21. Lila
CHAPTER 21
Lila
The sound of a fist pounding on the door startled me awake. My heart was in my throat as I looked around the living room.
My eyes immediately shot to River where he was sitting on the couch next to me, his eyes glued to the cartoons on the TV. I must have dozed off for a while without noticing because I was curled up on my side, holding his blanket in my hand and a toy truck in the other. I’d started cleaning up around the apartment this morning, and when I felt very tired I decided it couldn’t hurt to sit down for a bit.
River looked at me and then to the door. “Someone’s been knocking for a while. But I’m not supposed to open the door for strangers.”
“Exactly,” I rasped an answer through my sore throat. “Good job, buddy.”
I groaned as I rolled off the couch, feeling like death as I struggled to stand without swaying. I felt hot and uncomfortable before realizing that my oversized t-shirt was sticking to my back.
I grimaced .
The pounding on the door continued until I heard a familiar voice booming on the other side. “Delilah, open up!”
Travis?
“Hold on,” I croaked, then slowly pulled the door open. Finding a fuming Travis standing there with his cellphone in one of his hands, the other raised as if ready to knock again. The sun had barely risen over the mountains behind him but even the orange glow made me wince as I asked, “What are you doing here so early?”
“Early? Do you even know what time it is?” he practically seethed.
I frowned before looking back toward the clock on the wall in my kitchen, squinting at the numbers that read…
Oh no.
“Oh god, Travis, I’m sorry?—"
“You weren’t answering your phone. Desi, Jake, Mom—everyone has been trying to call you all day. When I came into the bar and Jake told me you didn’t show up for your shift this afternoon, I tried calling you. You want to know who answered your phone?” he asked and I grimaced, looking over my shoulder toward River as he looked at me with curious eyes, asking who was at the door. “River said you’ve been sleeping all day.”
“I didn’t even hear my phone. I’m sorry?—”
“I don’t give a damn about your shift, Delilah.” Travis ran a frustrated hand through his hair, and I finally managed to lift my head to stare up at him, despite my head throbbing. He looked worried. Really worried. “I’m taking you to the hospital. Go get dressed.”
It was only when he said that, that I realized my oversized t-shirt reached me mid-thigh which hid the pajama shorts I’d pulled on last night after putting River down .
“I can get myself to the hospital. You should head back to the bar.”
“Delilah.” Travis placed a hand on the door as if I had the strength to close it on him if I tried. As if he were expecting me to shut him out. If only he knew the power he still held over me when he looked at me like he was now, pleading with me. “Damn, you’re a stubborn woman. What’s it going to take for you to let me take care of you for once in your life?”
“Okay,” I rasped, suddenly feeling the need to cry and I didn’t even know why.
No one had ever looked out for me. Not even my grandfather, despite him trying later on. I think he did it only out of obligation. He would have had to have been a real monster to turn a blind eye on a kid who had no one else to take care of her.
“I’m not feeling well…I’d appreciate it if you could take me to the hospital,” I said weakly, finally admitting what we both knew.
I felt the door move and before I knew it, Travis was pulling me into his arms. It was only then that I realized I’d started crying.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he kissed the top of my head. “Thank you.”
When I woke up again, it was to the sound of laughter.
One I knew like the back of my hand. Followed by another low, deep chuckle. I could barely hear his words, but River’s was impossible to miss.
“Right. We got to stay quiet for Lila,” River half-whispered from somewhere in the room. My eyelids felt heavy as I opened them slowly, squinting when the glare of the sun filtering between the drawn curtains hit my face. It took me a moment to realize I was sleeping on my couch. Then it all came crashing into me.
Travis drove us to the hospital so I could get looked checked up. Apparently, I’d come down with a pretty bad flu that was going around town. When we finished and I got a prescription for antibiotics, I’d expected Travis to merely drop me off at the apartment again after we picked up my medication from the pharmacy. But he insisted on coming up with us.
