30. Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Sunny
I would never, ever admit it to Zane, but the shower did help. A tiny bit. I feel better than I have since before that night at the club. He was right, but I'll take that information to my grave. He's one man I'm thinking doesn't need an ego boost.
It takes me some time to dig through the clothes in my drawers and find something clean to put on. By the time I make my way out to the living room and collapse on to the couch, Zane is waiting with a warm heaping plate of food and hot cup of coffee. He drops several packets of restaurant sugars and powdered creamer on to the coffetable.
I don't argue, I just take the plate from his hands and dig in. It's simple—eggs, cheese, a little salt and pepper—but it tastes better than anything I can remember having. It's delicious. Zane sits down on the opposite end of the couch, watching with an amused expression as I dump ten packets of sugar and two creamers into the coffee.
I shovel fork after fork of the amazing breakfast into my mouth trying to ignore that easy, crooked grin of his.
“So,” he says, leaning back. “I won't push, and I'll only ask you this one time, but I do have to ask. I’d like to hear your side of things. About what happened between you and Levi?”
I freeze, my fork halfway to my mouth. The mention of Levi sends a fresh wave of anger and hurt ripping through me, and for a second, I can’t even look at Zane.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I say finally, letting my fork fall to my plate before setting it down on the coffee table. "I'm sure he told you everything."
Zane doesn’t back down, just nods slowly and keeps his eyes steady on mine. “Fair enough. Like I said, I won't push. He did tell me—and Colt—what happened. He was full of information. He gave us a version. His version. But, I'm not sure whether I should believe any of it. He lied to us, Angel. For years. And I don't know what exactly that means or what to do with it now."
As an afterthought he adds, "For what it’s worth… he seems almost as wrecked as you are.”
I laugh bitterly, shaking my head. “Yeah? Well, good. He deserves at least that.”
Zane tilts his head, watching me. “You want to tell me why?”
My appetite's gone and my stomach is queasy. The words bubble up and I don't even try to stop them. “Because he left me,” I say, the bitterness in my voice cutting through each word. “He walked away from me, Zane. He said he loved me, told me I was his whole world, and then ditched me.”
Zane’s jaw tightens slightly, but he stays silent, letting me fill the space in my own time.
“I was in the hospital for almost two weeks. I waited for him to show up. To call. To visit. And, nothing. He disconnected his phone, and the one he'd given me. He disappeared." I don't even bother trying to hide the sadness.
"And that's not even the worst part of it." I feel my voice gather strength as words pour out. “It’s how he left me that I can't get over. I was lying there on the floor, barely alive, sliced open and bleeding, and... " The words trail off as I pull my feet up underneath me and wiggle my toes into the cushion under me.
All of it comes flooding back, and for a moment I'm there again. Lying on the floor, the cold seeping into my bones. The metallic tang of blood filling my nose, my mouth, my lungs. The devastating sharp pain of broken bones and bruised skin. My hand moves unconsciously to my chest and traces the hidden scar. Zane’s eyes catch the motion, and he grimaces.
"I don't know how much he told you, but he was there that night with me. After... after Garrett left. I heard him come up the stairs calling my name. My eyes were closed but I could hear him, feel him." My voice feels separate, distant.
"He lifted me off the floor and held me. I was so cold and he was so warm, and I was so thankful he was there. I knew he'd make it all okay again." My vision blurs as my eyes fill with tears. I blink them back and clear my throat to steady my voice.
"I couldn't say anything, I couldn't move. I knew I was dying. He laid me back down on the floor, and I heard him call the police. I was so thankful I wasn't alone anymore. But then, he left. Stepped over me and walked out the door.
I kept waiting for him to come back. But he never did. He never came back. I never heard from him again."
"Angel." Zane's voice is filled with emotion and comes out as little more than a whisper, even as his fists are clenched against his thighs. "I'm so sorry."
Something in me tightens at the name, and before I can think twice, I'm correcting him. “Sunny,” I say, my voice catching. “My name is Sunny.”
His eyes flicker caught off guard for a split second, but he doesn’t make a big deal of it. He simply nods. “Alright, Sunny,” he says, weighing out my name like he’s testing the shape of it on his tongue.
