Chapter 27
SARAH
He sits, his forearms resting on his knees, his attention solely on his phone.
I glance at Ollie. He wipes his nose on his sleeve and then makes airplane noises as his jet takes off. I rock Frankie, who still has a slight fever and snot pouring from her nose.
I shiver, ready for him to leave so I can lie down.
Ollie coughs, and Miles’s eyes flick to him. He leans away, inching back against the couch. “You need to cover your mouth.”
My entire body aches, but I roll my eyes despite the effort. Even my hair hurts.
Ollie ignores him. “D-d-do you want to see my c-cars?” He asks tentatively, expecting Miles to say yes. “They’re in my room.”
“Um. . .how about you get them?”
Ollie heads to his room, and Grover follows close behind.
Miles’s gaze turns to me. “He still talks like that? He can’t start school that way. They won’t even be able to understand him.”
If I didn’t feel like I was in the process of being run over by a truck and had the energy, I’d punch him.
He pulled up an hour ago, sliding out of his luxury rental, and tiptoed in here, as if this were the low-income housing I grew up in.
His eyes lingered over Frankie for only a moment.
She tucked herself into a ball against my chest as he sat on the edge of the couch to peruse his phone.
Ollie clung to me for the first fifteen minutes but tried to get Miles’s attention multiple times to no avail.
His eyes survey the space. “So, this is where your dad grew up?” His nose scrunches slightly.
This is what he wants to talk about.
I rest my head against the back of the recliner, ready for him to go. “You’re aware I don’t know the answer to that. He was listed as the beneficiary, but since he’s dead, I was next of kin.”
He twists, still examining the space. “How old is it?”
I exhale. “Miles, why are you here?”
He straightens and huffs; that familiar smug look reminds me I’m an idiot.
“You know why? This is ridiculous. You living here.” He glances around again, disgust filling his freshly facialed face.
“You made your point. Are you done now? I got the job in New York. Sunday mornings are only the beginning. This is it. This is what we always wanted.”
I stare at him. “Uh. . .what?”
His leans forward again. “Sarah, I gave you the life you wanted. I got you out of that dump you grew up in, and now I’ll take you all the way to the top. If you want to go to school, fine. You can do that in New York. You’ll be beside me as we sweep in as Manhattan’s new ‘it’ couple.”
My body heats to a thousand degrees as my mind explodes into a million pieces. I stare at him. He’s fucking serious.
Ollie slowly walks back into the room, using his shirt as a cradle for a pile of Hot Wheels. He spills them on the couch next to Miles and begins to line them up.
“Dis one is a c-c-cupcake car? Grandma Susie j-just sent it to me.” Ollie holds up the tiny, pink cupcake with wheels.
Miles only looks at it.
“And dis one has a turbo engine. It goes s-s-super fast.” He races it along the couch and up Miles’s leg, then holds it in front of his face.
Miles leans away. “Can you say cup-cake?”
Ollie’s eyes move from the car to Miles. “C-c-cupcake. ”
I’ve had enough. “Hey, bud, can you go find your blue Charger?” I scoot out of the recliner, careful not to wake Frankie.
I follow Ollie and lie Frankie in her crib, pulling the door closed. I hear Ollie rummaging through his cars and head back to the living room.
Miles is to tapping away on his phone.
“It’s time to go.”
His gaze shoots to mine.
When he doesn’t move, I drag myself to the front door and pull it open, making myself clear.
After a moment, he stands and finally shoves his phone into his pocket. I follow him onto the porch, closing the door behind me.
He turns to face me. “So, how is this going to work?”
I blink, wondering if the fever is making me delusional. I blink again, and his too-smooth face still stares at me with anticipation.
I inhale, needing patience to be in the air. “How is what going to work?”
“Us. New York.” His brow creases.
“You’re serious?” I really need to know if this joker has somehow developed amnesia. Has he somehow forgotten the past six years and the things he’s done?
His eyelids droop. “How long will you keep doing this?” He huffs a little laugh.
“You’re never going to make it.” His eyes run over me.
“Look at you. You’re a mess. You don’t even look like you.
” His hand flies out to the side. “This house is old and already falling apart.” He points to the muddy mess of my front yard.
“Oliver can’t even talk, and there is absolutely no one here to save you.
” He pauses, and I wonder how he’d like a fist to the throat.
“It’s not like you can go back to prancing around a stage using your body to spark a career. ”
There we go. The lowest blow, but for some reason, the bite doesn’t sting quite so bad.
“You’re a mom now. Even your eyes can’t make up for what that changed.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “You done now? ”
He crosses his arms, satisfied with his belittlement.
“Miles, it’s time for you to go to New York. I hope it holds everything you’re looking for.”
His hands fall to his waist. “You’re seriously going to do this?”
“I’m not doing anything. There’s nothing left to discuss.”
He huffs and turns, descending the stairs. I follow, needing this to be over once and for all. I have to get my life back.
He stops at the door to his fancy SUV and turns toward me with a smile curling at his lips. “We can do this the easy way, and you can come with me, or you can stay here, and we’ll just see how long you last.”
I shake my head. “In what world do you think I would even consider following you anywhere. Miles, we are never getting back together. We aren’t a family. You don’t want those two babies. You’ve made that perfectly clear.”
He doesn’t move, completely unaffected.
“You don’t even want me.” I have to hold back a laugh. “You never did.”
His shoulders roll back. “I did want you. I still do.”
This is pointless. “You don’t. You want a crutch to hold your hand as you take on the big city. Someone you can cast your stress and anxiety on until you don’t need the bracing anymore.”
He only stares at me, apparently unable to deny it.
“I was foolish not to see it before, and once I did, I held on, wanting to be so wrong. We had children together because we wanted them. It was just more lies.”
“We can be a family in New York.”
I laugh. “Have you lost your mind? Miles, you made me out to be a villain. Publicly. We’re divorced.”
He takes a step closer. “I told them we’d resolved all that. Couples reconcile all the time, especially in the industry.”
I close my eyes, trying to breathe, as the kind of anger that’s new for me begins to boil. I should be surprised, but I’m not. This man and his narcissism never cease to amaze me.
I inhale and exhale, trying to wrap my head around how I’m supposed to respond. I’ve known he’s a perpetual liar. But this. What the actual fuck?!
It was only ever a show to him. Build something that looks like a family, but never actually be one. He just wanted someone to look and act the part. Now, he wants to use the kids for the same reason.
I sway a little, feeling like I might vomit.
“Sarah.” He says my name, and I want to scream. His hands wrap around my elbows to pull me closer, but I’m lost in the abyss of the sickening reality.
“Come with me. It will be just us this time. I promise.”