Chapter 16
chapter sixteen
patrice
We got back to Easton’s after a reasonably stressful drive in the snow, and I was still processing all that had happened on our non-date.
We walked into his penthouse, and Easton went over to the fireplace while I ruminated about the conversations we’d had this afternoon.
The new sides to Easton I’d seen. That shitty story about Brad outing him, and what he’d said when I’d asked about what he was reading.
I was still thinking over the words he’d used and must’ve been pulling a face because I heard a scoff from somewhere in the big room.
“Wow, I know I messed up the date, but I didn’t know you’d be that upset.
” He was trying to be funny, but I could tell he was also wondering if my mood had shifted somehow.
I was being weird, standing by the door with my coat still on.
I shook off my brooding and went to hang my stuff by the door, then walked up to him.
He was standing by the fireplace, looking unsure and like he was regretting all the things he’d shared today.
When I finally got to him, I wrapped an arm around his waist and used my other hand to smooth out the worry lines in his face.
I wanted to tell him that nothing had ever felt this solid for me, that no man had ever gotten this close.
“Your romantic date planning is…interesting.” He huffed even as he pressed closer to me.
He loved getting close enough that he had to tilt his head up to look at me.
I twisted my mouth to the side, trying not to grin at the redness creeping up his neck.
“You got me feeling some type of way, Mr. Archer.”
“Oh. What way is that then?” he asked, hooking his leg with mine.
The utter delight in his voice made me shake my head.
Easton could shrug off the bad like that.
He shed it like old skin. I didn’t know how he was able to stay like this, like he was untouched by the shit I knew very well he came in contact with constantly.
The things that I now knew had been done to him.
He was resilient and strong, so fucking strong.
He kept opening his heart, even when he knew it could be trampled.
I placed my hand under his chin and I brought his face up for a kiss.
As we grazed our tongues together, the thought that kept trying to edge out my usual doom and gloom creeped in again.
Maybe this could work. Maybe we had enough here to go on, to build something.
I took both his hands in mine as we kissed, our fingers intertwined between us as we tasted each other.
Moments like this with Easton shut the world out, and that would never stop being a revelation for me.
I was so lost to kissing him that I almost didn’t hear my phone going off. The only person who ever called me was my mother and the guys, but they all had ringtones I recognized, so I figured it was the wrong number. I almost just let it ring, but Easton pulled apart, his face adorably annoyed.
“What if it’s something important?”
I bit my lip, trying not to laugh, “More important than this?”
An eye roll was his response as I got my phone out of my pocket. When I saw Ari’s number, my heart immediately started pounding, remembering the last time he’d called me. I instantly dismissed the thought; he couldn’t have been stopped again.
I lifted a shoulder at Easton who noticed my concerned expression. As soon as I took the call I knew something was wrong. “It’s Ari.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, my heart pounding already. There was some shuffling on the phone and when Ari spoke, it was obvious he was trying not to cry.
“I’m so sorry to bother you again, Patrice.”
I closed my eyes, glad to hear that he at least did not seem to be physically in distress, but I was still concerned about how upset he sounded. “You don’t have to apologize, I’m glad you called.”
I looked at Easton who was standing right next to me, his shoulders tensing at my words.
There was more sniffling and I heard muffled yelling in the background.
Ari sighed heavily then spoke. “My uncle does not want me to stay with him anymore.” He could barely talk at this point. “Yin was over here, and he, and we—”
He started crying then, and he didn’t need to say what happened for me to figure out what was going on. I felt the skin tighten on my face, so fucking angry for Ari, as I felt the humiliation in the agonized cries over the phone.
When he spoke again, he sounded completely miserable. “We were just kissing. Now he’s saying I can’t take the car because he helped me pay for it and with the insurance.”
That motherfucker.
“Ari, I’m coming to pick you up. You can stay with me until we figure something out, okay?”
There was more breathing on the line, but this time it sounded a lot like relief. “Yes, please.”
I turned around and started walking to the door, Easton right behind me. When I shook my head at him, he mouthed “I’m coming with you” with a very stubborn set to his jaw.
I nodded, unable to deny my own relief at not having to deal with this on my own. “We’re leaving now, be there in fifteen minutes.”
