Page 106 of Broken Empire

“No.I’mheading home.Youstay here with her andI’llsee you both when you get home.Ihave some things to take care of,”Itell him, trying to plaster a happy expression, butIdon’t think it’s working because his brows furrow and he has a concerned expression on his face.

“No,I’mcoming with you.ShehasAdelaideand the guys to watch over her,” he says, still looking at me funnily like he’s trying to see inside my head.Goodluck with that shit buddy.

“Whatever,”Itell him asIwalk away.Ijust suddenly feel drained, soIdon’t care what the fuck he does.AllIwant to do is get out of here.

Itexted my pilot to get the plane ready just afterIleft her room whenIrealized that she’s never going to forgive me andIhave nothing left to do here.So, allIhave to do now is head straight for the airport.Igo to the driver’s side to get in the car, butHunterstops me and takes the keys from me.

Ijust shrug and hand them over easily before getting into the passenger side.I’mquiet the entire way to the airport andIsee out of the corner of my eye thatHunterkeeps giving me looks.Iguess he’s wondering what the hell is wrong with me right now.Itfeels like my entire brain has shut down andI’mrunning on autopilot.

Whenwe get to the airport, we have to wait a little while andIseeHuntermake a phone call.Noclue who he’s talking to but whatever.Idon’t even care anymore.It’salready night by the time we make it home.

“Hey, your home,”Graysays as we walk through the doors.

“Yeah.”

“Howis she?” her dad asks as he comes to stand in the foyer as well.

“She’sfine.Shesaid she’ll be home next week,”Itell him to ease the worried look he has on his face.

“That’sgreat news,” he says, a smile now on his face. “Mybaby girl is finally going to be home again.

“Yeah,I’msure she’s going to be happy to be home after being away for so long.”

“Howare things with you two now?” he asks.

“Justgreat,”Isay, faking a smile. “Imean she’s coming home, isn’t she?”

“Thatshe is,” he says, scrutinizing me like he’s trying to see more into my words than whatI’mtelling him.

Ididn’t tell him orGraysonabout the baby, hellI’mnot even sure if they already know or not but whatever, that’s up to her.Obviously,Adelaideknows andI’mpretty sureHunterknew as well.Hell, her father, andGraycould already know too and they didn’t tell me, which meansI’mprobably the last one to know.Ifeel another ache in my gut as the thoughts run through my head.

Anyway, even if they know or not,I’mpretty sure they will in another day or so.Iplan to start the nursery then, so that’ll definitely clue them in.

“I’mtired.I’mgoing to head on up to bed, so see you guys tomorrow,”Itell them all and walk away before anyone can say anything else.

WhenIget to my room,Ilock my door and then grab a bottle of whiskey from my hiding place and chug some of it down likeIhave no care in the world and technically,Idon’t because nothing really matters at this point.

Afew minutes later,Ican barely see.WhenItouch my face, it’s wet andIrealize thatI’mcrying.Fuck!Iwish that this pain would go away.Ithurts so fucking much andIconstantly feel like my chest is going to cave in on itself.

Ihate myself.Ifthis pain is even a fraction of what she felt thenIknow why she’ll never forgive me.Ifucked up too bad, it’s nowIrealize that no amount of apologizing or begging and pleading would ever be enough to stop her hurt.

Thatthought makes me cry even harder becauseIknowIdon’t deserve her forgiveness andImight never deserve to earn it, no matter how hardItry and that just fucking sucks balls if you ask me.I’mdrunk off my ass in a pit of despair, asIlay there just thinking about what my next moves are going to be and eventually,Ifall asleep.

It’slate in the morning, the next day whenIwake up with a hangover from hell.Ilet out a groan asIsit up in bed.

“Atit againIsee,”Huntersays out of nowhere.Ilook over in the direction his voice came from and see him and my brother sitting there on the couch.

“Whatthe hell are you guys doing in here?I’mpretty sureIlocked my door last night.Ilove you guys and all, butIpersonally think it’s creepy that you two are here watching me sleep,”Ijoke.

“Cutthe shit.What’sgoing on with you man?”Hunterasks.

“Nothing.Whydo you think that something’s going on?”

“Well, you should be happy she’s coming home, but here you are looking like you’re about to drink yourself to death again.Whatgives?”

“Nothing.Absolutelynothing.”

“Areyou okay?”

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