Chapter 32 Home
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Remi
Ihear his voice before I see him.
It crashes through the hallway like a freight train, rattling my ribs and making it impossible to pretend I’m not sitting on the floor, clutching a pillow like it might keep me from falling apart completely.
"I’m here because I love her."
I freeze.
The breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding rushes out of me, my fingers curling tighter around the edge of the pillow. My stomach twists, and my throat burns with the weight of every single word I didn’t let myself believe until now.
He loves me?
Footsteps thunder down the hall, and I know Matthew’s letting him through. I scramble up from the floor, heart pounding in my chest like it’s trying to beat its way out.
Then he’s there.
Standing in the doorway of my old bedroom, his chest heaving and his lip split open. His hair is a mess, like he’s run his hands through it a thousand times, and his eyes—God, his eyes—they lock on me like I’m the only thing that’s ever mattered.
He looks broken and furious and desperate all at once.
And I’ve never wanted to throw myself into someone’s arms more than I do right now.
But all I can whisper is, “You love me?”
He steps forward like he might fall if he doesn’t.
“Yeah,” he breathes, voice hoarse. “Yeah, Remi. I love you.”
I blink fast, tears threatening to spill. “Since when?”
“Since I watched you hold my daughters like they were yours,” he says, eyes never leaving mine.
“Since I saw the way they clung to you after Stella… since the first time you walked into my kitchen in that ridiculous oversized sweatshirt and smiled at me like I wasn’t the biggest mess in the room.
Since I realized I felt peace just from hearing your laugh.
I just—God, Remi—I was too scared to say it. ”
I swallow the sob clawing at my throat and take a shaky step toward him. “I left because I thought I was too much. That eventually you’d realize it and—”
He’s on me before I can finish.
Hands cupping my face, forehead pressed to mine, like he's trying to breathe me in. “You’re everything. You’re loud and beautiful and messy and fierce and mine. You hear me?”
I nod, tears spilling over now.
“I can only imagine what Stella said to you,” he murmurs, voice softer now, one thumb brushing across my cheek. “I know Stella planted those doubts. But she doesn’t get to win. Not again. Not with you. Not with us.”
“I was so scared,” I admit. “If I lost you… I’d lose them too. I couldn’t survive that.”
“You’re not going to lose me,” he whispers. “You’re not going to lose them. We’re yours, Remi. I’m yours. No more running.”
My heart aches with the force of everything inside me. I reach up and trace the cut on his lip. “You fought my brother for me?”
He shrugs. “He landed a few decent punches.”
“You look like hell.”
He cracks a small smile. “You should see the other guy.”
That makes me laugh, watery and broken and real. And it’s all it takes for him to crush me against his chest.
“I love you too,” I whisper.
His breath catches, and I feel his arms tighten around me like maybe he thought I’d never say it.
“I love you,” I repeat, more certain this time. “I want to come home.”
“Then let’s go,” he murmurs, dropping a kiss to my hair. “Let’s go home.”
The ride back is quiet, but it’s not tense.
It’s full.
Full of unspoken words and soft glances. His hand rests on my thigh like it belongs there. Every now and then, his thumb moves in a slow circle, grounding me—reminding me that this is real.
That he came for me.
I stare out the window, watching the familiar streets blur past, my heart pounding like it’s racing ahead to get there first. Back to them. Back to us.
When we pull into the driveway, I see Langston’s truck already parked out front. The porch light is on, a soft glow spilling across the walkway like a welcome mat. My chest tightens.
“They’ve been okay?” I ask, my voice small.
Coleman shifts the car into park and looks at me, his voice soft but steady. “Langston texted me an hour ago. Said they made him watch some weird movie and then beat him at Uno.”
A laugh slips out, choked with relief.
I don’t wait for him to come around. I open the car door and walk up the steps like my body is moving before my mind can catch up. Before I can talk myself into being scared again.
Coleman opens the front door for me. His hand rests at the small of my back as I step into the house.
The second I’m inside, I hear them.
Paige’s laughter echoes from the living room, followed by Langston’s exaggerated groan. “Rematch! I demand a rematch!”
Then I hear her. “No way, Uncle Lang, you lost fair and square!”
I bite my lip and swallow the lump rising in my throat.
He wraps his arm around me, pulling me in close. “They love you. They chose you, Remi.”
And then, I see them.
Payton and Paige are sitting on the couch, barefoot in oversized pajamas, cheeks pink from laughter. When they spot me, they both freeze.
“Remi?” Paige says, almost like she doesn’t believe it’s really me.
I drop my purse and crouch down on instinct. “Hey, Button.”
She launches herself at me so fast I nearly fall backward, arms tight around my neck, breath warm against my cheek. I hold her like I’ll never let go again.
“I missed you so much,” she murmurs, voice shaking. “Why’d you leave?”
Before I can answer, Payton walks into view. Her arms are crossed. Her face is a mask of control—but her eyes… God, her eyes.
“You came back,” she says. It’s not a question. It’s a statement.
A test.
I shift Paige to one side and reach for Payton with my free hand.
“I’ll always come back for you,” I say. “No matter what.”
She looks at me for a second that stretches longer than I can stand. And then, with a breath that sounds like a dam breaking, she steps into me and wraps her arms around my neck.
I feel her forehead press against my cheek.
“I knew you weren’t like her,” she whispers.
And that’s it.
My heart splits open.
I drop my face into both of their hair, holding them so tight I can’t tell where they end and I begin. My shirt is damp with tears—maybe theirs, maybe mine. It doesn’t matter.
This is my family.
This is everything.
I look up to find Langston standing off to the side, arms crossed, watching us with a knowing smile.
“I’m gonna go,” he says, giving Coleman a nod. “Girls are all yours again.”
“Thanks, man,” Coleman says. “Owe you.”
Langston just shrugs. “Nah. You’d do the same for me.”
When he leaves, Coleman kneels down beside us. His hand slides to my back, grounding me again.
“Come on,” he says gently. “Let’s get them tucked in.”
We do it together.
Like a team.
Paige asks if she can sleep in Payton’s room tonight, and we agree without hesitation. Once they’re both curled up under the covers, Coleman kneels by Paige and kisses her forehead.
“Sleep tight, Button.”
He turns to Payton, brushing her hair back.
“You good, Bug?”
She nods, her eyes flicking to me. “We’re good now.”
I kiss them both and we step out, closing the door behind us.
When we’re alone in the hallway, Coleman turns to me, eyes searching mine. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“I was scared too,” I admit.
“Don’t do that again.”
“I won’t.”
He lifts my hand to his lips, kissing it. Then he pulls me into him.
“You’re home now,” he says quietly.
And just like that, I know it’s true.
I’m home.