Page 162 of Unexpected

I’d kept the apartment for this exact scenario– as a sanctuary for anyone in need. I knew it would be useful one day.

“Mommy, do I have my own room?” Emmy sprinted into the room, blonde hair flowing behind her and shoes clicking against the wood floor.

Becky sighed and pulled Emmy into a tight embrace. “Not yet, baby, but someday soon you will.”

The details of her exact situation with Chris were still a mystery, but it was easy to assume it was pretty bad if she felt the need to flee to her parents’. It wasn’t that her parents were bad people, they were just the type of people that always required something in return.

And although my situation with Michael—along with being kidnapped by Valerie—was the worst thing I would ever have to go through, I was eternally thankful that I didn’t have a child with him. Watching Becky navigate leaving her marriage while trying to provide for her daughter—especially after being a stay-at-home mom—was enough to make me grateful it was just myself that I had to get out of that house.

Michael tried to contact me a few times when I was fresh out of the hospital and had just begun physical therapy. He ended up moving back to Nashville and working for a law firm there, but he flew all the way to Austin to try one last time with me. He claimed he wanted a chance to make amends and Luke dutifully stepped in when I was too shocked to slam the door in his face.

I hadn’t spoken to him since then, but my mom told me that he was miserable, which was only a slight consolation. He moved back in with his parents, and his momalwayskept a keenly watchful eye on him. He couldn’t do anything without her knowing.

He deserved to be miserable for a long time. But maybe Luke was right, and I was too forgiving because a part of me didn’t exactly want Michael to be miserable forever. Maybe just for the same amount of time he had controlled my life.

And extra miserable for the year he hit me.

But in some twisted way, I had Michael to thank for leading me to Luke and that softened me a bit.

My phone vibrating in my pocket released me from my thoughts. I was late, I knew I was late, but getting Becky settled was also important.

“Are you sure there’s nothing y’all need then?”

Becky waved me off. “We’ll be fine, Hazel. Go live your own life, but if we do end up needing something, I’m sure I can handle it.”

“You’re right, you can,” I said with a smile and stooped to Emmy’s level. “Bye, Emmy. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

She released her death grip on Becky’s legs to throw herself into my arms. God, I wished I had her energy.

“Bye, Hazellll!” She pressed her little mouth to my cheek, and I couldn’t help but smile. She would be okay; they both would be. “Also,” she whispered into my ear. “Thank you for helping my mommy.”

Her unsolicited gratitude pulled at my heartstrings. “You’re so welcome, sweet girl.”

Turning out of the parking lot of the apartment complex, my phone rang again, and I cringed.

“I know I’m late, I’m sorry, but everything with Becky took a little longer than expected. I’m on my way right now. I’ll be there in like twenty minutes tops. I’ll break speed limits and overall drive recklessly if it means I get there sooner,” I said upon answering the phone.

“You will not drive recklessly. And you’re already late, so what difference will twenty more minutes really make?”

“I’m really sorry. I just wanted to—”

“Angel, it’s okay. There’s no need to continue apologizing, especially when you were busy helping other people. I will see you when you get here, okay?” Luke said, calming the rest of my nerves.

I hated being late, especially for big, important events, and this was one of them.

“Thanks for being so understanding. I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I said with a cheesy grin he likely heard in my voice.

It was unlikely I would ever get tired of hearing him say that he loved me. Luke loved me big; he loved me so thoroughly sometimes it was hard to reconcile that men like Michael and Luke even existed at the same time.

But after witnessing and experiencing the worst of the worst, it was easier to identify the good. And Luke was my good. The very real possibility that everything could have ended so much worse also made that good so much sweeter.

That’s not to say, though, that the months after Valerie died were any walk in the park. I had newfound issues with confined spaces and had become overly paranoid about keeping track of my surroundings. Restaurants continued to be difficult or any space where there were a lot of people in close proximity.

We planned to fly up to Nashville just after the new year, but it only took thinking about getting on the plane to send me spiraling into a full-blown panic attack. And then, I would begin panicking even harder because I assumed Luke would be upset that I was panicking. Michael would have been upset, but like I said, Luke loved me big.

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