Chapter Twenty-Eight
DEE
“Macy?” I blurt, my voice higher than I intend. “As in your ex, Macy? The one who broke your heart and made you shut down emotionally for years? That Macy?”
She smirks like it’s a badge of honor.
Colt pulls me closer, protective and tense. “Yeah. That’s her.”
“Nice to meet ya,” she says casually, thrusting out her hand like this is some social call. I glance at it but make no move to shake it.
“Dee, I swear, I didn’t know she was coming,” Colt murmurs, eyes searching mine.
I nod once, my body stiffening. “Why are you here?” I ask Macy, unable to hide the suspicion in my tone.
She glances from me to Colt, then down at the little boy by her side. “Can we go inside and talk?”
Nope.
Not happening.
Not yet.
“I think you can say whatever it is right here,” Colt replies firmly. His hand on me does not budge.
She sighs dramatically, folding her arms as Princess bounds out the door, tail wagging like mad. She launches herself at the boy, who giggles and pets her.
Macy, however, scowls. “Don’t let the mutt lick you, baby.”
“She’s not a mutt,” I bite back, already bristling.
Macy smirks, fake and unapologetic. “Right. Of course. Caleb, why don’t you go play with the dog, sweetie?”
The little boy walks over to the lawn with Princess in tow, the sight of him oddly sweet… and unsettling.
“All right,” Colt says, setting down his guitar and anchoring me tighter to his side. “What do you want, Macy?”
She hesitates. “It’s Caleb. He’s sick. I didn’t know where else to turn.”
Here we go.
I cross my arms, my pulse spiking.
“What’s wrong with him?” Colt asks.
“Kidney disease. It’s… it’s bad. I can’t work, and the bills are crushing me. I had to sell my car to keep food on the table. I know how this must sound—”
“Do you?” I ask sharply, my words cutting in. “Because it sounds a hell of a lot like you came running to your rock star ex for a payout.”
Colt’s grip on me tightens again.
Macy’s eyes flicker, but she doesn’t deny it. “It’s not just about money. Caleb needs a transplant. Without one, he’ll d-die.” She chokes on that last word, and for the first time, her facade cracks.
Colt exhales, rubbing his chest. “So, what are you asking? That we help you find a donor? How are we meant to do that?”
She hesitates, then glances between us again.
A wave of unease rolls through me.
Something’s coming.
I can feel it in my bones.
“I was tested. I’m not a match. But the doctor said the father almost certainly would be.”
Time stops.
Colt stares at her.
So do I.
My eyes drift back to the boy, Caleb. The same sandy hair. That dimple. A softness in his expression I’ve only ever seen on one man.
My chest hollows.
Because Caleb looks like Colt.
Colt swallows, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “So why haven’t you tested the father?”
Her eyes lock on his. “I think you know why, Colt.”
A low throb begins in my head, the pressure building behind my eyes.
Just one day.
One fucking day was all I wanted.
To grieve. To breathe.
Is that really too much to ask?
“I think you’d better make yourself very clear,” Colt warns, voice low and gravelly.
Macy lifts her chin. “We broke up almost eight years ago. Caleb’s seven. I wanted a family, you didn’t.”
I stumble out of Colt’s grip, grabbing the doorframe for balance as the world shifts under my feet.
Colt’s breath hitches. “I don’t understand.”
“Colt… Caleb is ours.”
The word detonates.
Ours.
As in theirs.
The world seems to tilt. Colt reaches for me, but I pull away, heat flushing through me so violently I can barely breathe. My skin prickles like I’m burning alive.
Sweater off.
Need air.
Need space.
I stagger inside.
“Dee, baby—”
I hold up my hand behind me. I can’t. I won’t break down in front of them. Not again.
“Colt,” Macy says, trying to drag him back into her orbit as if it’s only her that matters.
I make it to the stairs, turn, and collapse onto the bottom step. My head falls into my hands as my breath comes in short, broken bursts.
Behind me, Colt explodes.
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me you were pregnant, Macy?” His voice booms, and I flinch.
“Because you didn’t want a family,” she yells. “You said it yourself. I didn’t want you to stay out of guilt. I didn’t want to ruin your future.”
“And you thought taking my son away was a better choice?”
I squeeze my eyes shut as the tears come hard and fast.
My body trembles with the weight of it all.
Colt has a child.
Not with me.
With her.
My ribs ache from the force of my breathing. My heart hammers like it’s trying to shatter its way out of my chest.
“I would’ve stayed, Macy. I fucking loved you. You shattered me when you left. I couldn’t even tell Dee I loved her for years because of what you did.”