I must have dozed off as soon as Travis barked orders at me to go lie down, reassuring me that he’d watch River for me while I got some rest. The last thing I remembered was hearing River talking Travis’s ear off about the different breeds of horses they had on Silver Hill.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee and bacon reached my nose. I licked my dried lips, grimacing when my throat ached at the slightest movement. My head felt heavy as I lifted my head to look around, spotting the time on the clock on the wall. When we got home it had to have been early in the evening and the fact that it was morning now could only mean I’d slept through the night.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept this long.
River’s giggle caught my attention, and my eyes instantly searched for him. Standing up, I followed the sound of his voice coming from our kitchen.
My heart skipped a beat when I found him in Travis’s arms, watching intently as he flipped a pancake on the sizzling pan. Travis said something to my little brother, but I couldn’t pay attention to his words when I was too taken aback by the way he was… smiling .
A genuine, wide smile that showed off a dimple in his stubbled cheek. He listened to River intently as he spoke, only making his blue eyes shine with amusement. And my little brother, usually so shy, was beaming up at Travis as if he’d hung the moon.
As if they’d done this a hundred times before. As if it was the most natural thing in the world for them to be cooking breakfast together in the kitchen.
All I could do was watch them.
How many times had I wished Travis could have been there during the hardest months of our lives? How many times had I reached for my cellphone just to hear his voice on the nights when River wouldn’t stop crying? To tell me that no matter how lost I felt, I could do this?
How many times had I regretted breaking up with him because I was scared of messing everything up?
Countless times.
As if he sensed me, River’s head whipped to the side and his eyes met mine.
“Lila!” He squirmed in Travis’s arm until he set him down so that he could run over to me. I picked him up before he engulfed me in a tight hug. “Are you feeling better now?”
I managed a smile. “Much better. How are you, buddy?”
“Good! I helped Travis make pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup. I made you some too! Do you want to try them?”
“You made me breakfast?”
“Yeah, Travis said it’s so you’ll feel better faster.” He gave me a little shrug, resting his head against my chest as he held onto me.
“I’d love nothing more than to have the breakfast you made for me.” I ran my fingers through his hair right as movement in the corner of my eye made me glance up .
Travis was watching us with a soft smile as he took a sip of black coffee. “Morning.”
“Good morning.” I set River down so that he could run off to play.
“How’re you feeling?”
I nodded. “Better than I was yesterday.” I paused as I watched him closely before saying, “You stayed.”
“Of course I did.” Travis turned to grab three plates out of the cupboards, already seeming to know his way around my kitchen. “Mom called to tell me that she was sending Finn over with some soup she made for you. But until then, you got my mediocre cooking.”
I didn’t know what to say. He’d taken care of me last night then watched over River without having to be asked. He’d stayed the night, all because I was too sick to do anything other than pass out on the couch. All because he simply wanted to be here. And even his family was trying to take care of me.
Before he could walk past me to set the plates on the table, I reached for his arm. He stopped, looking down at me with a waiting gaze.
“Thank you…for staying.”
He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my temple. “I never left, darlin’.”
I watched him closely from across the table while we all sat at the table for breakfast. The sharp line of his jaw when he laughed at something River said. The way he genuinely wanted to know more about my little brother, not because of what he meant to me but simply because his affection toward River was as clear as day. And when he felt my gaze on him, he lifted his eyes to find mine, letting them linger on me. A gentle caress that slowly turned searing until I had to look away .
I think I finally understood why I could never truly get used to the way Travis’s unwavering attention made me feel. It reminded me of the way I felt whenever I saw a sunset on the horizon settling behind the mountains. Speechless and in awe.
Travis looked at me as if I was a sunset. Beautiful. Remarkable. Irreplaceable. Something worth stopping in your tracks and admiring in its entirety.
Worth loving.
Travis made me want more, and that was the most terrifying, most exhilarating thing I’ve ever experienced.
I knew that if I allowed myself to fall for him again, Travis would catch me. He would never hurt me. That was never the problem. I’ve trusted him with my heart for years ever since we were children.
However, could I allow myself to take that chance now after everything that happened between us?
The answer came to me in a resounding yes.