Chapter 34 Wyatt
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Wyatt
“You got everything?” I ask, leaning into the doorframe.
Abby turns to look at me from where she’s zipping up her small duffel bag. “I think so,” she says, looking around the room that is now void of all her stuff.
It seems empty now without her things scattered about. It’s an absurd thought, but it feels like this room was meant to be hers.
I grab her bag from her, slinging it over my shoulder. Her hair is mostly dry after the shower she took this morning.
I had to fight the urge to hop in with her, but I think we could all tell she needed a minute on her own to process everything. Last night was… well, there aren’t really adequate words to describe what last night was.
She stops in front of me, looking up with those honey-brown eyes. She’s trying to put on a brave face, but I can tell she’s sad.
I cup the sides of her face, sliding my fingers through her thick brown waves. “Thank you for helping to take care of Kane this week.”
A tiny snort of laughter bursts from her. “He didn’t really need me that much,” she says, knowing eyes trying to unravel my innermost secrets.
“It got you here. Right?” I ask with a playful shrug.
“Yeah, it did.” There’s a wistfulness to her words.
“Do you regret it?” I ask because I have to know. She and I both know we aren’t talking about her being here to “take care of Kane” anymore.
The question has barely left my lips before she’s shaking her head. Her cheeks press against my hands with the motion. “No, I don’t.”
She bites her lip. It looks like there’s more she wants to say, but she shuts it down with a heavy sigh.
I bend, pressing my lips to hers. I try to communicate everything I’m feeling through the kiss instead of words.
My brain is a fucking mess, so I don’t even know what I would say if I didn’t think it could shatter everything into a million pieces.
Last night was perfect. You’re perfect. I want to sleep next to you every night.
She clings to me, like maybe she’s feeling some of the same things I am. I know last night wasn’t a one-sided thing.
The way she looked at all of us showed how real this has become for her, too. I have been wrong plenty of times in my life, but I’m pretty damn sure this isn’t one of them.
I know I suggested the one-night-only idea, but I’m a fucking idiot. Even as the words were pouring from my mouth, I knew there was no way it would work.
You don’t just fuck someone like Abby out of your system. She’s the kind of woman that permanently leaves an imprint on your heart and soul.
I grab her hand as we silently walk side by side down the stairs and into the kitchen. My mind is whirling with anything I can say or do to make this last.
This can’t be it. Last night was too perfect to never happen again. Connections like that deserve to be cherished, not shoved to the dark recesses of one’s mind.
Abby gives my hand a squeeze before rounding the island to where Linc and Kane are cleaning up from the breakfast we all ate together.
I’m only half paying attention as she gives them both hugs and kisses. Their conversations are masked by the thoughts racing through my mind, manically trying to create a solution out of thin air.
I snap back to reality when Abby tugs at her bag that I’m still holding. “Cole just pulled up,” she says.
My heart sinks because this is it. She’s really leaving. She’s only been here for a week, but it feels wrong that she won’t be sleeping here tonight.
Reluctantly, I hand over her bag. She presses up on her toes, giving me one last kiss. My lips want more than a kiss that’s barely more than a peck.
The tears in her eyes as she pulls back threaten to break my heart, which feels perilously close already.
She steps away when the front door bursts open. Oliver and Maverick come sauntering in, both laughing about something. “Mom,” Mav shouts.
Abby blinks a few times, clearing the tears from her eyes. She might be masking other feelings, but her smile is genuine as she wraps her son in a hug.
The sight makes my heart ache. Before Jess died, I saw firsthand how much Kane struggled when Oliver wasn’t with him. I can only imagine how Abby feels right now.
“I missed you,” she says, kissing the top of his head.
“Missed you, too,” he says, smiling up at her. “Dad’s waiting in the car.”
“Alright, we can head out,” she says.
He grabs her bag, even though it’s a little too big for him to carry. And here I go, liking the kid even more than I already did.
