arms around my frame.
I should push him away, slap him across his face, and place guilt on him for everything wrong in my life right now. I don’t.
Instead, I seek out long, strong fingers and entwine mine with his.
“He was a great man, Oakley,” he whispers against my hair, and my lips start to tremble. “Brave. And he loved you with everything he had. And, even though it might mean nothing to you right now, I promise you with everything in me … I will find out what happened to him.”
When my muscles lock against him, his hold on me tightens, a desperate attempt to convince me that his words are true when they feel fraudulent.
“Look at me.”
I hesitate for a moment and then shift, slightly lifting my eyes to his, and instantly, more tears fall.
Everything hurts worse when I’m looking at him.
His hands lift, those rough fingers forcing a sigh from me as they scrape across my cheeks, but what has me holding my breath are his eyes. So strong and determined, deep-rooted anguish hiding behind the surface as longing fights for a way out. He only had me two nights ago, yet the creases framing his eyes tell me the forty-eight hours that has passed was too long to go without me.
But the emotions he’s showing me never make it past his lips. They get stuck there, shining back at me in a crushing silence that rings in my ears. And I know why.
Her.Chapter Twenty-OneAlecWe’ve only pulled from the Blackline parking lot when Oakley speaks, “I want you both out by morning.”
My grip tightens on the steering wheel. I knew it wouldn’t be long before she pushed again. I’ll admit, I hoped I’d have at least tonight to plan what came next.
“I know you hear me.”
I shake my head. “That can’t happen, Oakley.”
“It will happen, or I’ll call the police and have them remove you.”
Fuck.
The last thing I wanna do right now is cause her more confusion, but she’s not giving me any room to avoid it. And, unlike my brother, she’s not bluffing. She’d call in a heartbeat.
“Part of that house now belongs to me. Nobody could make me leave if they tried.”