Page 99 of Unleashing Chaos

I take a deep breath, my eyes squeezed shut, and turn my head toward where his chin is resting on my shoulder. “No, but yes.”

He nods his understanding and kisses my temple before running his fingers through my hair. “Do you need me to stay? I can help you through this if you need me to.”

I shake my head once. “No. I can do it. I’ll come up when I’m done, okay?”

“Okay.” As Jace passes by Cannon, he squeezes his shoulder once. “Take her over to the couch. She’s going to need your support through this.”

Cannon’s brows dip even lower as he immediately jumps to his feet and rounds the island to me. “Desi, come sit.”

With one more grateful look at Jace, I hook my arm into Cannon’s and move to sit with him on the couch. We remain in silence for a few seconds until he speaks.

“Desi, you’re scaring me. Are you okay? What’s going on? Why did you come home early? Why do you look like you’re about to tell me the worst news on the face of the planet?”

Because I am. My father, the man who has loved me and taken care of me for over a century, is essentially burning out. And there isn’t a thing I can do to stop it. Oh, and I have to leave behind the man I’ve fallen—grown very fond of.

I don’t wait another second because my other best friend looks incredibly worried for me. I tell Cannon the whole story about my brother showing up on Liberty Island, meeting my father at the pub, and him dropping the news that I’d have to come home in three days instead of a month. But when I get to the part where I need to explain why, that lump returns to my throat, and I freeze.

He scoots closer to me on the couch and wraps his arm around my shoulders, and I lean into him, pulling my knees up and tucking them against my body. I’m basically a ball of quivering, fraying nerves, and Cannon just tugs me to his chest and holds me there. Quiet sobs escape from my throat, and he runs his hand over the back of my head, murmuring comforting words in my ear.

“Shh, Desi. You’re safe. Whatever happened in New York, in this moment, you’re okay.” He rests his chin on top of my head and gently rocks me back and forth, letting me cry. I soak the front of his black T-shirt with my tears, but he doesn’t even flinch.

Finally, I look up and wipe my face with the backs of my hands. “I’ve made a mess of you. I’m sorry.”

He waves me off and reaches over to the end table, handing me a tissue. “Please. I don’t care about that. I just want to make sure I’m here when my best friend needs me. Take your time. I’m ready when you are.”

“Thank you. So the reason I had to come home early is that my dad is essentially . . . well, he’s dying, Cannon.”

His blue eyes widen, and I spend the next ten minutes answering questions about that and what it means for me and my realm. Cannon fidgets with one of the mini twists on his head as he listens, and when I’m done explaining, he loudly exhales.

“I am so sorry, Desi. I can’t even imagine what you must be feeling right now. Especially thinking you’d have him for literally centuries longer.”

I nod, staring at the floor and fiddling with a loose thread on my blouse. “I know. I still can’t believe it—I keep hoping it’s some kind of nightmare I’ll wake up from, but with every minute that passes, I know it’s real.”

Cannon clears his throat. “So, I . . . I have to ask. You and Jace . . . you seemed . . . close in the kitchen just now. What’s going on there?” He raises his brows.

I elbow him in the ribs and try but fail to hide the blush that colors my cheeks. “We . . . we’re something, but I don’t know exactly what that something is. I know what it isn’t, though.”

“It’s not an eternal partnership.” The way he says it makes me suspect that he knows at least the basics about Hannah and Jace’s mother.

“He’s opened up to you? And told you about—”

“Not exactly. I just found it obvious that he has some sort of block against commitment. I never thought committing to someone for eternity, even a woman who is perfect for him, would be something he could handle.” Cannon’s eyes narrow and he inspects my face like he’s reading the guidebook to my soul. I feel raw, wide open, like everything about me is just bare right there for him to see.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re upset by this. Deeply. It bothers you almost as much as what’s happening to your father,” Cannon says, his tone matter-of-fact, like he’s reading ingredients off the back of a soup can.

No point in denying it; the man is hopefully going to be with me for the rest of eternity. “What are you, some kind of mind reader?”

He smiles and leans back into the couch cushions. “No, just good at reading people. It’s part of my job.”

“Well, you deserve a promotion because that was right on point. But we’ve just decided to take these last few days and spend them together. That’s the best I can ask from him. But that brings us to the next thing I need to talk to you about.”

“I think I know what that is.”

“I won’t hold you to it, Cannon. It may have seemed like something that would never happen. But now it has, and the time is sooner than you—”

“I’ll do it, Desi.”

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