“You think I wanted to do this alone?” she screams. “You think I didn’t cry myself to sleep wishing I’d made a different choice?”
I can’t listen anymore.
I can’t take one more word.
I draw my knees to my chest and wrap my arms around them, pressing my face into the space between. I cry hard, ragged, and raw. Not because I’m weak.
Because this is grief.
Because I’ve lost more than I knew I had to lose.
Colt is a father.
A dad.
He has a son.
And he’ll never have one with me.
He has exactly what he’s always wanted.
Just not with me.
I can’t take this.
Without a word, I turn and bolt up the stairs. My legs are shaky, my vision blurred, and my chest—fuck, my chest feels like it’s caving in.
A hand lands on my shoulder.
I stop, frozen, and glance back.
Colt.
His eyes are red. Shimmering. Haunted.
And just beyond him is Macy.
Inside.
My home.
I see her stepping into the foyer, and bile rushes up my throat.
Colt’s focus stays on me, though. Not her. “Baby, I swear to you, I didn’t know,” he says, his voice hoarse.
I blink at him, and the weight of everything hits me like a freight train. He opens his arms, and without hesitation, I fall into them. Colt holds me tight, right here in the middle of the staircase, grounding me while the world spins violently out of control.
I stare up into his tear-filled eyes and force the only words I can muster. “You need to listen to her, Colt. You need to take care of your child.”
His jaw tenses, eyes narrowing slightly like he’s about to break. I feel the battle raging inside him and his instinct to stay with me, to protect me, and the undeniable pull toward the boy downstairs who needs him.
A boy who shares his blood.
“Dee…” He cups my cheek gently, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “I need to take care of you too.”
I shake my head. “No. Caleb comes first now. He must come first. He needs you more than I do.” My voice doesn’t break. It’s steady and even, but my insides rip apart. “Talk to Macy. Figure out what you need to do. I’ll be okay.” I turn, retreating up the steps.
He catches my wrist and pulls me back, pressing a soft kiss to my trembling lips. “I love you.”
I nod, eyes locked on his, words don’t come, then I pull away and walk toward our bedroom. At the top, I glance back. He’s still standing in the middle of the staircase, watching me with a tear sliding down his cheek.
I shut the door and lock it.
Not because I’m shutting him out.
But because I need space.
I lean against the door, my body trembling from the inside out.
I know this isn’t Macy’s fault. Not really.
But I need someone to blame. And if I put that blame on Colt, I don’t know if I’ll come back from it.
My breathing slows, but my heart doesn’t.
It continues to pound so violently, I half expect it to punch through my ribs.
Caleb’s little face flashes in my mind.
He looks just like him.
And worse, I can see it—the future.
Colt tossing a football with him in the backyard. Teaching him guitar. Carrying him on his shoulders, proud as hell. The thought crashes into me like a tidal wave, and I snap.
I slam the back of my head against the door once.
Twice.
A third time.
Tears spill, hot and fast, but the pounding in my skull distracts me from the screaming in my chest. Then the images shift. Colt laughing with Caleb. Holding his hand. Hugging him goodnight.
I lurch for the ensuite, barely making it in time before I throw up everything in my stomach.
Acid burns my throat as I grip the bowl, heaving and sobbing all at once.
I curl against the tiles, my body shivering from the force.
My tears smear across my skin, hot and relentless.
I press my cheek to the cold floor, my arms wrapped around myself like they can hold in the broken pieces.
He has a family now.
A child.
A son.
And I’ll never give him one.
That chance was ripped away from us only yesterday. And today, the universe hands him everything he’s ever wanted on a silver platter lined with pain.
What kind of cosmic joke is that?
I don’t know how long I lay there, crying and staring at the grout in the tiles. Eventually, I pull myself up. Flush the toilet. Wash my hands. Splash water over my face until I can breathe again.
I shuffle into the bedroom, change into my pajamas, and climb into bed.
I pull his pillow to me, bury my face into it, and inhale him.
He’s still here. Downstairs. With her.
I cry quietly this time, the kind of tears that sting less but weigh more. The yelling from below has stopped. A car starts. It drives away. I don’t check who it is.
Then footsteps sound on the stairs.
The handle on our bedroom door jiggles.
It’s locked. I left it that way for a reason.
“Dee?” Colt’s voice is soft and hesitant. “Are you okay?”
I say nothing.
“I know you probably don’t want to talk to me right now. I get it. I’ll give you time. Just… can you let me know you’re okay in there?”
I grip his pillow tighter. “I’m here,” I whisper.
He exhales like he’s been holding his breath since I walked away.
“Can I bring you something? Water? Food?”
“No.”
A beat.