Chapter 19 #2
Gracie starts trying to push against Nadia’s chest, indicating she wants to be let down.
Nadia places her on the floor and watches her crawl away before picking up her wine and taking a deep swallow.
“I forced her to see a doctor who said it was postpartum depression and would fade with time. He prescribed her medication to help, but she never took it. That morning, I knew something was off. I was about to head over to her place when she told me not to, that she had things to do and was going to drop off Gracie. I should have known.”
I rub her back soothingly as she cries for the loss of her friend. “You couldn’t have known…”
“But I did, I felt it. The way she kept hugging and kissing Gracie, like she was saying goodbye. And then when she hugged me, it felt different. She even said, ‘Take good care of my girl.’ It was unusual for her to say that, usually she would just say, ‘I’ll be back soon.’ I should have connected the dots.
” She blows her nose and takes more of her wine before continuing.
“After a few hours and no news, I was starting to get worried, and I didn’t have enough diapers or formula for Gracie. We only lived a five-minute walk away from each other, so I headed over to her place.” She lets out a deep breath.
“When I saw her car in the driveway, I thought maybe she just needed a break and was resting. I went in, got the formula, then went to Gracie’s room to get diapers, which was right beside the bathroom.
” She puts her face in her hands and sobs louder as I feel my own tears surfacing.
Fuck, I can’t even imagine being in that situation.
“There was pinkish water coming out from under the door, and I could hear it still running inside. I pushed the door open, and there she was. In the bath, with both her wrists slit… she had bled out.” Nadia forces the words out as she scrunches up her face.
“I closed the door and ran to the kitchen to call 9-1-1. It was then that I noticed a note on the table addressed to me. She knew I would be the one to find her. It said she was sorry, but she didn’t have a choice.
And that everything I needed to know about Gracie was in the diaper bag. ”
“Do you know why she never told anyone who Gracie’s father was?” I ask her softly.
She shakes her head. “Every time I asked her, she said he was some hotshot and that it was better for him if he didn’t know. That she didn’t want to put that kind of burden on him.”
“Gracie is so far from a burden. Greyson’s an amazing dad and loves her. He would have helped out if he knew.” Maybe she wouldn’t have taken her life if she had his help.
“I think she was more referring to herself than Gracie.” She smiles sadly my way.
Gracie comes back to us and sits up, stretching her arms toward me. I lean over and pick her up, kissing her cheek as I settle her on my lap.
“I saw the picture of you two on the hockey team’s Instagram page.
It’s how I found out where you live. Your location is always near here on your account, and you have a picture with the front of the house…
I know I must sound like a stalker, I just really wanted to see her, and I didn’t know how else.
I tried messaging Greyson on his account, but he never answered. ”
“Yeah, he gets a lot of messages from random women, so he never looks at them. I’m sorry he hasn’t reached out, and I’m sorry about the picture. It must have upset you. I never said I was her mom, but not many people know Gracie’s story, so they just assume.” I offer her a sympathetic smile.
“It’s okay, it was a shock at first. But I’m glad she’ll have a mother figure in her life since she won’t remember her own.” She glides her knuckles over Gracie’s cheek as she starts falling asleep in my arms.
Just then the door to the garage opens and Greyson comes in. He smiles at me, but it drops when he notices I’m not alone. “Nadia?”
She turns and looks at him. “Hi, Greyson.”
He strolls over and kisses me on the lips, then his daughter’s head before turning back to the woman next to me. “What are you doing here?” He seems a little upset by her presence, but when he sees the frown on my face, his features change to indifference.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to show up unannounced. I just missed Gracie and wanted to see her… I would have asked first, but I had no way of contacting you.”
His shoulders drop and he sighs. “Shit, sorry. I should have thought that you’d want to keep in touch with her.” He sits down on the coffee table facing us and passes his fingers through his hair.
