Page 38 of Reclaim Me

Grabbing his hand, I drag him out of the kitchen and down the hallway until we’re near the front door. “What do you mean you went to see Hunter? You were supposed to be at the office!”

My heart is in my throat and yet, it’s still managing to beat a million times per minute. I didn’t get the chance to tell Aaron about Hunter discovering he was Riley’s dad because I was in shock the night it happened. Then, on Saturday morning, when I intended to bring it up, I found the invoice that led to me giving him the silent treatment while sitting on his desk.

He sets his briefcase on the entryway table and tosses his keys down beside it. “I mean, after I finished working, I went to go see your ex and tell him to stay away from you, and, while I was there, I learned that you told him about Riley being his daughter.”

“I didn’t tell him. He put it together when he heard me mention that Riley was about to turn ten in August.”

Aaron shrugs, his eyes disinterested. “Doesn’t matter because he knows now, doesn’t he? Which is funny because I seem to remember us having a conversation where you told me that you had no plans of ever making him privy to that information.” He taps his index finger on his chin. “I also seem to recall, during that same conversation, you saying you never wanted to see him again, but today, I found out that you went to his gym.”

“To tell him to stay away from us.” I hate how it feels like I’m the one in trouble when Aaron just went and did the same thing I did for different reasons. “Why did you go see him?”

“To protect my family.”

I scoff. “We both know that’s not true.”

He starts to loosen his tie, still staring at me. “You’re calling me a liar?”

“Yeah, Aaron, I’m calling you a liar because we both know you going to see Hunter wasn’t about your family. It was about your ego.”

“You can’t be serious right now, Rae. The man is a fucking drug addict, and you think I went down there to his sketchy ass gym on some kind of ego trip?”

“What am I supposed to think, Aaron? It’s not like you called and asked my opinion on anything. You don’t know if I want Hunter to stay away or if I want to try to integrate him into Riley’s life, and you didn’t ask before you went and spoke on behalf of me and my child.”

“Oh, here we go with that ‘my child’ shit,” he says nastily.

“She is my child, Aaron.”

“I know that, Rae.” He spits the words out, and they land in a wet heap of resentment at my feet. “You never let any of us forget that she’s yours, which means you don’t leave any space for anyone else to try to know and love her.”

“That’s not true.”

Is it?

“Yes, it is. You build this wall around Riley and then get mad when she’s in there all alone. No one can get through. No one can get close. Not even me, and I’ve been trying for seven fucking years. Do you know how exhausting that is?”

His words strike a chord deep inside my chest. I step back, tears crowding my eyes. “Well, I’m sorry that we’re so exhausting. I’m sorry that my past, my choices, my mistakes, and my child are so hard for you to deal with.”

When the first tear falls, Aaron’s face softens. He’s still mad, and we’re still broken, but I step into his arms when he holds them open for me.

“That’s not what I meant,” he murmurs softly. “I’m just saying I want you to make room for me in the little castle you’ve built around you and Ri. You’re the one with the key, so please undo the lock so we can defend it together.”

Aaron grips my chin gently, tipping my head back so I can look him in the eyes. The sincerity there confuses me because it says he truly believes what he’s saying, that he really feels like I’ve been forcing him into the margins of Riley’s life. Thinking back on the conversation I had with Marcy on the first day of school, I wince, realizing maybe that might be true.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “From here on out, I want us to be honest with each other, okay? No more making decisions and hiding them from the other. No more taking on things alone. We have a lot going on, and I think it would be a lot easier to get through if we did it together.”

Bubbles of hope and relief fill my chest when Aaron nods.

“Okay,” he says. “But I’m going to follow your lead on this Hunter thing. Whatever you decide, whenever you decide, I’m going to be right here.”

I lay my head on his chest, drawing comfort from the steady thump of his heartbeat.

“Hunter isn’t dangerous,” I tell him. Even though I haven’t known him in a long time, I know that much to be true. Hunter cares about me, and although they’ve only been face-to-face one time, he loves Riley. He’d do anything to keep her safe, including lay down his own life. That truth was present in his eyes when he asked to meet her. It’s the thing that’s haunted me for the last two days while I’ve tried to think of a response to a question I should have already answered.

“We don’t know that, Rae, and we have to consider everything before we decide whether or not we’re going to let him in Riley’s life.”

Every time he says we, my heart skips a beat. This is what I’ve been wanting, what I’ve been waiting for: the united front. Me and Aaron facing every problem together instead of tackling them from opposite sides. It feels good to have it in this moment. So good, I grab onto it with both hands and hold on tight, letting all my anger and other simmering concerns fall by the wayside.

“You just said you were going to follow my lead,” I remind him with an indulgent smile pulling at my lips.

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