Maverick turns to look at Kane, who’s leaning against the kitchen island. “Are you feeling better?”
Kane smiles. “Yeah, kid, I’m doing a lot better. Thanks for lending me your mom for the week to help take care of me.”
“She’s good at taking care of people when they’re sick or hurt. This one time when I was throwing up all—”
“And I think that’s enough of that story,” Abby says, steering Maverick to the door with a laugh. “Not everyone needs to hear about the color of your puke.”
Maverick steps away from his mom to say bye to Oliver. They do a weird series of fist bumps that has both of them smiling. With their choreographed greeting complete, Maverick walks back to Abby’s side.
Abby’s eyes ping between the three of us. There’s sadness in her stare, but also a stubborn determination. I love her steely determination most of the time, but not with this.
With a harsh exhale, she opens the door.
“Bye,” Maverick says with a wave.
Everyone voices their goodbyes, but one small voice rings in my ears above all the rest. “Bye,” Oliver says in return.
Kane told us what Oliver said a few weeks ago, but it’s completely different hearing it with your own ears. My heart feels like it’s going to explode out of my chest with the amount of pride I have right now.
I’m so fucking proud of him for facing his demons like a determined ninja warrior. Even if he never spoke again, I would still be proud of him. He isn’t my son, but I love him like he is.
Abby has a look of awe on her face that makes me like her even more. She understands how significant that one little word is.
“Bye, Oliver,” she says with a warm smile, then she lets the door close behind them.
“I want more,” I say, flipping the slightly damp dish towel over my shoulder. The words have been on the tip of my tongue since the moment Abby left earlier this morning, but I haven’t had a chance to say anything.
Oliver was here, and we needed more than two minutes to talk about this. Oliver is finally in bed for the night, so the words just kind of flew from my mouth.
“Dinner?” Kane asks, loading the last of the dishes in the dishwasher. He points to the fridge. “There’s leftovers.”
Okay, maybe that wasn’t the best way to start this conversation but whatever. It’s already out there.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “With Abby… what we had last night.”
Kane freezes, looking at me with wide eyes. Linc turns around, leaning against the kitchen table with his feet crossed in front of him.
His face is seemingly blank, but he can’t hide much from me. I can see a slight glimmer of interest in what I’m saying.
“What do you mean you want more?” Kane asks, straightening from where he was reaching in the cupboard below the sink for the dishwasher soap. “The whole one-night thing was your idea.”
He’s got me there, but I have eyes. I saw the way he looked at her last night. He isn’t prepared to walk away from her any more than I am.
“A small part of me thought it would actually work. That we would be able to spend the night together and then all go on with our lives as friends.” I shake my head, letting out a heavy exhale. “I was… wrong.”
Kane opens his mouth but then snaps it shut. He runs his hand over his face.
“Was one night enough?” I ask, my gaze bouncing between the two of them. They both hesitate for a beat before shaking their heads.
That’s what I thought.
“Nothing else has changed,” Linc says.
Everything has changed. I want to scream it. I knew there was something between Abby and me before last night, but now I’m pretty damn sure I’m more than halfway in love with her.
It’s insanity because love has never even been on my mind when I’ve been in relationships, not that any of them have lasted very long. But there’s something about Abby that’s made it an increasingly frequent topic in my brain.
“I can’t fuck any of this up for Oliver,” Kane says, making a sweeping motion around the room. His words snap me back to reality.
Oliver’s sweet voice saying that one word flashes through my mind. Seeing him slowly crawl his way through the dark cloud that’s encompassed him since Jess’s death is truly beautiful.
That’s why we can’t do this. As much as it kills me, he’s worth it. Time and time again, he’ll always be worth it.
I wish there was a way I… we could have both. I want what’s best for Oliver, always, but… I wish there was a way to make this work.
I just can’t come up with any solutions right now, and the defeated look in Linc and Kane’s eyes reflects the very same thought.