Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
BLAKE
“Levi, it’s time for bed.”
“But Daaaaad,” Levi groans, clearly unhappy.
“Dad nothing. Go up and brush your teeth. I’ll be there in five to check on you.”
“Fine,” he huffs, crossing his arms over his chest as he marches up the stairs.
Running my hand over my face, I grab the glass he left on the table and take it to the kitchen, my gaze darting toward the window and the house across the street that’s completely in the dark.
Fucking hell. Where is she?
Just then, my phone buzzes, and my heart kicks up a notch.
Savannah.
It had to be?—
“Hey, have you heard from Sav today? I’ve tried calling her, but she hasn’t been picking up her phone,” Becky says, a trace of worry clear in her voice.
My fingers grip the phone tighter, my jaw clenching.
“No, I haven’t seen her today.”
Where the hell are you, Savannah?
“Dammit. I really needed to talk to her after—” The words die on her lips before she finishes, an icy chill running down my spine.
“After what?”
“I…”
“After what, Rebecca? Does it have to do something with her mom?”
“How—” Becky curses loudly. “Shit, she was there, wasn’t she?”
“Waiting for us on the porch when we got back.”
My statement is followed by more cursing coming from the other side of the line. “I knew something was off when she came to grab coffee, but she didn’t say a word. But then I saw her talking to somebody in front of Reading Nook, but by the time I realized what was going on, Sav had already run away. I hoped she went home.”
“Fucking hell.” I run my hand over my jaw, feeling the tension growing behind my temples. “No, she’s not home. And last night, she kicked me out before we could talk about it.” No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t erase Savannah’s empty face from my mind. “I’ve never seen her so… detached.”
The woman with the biggest heart I knew, the one who had a smile and a kind word for everybody, was completely devoid of emotion.
Knowing what I knew about her mother, I couldn’t really blame her, but dammit, I wanted to be there for her.
“I’ll go over there and see if she came back home in a little bit.”
“If you see her, tell her to call me.”
“Will do.”
“Take care of her, Blake.”
I wanted to. I wanted to so badly. Now if only she’d realize that she wasn’t in this all alone and actually let me be there for her.
“I will try.”
We say our goodbyes, and I go upstairs to check in on Levi, who’s thankfully already completely out of it. That boy loved protesting bedtime but always crashed before his head hit the pillow.
Closing the door to his room, I walk down the hall and softly knock on Daniel’s door before pushing it open. He looks up from his laptop and slips off his headphones. “What’s up?”
“Levi’s in bed, but can you keep an eye on him anyway?”
“Yeah, sure.” Daniel sits upright. “Are you going to Savannah’s?”
“Yeah, I want to see if she’s home.” I start to turn around, but Daniel’s next words stop me. “Did you and Savannah get into a fight or something?”
“No, why do you think that?”
Daniel shrugs. “You’ve been sulking all day, and last night she didn’t sleep at our place so…”
Dammit.
He’s way too observant for his own good.
“No, we didn’t get into a fight.” I run my fingers through my hair. “Savannah… Her mom came back and upset her. She just needs some time.”
Daniel nods, his brows furrowing. He opens his mouth as if he wants to say something else but changes his mind at the very last second. “Yeah, sure. Go, I’ll be here if he wakes up.”
“Thanks, Daniel.”
Turning around, I slip out of his room and descend the stairs two at a time, trying to come up with a plan.
What if she didn’t come home? Where do I look for her? Where could she have gone? I had no clue. No fucking clue. None of the places that I would generally expect to find her were open, so where was she? What if something happened to her?
The dread spreads through my body, making my steps falter.
Maybe her sugar spiked, and she fainted again, and there was nobody to help her.
That thought has me running faster. I pull open the door, determined to find her, even if I have to turn this whole damn town upside dow?—
“Blondie.”
Her name falls from my lips, a prayer and a plea.
She’s standing at the bottom of my porch. Her hair is a wild mess of curls, and her eyes are bloodshot, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She was coming here.