I place my hand on his thigh and squeeze lightly, smiling at him when he looks up. “I’ll let you two talk while I put this little one down for her nap.”
I stand from the couch with Gracie and let Greyson take my spot. “It was lovely meeting you, Nadia. I’m truly sorry for your loss. Greyson will give you both our numbers so that next time you can reach out when you want to see her.”
“Thank you, Emma. It was nice meeting you, too,” she says before I walk up the stairs to put Little Tulip in her crib.
I place the mug I’ve just finished handwashing on the drying rack when I hear Greyson’s footsteps making their way down the stairs. “She finally fell asleep?”
Gracie was being fussy tonight and refusing to sleep.
I’m not sure if it’s simply a phase starting or if it was Nadia’s presence, but she was not having it and has been fighting us for the past hour.
Greyson ended up taking over after the first half-hour when he realized none of my attempts were working.
“Yeah. I think she got tired of hearing me try to imitate the characters in her storybooks and figured it would be best to just call it a night.” He chuckles and walks up behind me, arms circling my waist as he kisses the crook of my neck.
“Mmm, you smell amazing. I can never tell which flower you smell like.” His nose drags up the side of my neck to the back of my ear.
I smile, picking up my sunflower mug from the counter since I never put it in the sink out of fear it might break, and begin lathering it with soap. “It’s my shampoo and body wash, you know this. Notes of lily of the valley, jasmine, and lavender.”
“Hm, that’s right. Fuck… never stop using whatever this diabolically enchanting shit is. I could live with my nose glued to your neck like this forever.” This time he full on nuzzles me, digging deeper against my skin.
“That has to be the weirdest, yet most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.” I laugh when he begins nibbling as well, the prickly hair of his beard tickling my sensitive flesh. “Wolf, stop it. I’m trying to get these cleaned, and you’re making it really hard.”
“You’re making it really hard, too,” he counters. One of his hands moves up to cup my breast over my dress while the other trails south between my legs, his hips flexing into my ass and making me feel every delicious inch of his length.
I close my eyes momentarily, leaning my head back against his shoulder as his hand finds its way beneath my dress and begins rubbing tiny circles over my panty covered clit.
A whispered moan leaves my lips as I begin to lose myself in the moment, rocking back into him while his tongue and mouth work their magic on my neck.
Greyson pushes my panties to the side, his rough fingertips now connecting with my sensitive skin before dipping lower to my entrance.
His thick digit slides inside of me as goosebumps break out along my arms, causing me to shiver and tighten my grip on the mug in my hands.
Slowly, he slides it in and out, his thumb finding my clit once more as I begin to drip all over his hand.
I begin panting, that aching feeling inside my belly burning stronger with every stroke of his fingers until I feel myself nearing the edge of the cliff, completely lost to his touch.
It isn’t until my mug nearly slips from my soapy hands that I snap out of the trance he’s placed on me and open my eyes.
“Okay, okay! Grey, seriously, I need you to stop before I break something.” I giggle and pull my head away, trying to wiggle out of his hold.
His finger doesn’t stop moving, and I groan.
“I’m serious, Wolf. I won’t forgive you if you make me break something. ”
“Fine, fine.” He chuckles, reluctantly releasing me and taking a step back. Barely. I can still feel his breath fanning across the back of my neck, his body heat warming up my spine.
I look over my shoulder just as he hums and find him with his finger that was just inside of me, now lodged between his lips. “Heaven.”
I snort and turn back to the dishes, finishing cleaning the last three mugs that we only handwash and setting them on the drying rack as well.
The instant my fingertips release them, Greyson grabs my hips, and he spins me around.
He presses my back into the counter and seals his lips to mine within my next breath, his tongue exploring the inside of my mouth as mine does the same to his.
My arms wrap around his neck as I grind against him, but just as quickly I move them down to his waistband, popping the button and pulling down his zipper.