For a moment, I let myself sit with everything I've just said. I've never told anyone about that night, or what happened after. I let myself feel the strange, soft warmth of having someone here—someone who’s neither asking anything of me nor forcing anything on me. It’s unexpected and feels both foreign and necessary. Minutes tick by in silence.
“Eat up,” he says finally, gesturing to the plate I set down.
I roll my eyes. “Bossy.”
"When I need to be."
“Look, I'm sorry,” I mutter, as I pick up the plate and force myself to take another bite. “Didn’t mean to dump all that on you. You're the first person I've ever told that to.”
Zane shakes his head. “No apologies. You didn’t dump anything. I asked. Remember?” He pauses, looking down at his hands.
There’s a raw honesty in his tone that hits me hard. I’m used to people wanting something from me. But here he is, looking at me with nothing but quiet sincerity. I want to shrug it off, make some sarcastic comment and throw up my shield again, but I can’t quite bring myself to do it. I don't know if it's because I'm tired, or simply don't care anymore.
“Thanks, Z,” I say finally.
He nods and leans back again, giving me space enough to let what I've told him settle. I've never said any of it out loud before. I've never had anyone I could tell before. Even Jade has only ever heard half. I glance at his plate, realizing he's only taken a few small bites of his food since I started talking.
“What about you?” I ask, surprising myself. “How’d you end up with… him?”
He lets out a low sound that’s half a sigh. “You want the long answer or the short one?”
“How about short, with the option for more,” I say, smirking a little.
He takes a bite of food, chews and swallows before he answers. “I grew up around a lot of chaos, with people for parents who didn’t care much about right or wrong. They only cared about power, control and making money any way they could. So, I had a choice— let myself get swallowed up in all of that, or try to find something different. I made some bad choices, got involved in some, uh, questionable things, but Levi gave me an out. An option that didn't involve selling my soul or spending the next thirty years in jail.”
I nod, listening. It feels like I’m seeing him in layers, each one a little clearer, a little more real. “So, Levi’s...what? Your boss?”
He hesitates, his expression darkening slightly, and nods. “Yeah. Sort of. But it's more than that. We're brothers. Family, you know?” His gaze drops to the table for a moment, and when he looks up, something genuine, something deep flickers there.
It’s been years since I thought about family—what it's supposed to mean and feel like. I shrug. "I guess. I don't think I've ever had anything like that."
I take the few last bites of food and set the plate down again.
“Glad to see you’ve got your appetite back."
Zane chuckles softly, standing up to clear the plates, and I watch him, wondering what it was about him that made him so easy to talk to and confide in.
After doing the dishes, Zane pulls a scrap of paper and a pen from his jacket pocket. He jots down a number and hands it to me where I'm lying stretched out on the couch. The food made me sleepy and I'm struggling to keep my eyes open.
I look down at it, raising an eyebrow. “You know I’m not really big on calling people,” I say, my tone skeptical. Especially not people close to Levi.
“I figured as much, but this way you'll have it if you need it." He grins, just a hint of that easygoing confidence breaking through. "I won’t say a word about you or that I was here to anyone. Well, except Jade. She's a little scary, and I don't know what she'd do to me if I don't report back." His smile is genuine. "We've got a little bit of business left here to finish up, but we should be clearing out in a few days.”
My fingers linger over the number. I don’t respond, but something in me softens, just a little.
“If you want to talk,” he adds, his voice low, “or if you need anything—anything at all—just call.”
I nod slowly, managing a small smile.
“Thank you,” I mutter.
He gives me one last, reassuring look and heads to the door. “Get some rest, Sunny. Take care of yourself."
Once he reaches the door, he turns and gives me an intense, serious look. "I hope you realize that you're stronger than you think you are."
And then, he’s gone, closing the door softly behind him. The silence that settles in his wake isn't as heavy as it has been. I stare at the slip of paper, a mix of relief and doubt twisting in my chest. Part of me still doesn’t know what to make of Zane, but somehow, tonight, even if it was just for a couple hours, things felt a little more bearable with him here with me.
For the first time in a week, when I curl up on the couch and pull the blanket down over me, sleep comes easily.