Chapter 58
Chapter fifty-eight
Cole · Now
Another sob tears through the air.
Wood screeches across the floor when Saint kicks his chair back and jumps up. He rounds the table, stopping just by Hendrix's side, a shaking hand curling around her shoulder.
I lift Lyric from Hendrix’s lap, and hook her on my hip, spinning to face Noah. “Can you take the girls please?”
Noah nods and rushes across the floor.
Lyric puckers trembling lips. “But Uncle Coley—”
“I know, sweetheart. You’re very excited to spend time with Auntie Rixie,” I say, brushing a hand through her soft curls as Noah scoops up Melody. “But we need grown up talk right now. And you know what that means?”
She throws her head onto my chest and groans. “No little ears.”
“Exactly.” I kiss her forehead before passing her over to her mum. She clings tight to my white T-shirt. “And don’t you want to spend time with Mummy before she hits the road again. Pretty sure she’s been missing you lots.”
“Yeah, but we always see Mummy.”
Noah huffs a laugh as she grapples with a kid on each lap. “Charming as always, kid.”
I tip my head in thanks to her, and ease Lyric’s fingers away.
“Auntie Rixie isn’t going anywhere.” At least I really fucking hope not. “So, you’ll have all the time to come hang out with her, okay?”
“Tomorrow?” Melody slurs around the thumb in her mouth.
My chest expands.
“We’ll see.” I wink. “Now, shoo.”
“Call me later,” Noah tells Carter as she passes him.
His gaze never strays from Hendrix. “Will do.”
“Alright.” She slides the girls down to their feet when she crosses the threshold before turning to face us all. “If you need anything, you know where I’m at.”
Axel waves. “We’ve got this, you just go take care of our girls.”
“Always,” she says, pulling the door behind her.
It closes with a soft click, leaving us with only the crackling through the speakers, and Hendrix’s sharp, heaving breaths as company.
Nobody says anything.
Glass clinks as Theo starts gathering up the remnants of our dinner. She shuffles around the room, arms laden, face dipped as if she can’t bear to watch the fallout.
We knew there was a chance it wouldn’t go well, but I’m not sure any of us could have predicted this.
Carter bridges the distance between him and Hendrix and drops to his knees at the side of her chair. He grabs her hands.
A tear rolls over her lashes as she locks eyes with him. “They’re beautiful, Carter.”
My gut twists, my heart battering my ribs.
“They are.” A rare smile graces Carter’s face. “I’m sorry, Rix. I’ve been a real fucking prick since you got back and I get it if you hate me.”
“I don’t hate you,” she breathes, then a wet chuckle spills from her lips.
My shoulders droop at the sound.
“You have kids," she says.
He nods. “I have kids.”
“Real breathing human kids.”
“Yeah.”
“Fire breathing dragons more like,” Saint murmurs, a smirk lifting his mouth.
Axel hums an agreement. “We call them the terror twins, because they’re little fucking terrors most of the time.”
“Behave yourselves,” Theo says from the kitchen, as she dips her hands into the steaming sink.
Hendrix twists an inch, peering up at me through hooded lashes. “They know who I am.”
I nod.
A sharp breath slips through her parted lips. “You told them about me.”
My arms tremble.
I stop fighting my instincts and reach out for her.
I lift her off the chair, drop into her seat, and drape her over my lap.
Arms tight around her, I prop my chin on her shoulder as she sinks into me. “I did. They know everything about you.”
“Why?” She shivers.
“Because they know everything about me,” I say. She peels back slightly. I swipe my thumb over her lower lip, releasing the ball from her teeth, before ghosting my mouth over hers. “And there is no me without you, Rixie Moore.”
Her breath skirts my cheeks, her forehead dropping to mine.
She wraps her arms around my neck.
I skate my fingers down her spine. “Melody’s your biggest fan, you know. Her favourite song is Reckless Abandon. It was the first thing she ever smiled at. Carter will tell you it was his ugly mug she was grinning at, but he lies.”
Carter scoffs. “It was.”
“She even said your name before any of ours.” My eyes burn at the memory. “Saint was showing her all the pictures Theo took our last year of school, and she just pointed at one of you and said, ‘Dat’s Rix.’”
“I was really offended,” Axel says, dropping to the floor next to Carter. “Because let’s be honest, Ax is far easier than Rix.”