I was about to hang up when Ari spoke again, his voice strained again.
“Can you look out for Yin? He ran out of the house when my uncle started threatening us and told him to leave or he was going to call the police. He left his phone here. So he may just be walking home, and it’s freezing outside.
It was snowing before.” He sniffled again.
“He was so freaked out when he left; I’m scared he’ll get hurt. ”
Fuck.
“Okay. We’ll keep an eye out for him. See you soon.”
Only after ending the call with Ari did I realize that I’d said we. I quickly tried to think of a time that I’d used a plural pronoun to refer to someone other than the guys or my mom. I could not come up with a single one.
“What happened?” Easton asked, his voice alert and worried.
When I turned, I saw him standing there ready to go, coat, hat, and scarf already on. His keys and my gear in his hand.
My instinct very much called for me to handle this myself, but I pushed it down and let myself be glad that Easton was here right now. I took my coat from him and explained as I quickly shrugged it on.
“His uncle caught him and Yin, and apparently kicked him out of the house,” I said, my voice tight with frustration.
“Shit. Is there anyone you want me to call? How can I help?”
There it was, no hesitation. Something was happening and he was here to help.
“Thanks,” I said, gripping his hand for a second, as we walked to the elevator. “Actually, could we go in separate cars?”
He tensed at my words and I could tell he thought I didn’t want him with me. “It’s just, Ari’s worried about Yin. He ran off so fast when the uncle came that he left his phone. There’s no bus route or anything around there and Yin doesn’t drive.”
I could see the tension around his eyes ease as I told him the reason. A look of determination replacing the doubt that had been there a second ago.
“Of course. I’ll follow you, but I’ll go a bit slower so I can look out for him,” he answered as the elevator doors opened. “If anything comes up, just call me.”
As we got to the garage and we were about to head to our cars, I had to stop and grab his hand. “Thank you.”
He gave me a look that said, “What did you expect, asshole?” and didn’t give me time to respond as we quickly got into our cars.
I pulled out into the snowy afternoon, the roads slippery and messy, starting to panic that something terrible would happen between Ari and his uncle before I got there.
I tried not to let anger and frustration at Ari’s uncle take hold and focused on getting there as quickly and safely as possible.
I could only imagine the things that the man had said to him, the humiliation of having that done to him in front of Yin. And poor Yin must’ve been terrified.
I sighed as I turned onto the road to the house and decided to call Ari again to let him know I was on my way. He answered after one ring.
“I should be there in a few minutes, Ari.”
“Merci, Patrice. I’m waiting at the post office that’s down the street from my uncle’s house.” He could barely talk from how hard his teeth were chattering. How could that man do this to this to Ari? After everything he’d already gone through.
“Did you see Yin? I’m scared that he’ll get lost, the snow is so heavy. I can’t see anything.”
I hesitated then, only realizing now that maybe Ari wouldn’t like Easton being involved in this.
“Actually, I was at Easton’s place when you called, and he’s right behind me in his car trying to look for Yin.”
The sigh of relief on the line was unexpected, but not a surprise once I thought about it. Easton had been in touch with Ari since arranging things with the lawyer. Of course, Ari trusted him. It also wasn’t exactly like he didn’t know about us, either, not after that big pep talk he’d given me.
Before Ari could respond, I spotted him standing in the snow-filled entrance to the small post office. “Can you see my car, Ari?”
I saw him end the call and come out to the side of the road.
He had his backpack and a fairly large suitcase with him, which I knew must’ve been hell to drag through the snow.
I jumped out to help him get his stuff in the trunk and noticed he was soaked through, and I was glad for the towels that Easton had run to get before we headed outside.
Even though it was a mess with the snow, I had to pull Ari into a hug. As soon as I did, I heard a strangled sob escape his throat.
“We’ll take care of you,” I promised, feeling fiercely protective of him. Needing him to know he was not on his own. “You’re not alone.” He nodded as he sniffled on my shoulder. I pulled back and started moving to the driver’s side door. “Now let’s move, this snow is getting heavier.”
As soon as we got in the car, a call came in from Easton. I turned to Ari, who was looking at the Bluetooth screen like it was about to blow up.