“Fuck, does my Bunny look sexy as hell right now. Hair a mess, pupils blown, flushed all over. I can even smell your needy cunt dripping for me, and it makes me want to devour you.” His lips trail down my neck, over the slope of my breast, until he reaches my nipple and bites down hard through the fabric.
I yelp in surprise, my fist tightening around his cock that I had just managed to grasp, and my body leans back on instinct. I realize the moment I fucked up when my back connects with something and the sound of mugs tumbling over each other rings loudly in my ears.
“Oh shit!” My eyes widen and I quickly turn, trying to catch them before any fall off the counter.
It’s one of those two-level racks where one tipping over could cause a disaster, and that’s exactly what’s happening.
It’s like my hands are only adding to the chaos unfolding before me, and every time I steady one mug, another falls.
Greyson quickly tries to help as well by placing one arm on each side of my body and trying to stop them all from moving.
But in his sudden attempt to help, he knocks into my arm, making my hand catch onto the rack, and before I can stop it, three mugs crash to the ground.
I gasp loudly when I see one of the mugs now lying on the ground is my mug. I spin to face Greyson as my eyes well with tears instantly, unable to face what might have just happened. “Oh no… no, no, no…”
“Fuck…” Greyson mutters when he looks down and sees it as well, his hands rubbing soothingly up and down my arms. He knows how important that mug is to me.
My stomach turns to knots, bile rising in my throat as my heart pounds in my chest and I shift my weight from one foot to the other.
I desperately try to keep it together, repeating that it’s only a mug and nothing else in my mind, that it doesn’t matter, and it’s not the end of the world if it broke.
But my hands begin to tremble and the tears that were simply coating my lids mere seconds ago now fall freely down my cheeks.
My foot catches onto something as I shift again, and when I look down and see a broken brown piece of ceramic, I sob. “Oh God!” I quickly cover my face and cry into my hands.
His hands leave my body, but I refuse to look at him, refuse to look at what he’s doing. “Hey, look. It’s okay, Em,” he says softly, but I shake my head, unable to face the truth. “No, look, Bunny. It’s not your mug. It’s not the one that broke.”
The words echo in my mind, and I slowly peek through my fingers, sniffling as he stands back up from his crouching position and holds my sunflower mug in front of me. “See? It’s okay.” He slowly turns it over, showing me every angle. “No new damage.”
“But…” I whisper, glancing down at the piece by my foot.
“It’s the poop one that broke. But that’s okay, we can just buy a new one.
” He releases my mug when I hold it firmly between my palms and cups my cheeks, bringing my gaze to his as his thumbs wipe away my tears that haven’t stopped falling.
“Breathe, Bunny. Your mug isn’t broken. Everything’s fine. ”
I sob a little louder, dropping my forehead to his shoulder as I let out deep breaths, trying to calm the hurricane of emotions that just went through me within seconds. “God, I feel so silly crying over a mug…”
“It’s not silly, baby. It’s important to you. You have every right to be upset if something were to happen to it. But now that we know it’s still in perfect condition—well, as perfect as it was before the fall—you can relax.”
“Yeah, okay.” I breathe out once more, leaning my body against his while cradling my mug between us.
“Although from now on, I think we should find a safer system for the mugs if we don’t want a repeat of that, or at least push back the rack toward the wall,” Greyson says before kissing the side of my head.
“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I don’t think I can handle that amount of stress again.” I giggle. “What a way to kill the mood.”
“But is it really killed?” He nibbles at my shoulder, then slowly peppers kisses along my neck as his hands begin to grope me.
“Okay, okay! Not entirely killed. But let’s fix all of this up first, and then you can take me to the bedroom.” I pull my head back and smile at him just as his lips reach mine.
“I like the sound of that.” He pecks me again, then we quickly get to work in cleaning up the mess and placing the mugs farther toward the back wall. The moment we’re done, Greyson sweeps me off my feet and carries me toward the stairs.
“Finally, I get to devour my pretty little Bunny.”