“They’re basically the same thing,” Carter deadpans.
“Hardly.”
“Point is,” Saint drops to his haunches, and tugs her hair until she's facing him. “They’ve known you their whole lives, Rix. They’ve loved you their whole lives. We have a family, a real family, and you’ve always been a part of it.”
She closes her eyes, her back shuddering as she heaves in a ragged breath. “I don’t know what to do with all this. This is…”
“A lot.” I kiss her hair. “We know.”
“You don’t have to do anything right now,” Carter tells her, squeezing her hand. “We’re not going anywhere. So, take whatever time you need to figure this out, okay?”
“Why did you hide them?” she asks quietly.
Carter exhales a short breath. “Because I couldn’t bear the thought of you leaving them…” He brushes her fringe from her eyes. “Of you leaving us again.”
“I never planned to the first time.”
“Figured.” Carter shrugs. “I don’t blame you for the decisions you made, kiddo, even if I don’t understand them. You were still just a kid. We all were back then. We had no idea what we were doing.”
She trembles.
I tighten my hold, as if my arms alone can fight whatever internal battle she’s facing right now.
Saint sparks a joint.
His slow drag fills the quiet as skunk curls around us.
Then he asks Hendrix, “Bad day?”
“Bad day, bestie.” She drops her head onto my thumping chest.
He offers her the joint. “Wanna talk about it?”
She grips it between shaking fingers and pulls in a slow drag, before handing it back. “Later?”
“Later it is.” He squeezes her thigh and kisses her forehead before standing. Theo slinks to the side of him, twining their hands together. Saint’s lip curve softly. “Better days really do exist, Rix. You’ll see. Just hold on, okay?”
She slides a hand beneath my shirt, fingers splaying over my heart. “I promise.”
“That’s my girl.” He winks, clapping my shoulder as he passes. “See you later.”
I nod. “Yeah. Later.”
Axel and Carter stand too.
They both kiss Hendrix’s hair before slipping out my flat quietly.
The door creaks shut.
I glance over the messy room and sigh.
Hendrix tightens her hold on me.
I push up to standing.
She wraps her legs around my waist, curling her arms around my neck. I feel every beat of her heart against, every breath, and every shudder that passes through her body as I carry her into my bedroom.
I perch her onto the edge of my bed. “Do you want a shower or anything?”
She shakes her head, her eyes shining as they collide with mine.
I sink to my knees and tuck her hair behind her ear. “Are you okay, baby?”
She curls her fingers around my wrist and squeezes the inked Hummingbird. “Not even a little.”
My heart cracks.
She’s never once answered that question like that. Even back then, when I knew our end was looming, she’d just brush me off with a smile and tell me that everything was fine.
“Will you be okay?” Will we?
She doesn’t answer, just shuffles along the bed and pats the space beside her.
I slide in and pull her into my chest.
She throws a leg over mine, her arms tight around me.
Only the soft buzz from the London streets echoing through the open window fills the quiet as she presses into me.
I stroke the ends of her hair, goosebumps flicking across my skin as her breath coasts along my neck.
I flick the big light off and replace it with the soft glowing lamp on my bedside.
Hendrix hums, her lips vibrating across my chest.
I glance down at her.
“I can’t believe Carter has kids,” she says.
Her hair stirs when I chuckle. “I know. Six years in and I still struggle to believe it.”
“Did you ever consider it for yourself?”
I arch a brow. “Kids?”
“Yeah.” I feel her shrug. “After he had them. Did you get all broody and think about having your own?”
A laugh bubbles up my throat. “Nope. Never.”
She peeks up at me.
“I love the girls, with everything I am,” I tell her, trailing my fingers down her back. “But I mostly love that I can hand them back over to their mum or dad at the end of the day.”
The corner of her lip twitches. “That’s good to know.”
“Why?” I pinch her hip. “You thinking about popping a couple out?”
“God, no.” She snorts, the tension in her muscles slowly easing as I slip my hand under her shirt and skate my fingertips over her soft skin. “Just making sure we’re still on the same page, Rock Star.”
Butterflies stir through my veins. “Always and forever, Rixie.”
“And even after that?” She watches me with wide, hopeful eyes.
I cup her cheek and seal our lips together. “Even then.”