Chapter 18
MICAH
“Damn, dude. Who the hell is that?” I look over at Dylan, whose eyes are already locked on something, as I glance over my shoulder to find what he’s talking about.
It doesn’t take long.
Only a minute to find Sienna standing at the edge of the garage where the dirty cement begins. She’s wearing brown slacks, a white tee with a gold chain hanging down her chest, and a brown button-up to keep out the chill.
She looks beautiful.
I straighten my spine, careful not to hit the hood I’m under as I grab the rag lying on the fender.
My feet amble forward as I stare at her.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her if I tried or wanted to because seeing her after three full months and the Snowball Festival is nothing short of almost too much to bear.
“Miss Vesper,” I greet when I’m close enough. “What are you doing here?”
I wipe at my greasy hands, but I’m just giving them something to do. Especially when the wind picks up and sends over the floral, coconut scent that I love about her so much.
“I came by because…Heath was having some issues today at school.”
My brows knit. “What kind of issues?”
“With whatever you have going on with her.” She practically spits that word out because she’s still in the dark about the history behind Laura and I. “He hears you on the phone, and he’s upset that you’re sad.”
I frown. I talk outside with the TV up so Heath can’t hear me, but the kid must either have supersonic hearing or he’s lowering the volume.
“How do you know all this?” I mutter, feeling like the world’s shittiest parent, for one. And, two, now Sienna knows that shit isn’t good. And Heath is getting affected.
“He mentioned it,” she replies, sounding like she’d rather be anywhere else but here. “And, he was making progress, but now he’s falling back socially.”
“I’ll handle it,” I reply, not really knowing what else to say. “Thanks for stopping by.”
“Yeah.”
She begins to pivot and leave, but my body moves forward to stop her.
“How have you been?”
“This wasn’t a social call,” she says coldly. “I only came because I know you and…I told him I’d take care of it. You’re taking care of it, so my mission here is done.”
“Sienna…” My whole body is tense from the matter at hand. How she appears so beyond disgusted with me and what I’ve done.
Maybe that’s how Laura feels but I didn’t skip out on a kid.
No, you only shoved Sienna down and told her that you didn’t need her help while she scraped her knee.
“I’m really sorry,” I impart as genuinely as I can. “I didn’t want you to become…”
“Collateral damage.” She eyes me like she doesn’t recognize who I am. “But you were okay with me sneaking around and dating you. But when it came down to someone finding out, then you backed down.”
I didn’t tell her about Laura’s threats.
However, Sienna is smart enough to put two and two together, right?
“So, you understand,” I convey evenly. “I wouldn’t risk you—”
“You’re not my hero, Mr. Wolfe. I didn’t get a say on what I would’ve wanted to do.”
I frown. “I wasn’t willing for you to risk your career for me.”
“Then that’s that.” She shrugs. “There’s nothing else to say.”
“I didn’t want it to be this way.”
“Obviously, you did. You made the choice.”
“You’re mad at me for protecting you?”
She stares back at me flatly and replies. “I’m not mad at you at all.”
“Right,” I scoff. “Because you look so happy to see me right now.”
“Did you want me to smile, Mr. Wolfe?” A beautiful, yet fake as hell smile illuminates her face, and it’s scary to see how real it looks if I didn’t already know what a genuine one looks like. “Better?”
“Not really.”
“Making you happy isn’t in my job description.”
“Depends who you ask.”
“Take it up with Principal Simpson, Mr. Wolfe. I’m just doing my job.”
“I just may, Miss Vesper. I’m feeling judged.”
“Depends who you ask.”
I narrow my eyes. “Let’s not get it twisted, Miss Vesper, I’d still fuck you. In fact, I’d love nothing more than to do that right now.”
“What would your ex say?”
Low blow.
And like I give a shit about what Laura would say.
However, it’s not about that. It’s about Sienna’s reputation, her career, and the unwanted attention she’d get for being with me.
“You think I give a shit about the woman who left me and my son when he was a few month old?” I input flatly.
“Who signed over full custody before she left, because she thought about it beforehand? That’s probably what hurt the most. Is that she lay in bed with me, knowing she was going to leave.
And now she has a new man, so she’s trying to play house with my kid.
So, if you thought it was because I’m confused, I’m not.
I’ll fight her every day for the rest of my life for Heath.
But she’ll throw you under the bus for being with me just to win a case. ”
Sienna frowns, but she doesn’t utter a word.
“I didn’t want to be your downfall like she was mine,” I utter softly.
“I made a rash decision, I thought the right one. I was afraid Laura’s petty was going to show.
She’s not above taking someone down to get what she wants, and you and Heath were all I was focused on.
Fuck me and how she’d get me…I don’t care about that.
There’s no love between us anymore, Sienna. All I see is still you in this town.”
“Not anymore.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“That’s reality.”
“You don’t think I still see you in town?” I rebuke with a bit of annoyance in my tone. “I see you all the time. I keep a distance. You’re fucking everywhere.”
She shifts her weight a little and appears a bit apologetic for that. “Then tell me the places you frequent and I’ll—”
“We’re not splitting the town,” I grind out, frustrated that we’re even here and even more pissed off that I put us here. That Laura was the start of how I had to go down this path. “I want to see you. As hard as it is not to be able to be around you, Sienna…I still want to see you.”
Sienna still stares at me. I can see her mind running a mile a minute. If what I feel is legit. How could she possibly trust me after I threw her away?
“I’m a grown-ass adult with a whole education,” she finally replies. “And you made a decision for me like a child.”
“I didn’t want to risk you, Sienna. As you said before, everything you’ve worked for could go to shit if she decides to take it upon herself and report us.”
“She’d have to prove that first.”
“She said she could,” I reply, my answers now feeling weak at best. “Isn’t that reason enough?”
“No.”
I scowl. “It’s your job, Sienna—”
“And I was willing to risk that for you. If I needed to find another school that trusts their teachers over he said she said scenarios, I’d be fine with that. Principal Simpson wouldn’t want the gossip.”
“You’d be lying.”
“Since when did you grow morals?” She takes one step toward me, and I freeze.
I feel the itching at the pads of my fingers to grab her and slam her into the wall.
I remember taking her there, at her house, and how tight and good she felt wrapped around me.
“I fucked you in the backseat of a truck…I don’t need you to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do because if I didn’t do what I normally don’t…
you wouldn’t have known anything about me. ”
And I can’t help but feel lucky that she had.
It changed my entire life.
“And lower your damn voice when you’re on the phone with her,” she chastises me. “I want Heath to focus on him, not you.”
My brows clench. “Hey—”
“And grow a pair of balls while you’re at it,” she tacks on, literally kicking me in mine with the tongue lashing she’s giving out. “The next girl will appreciate it.”
Next girl…
Sienna turns on her heel before I have a chance to stop her and strides away. Her chestnut hair bouncing against her back with determination to get the hell away from me as quickly as possible.
Next girl…
I blew this shit.
I blew it all because of Laura.
And I let her do it.