She was coming to me .
“B-Blake.”
The wobble in her voice breaks something in me.
I take a step forward, but she’s faster.
Savannah runs to me, and I can barely open my arms before her body slams into mine. Her fingers dig into my shirt as she buries her head into my chest and sobs.
“ Shhh… I’ve gotcha, baby,” I whisper, my arms curling around her and squeezing her to me as best as I can with her bump in the way. But neither of us cares much as I hold her tightly and press my lips against the top of her head. Inhaling her sweet scent, I can feel my body relax.
She is here.
Safe.
“I’ve gotcha.”
Savannah’s body shakes uncontrollably as she cries. My throat feels tight. I hated feeling helpless, and that’s exactly what I was. I would do anything to take away her pain, but the only thing I could do was hold her. So that’s exactly what I do. My palm gently rubs up and down her back, as I whisper into her ear, not once letting go.
At one point, I hear a soft creak, and when I glance back, I find Daniel standing in the doorway. His serious gaze shifts from Savannah to me, a frown appearing between his brows. I shake my head silently, and he nods, slipping inside without a word.
“Why did she have to come back?” Savannah croaks out, her voice coming out muffled. “After all this time, why is she here now?”
My jaw clenches tightly, and it takes everything in me to keep my body relaxed. “I don’t know, baby. But she won’t come near you again.”
Savannah pulls back, sniffling softly. I lift my hand and cup her cheek. Her eyes are puffy from crying, her nose red, and her lashes glued together, and yet, she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on. Fuck her mother for coming back and making her cry like this.
“You can’t stop her. She’s told me she isn’t going to leave until she gets whatever she’s here for.” Those wide blue eyes meet mine. “She knows about you. About the boys.”
“Good.”
“It’s not good!” she protests, her fingers digging into my shirt. “What if she comes again? Tries to talk to Levi, to Daniel?”
“I wanna see her try.” Savannah starts to shake her head, but I slide my hand to the back of her neck and hold her still, my forehead pressing against hers. “I mean it, Savannah. Let her try and see what happens when you touch the people I love.”
Savannah sinks her teeth into her lower lip to stop it from trembling.
I caress her cheek, wiping away the tears. “I won’t let her hurt you. If she wants to talk to you, she can try and get through to me.”
“I’m more worried about the boys.”
I just stare at her for a moment before shaking my head. “Of course you are.”
Leaning down, I press my mouth gently against hers. Savannah kisses me back without reservation, her lips sliding against mine when a shiver runs through her.
Breaking the kiss, I pull back. “You’re freezing. Let’s get you inside.”
My hand slides to the small of her back as I guide her into the house, and for once, she doesn’t try to protest as we climb up the steps and into my room, where I help her get out of her clothes and into one of my shirts before we slip into bed.
I curl around her, my palm resting over her belly, content just to hold her.
“She told me we’re the same,” Savannah says after a while. “What if she’s right? What if?—”
“The hell you are,” I say immediately, not even allowing her to finish that sentence.
“You can’t know that.”
“I can. I do .” My fingers slide under her chin, and I turn her to face me. “You’re more of a mother than she could even dream of being, Blondie. And she knows it.”
Savannah blinks, a tear slipping down her cheek. “I’m not a mother. Not yet, anyway.”
“I think Levi and Daniel would beg to differ,” I counter gently. “I see the way you’re with them. I’ve watched them fall in love with you as much as I did over the last few months. You might not have given birth to them, but you’ve shown them more love and affection in the last few months than their mother ever did. Don’t let her, of all people, tell you otherwise.”
Savannah’s eyes mist, and she presses her lips together, trying to hold back her tears. I brush away her hair and lean down, my mouth skimming against hers in a soft kiss before I press my lips against the top of her head. “I love you, Savannah.”
“I love you too.” Her fingers interlock with mine, holding on for dear life. “Don’t leave.”
“Never.”