Page 140 of It's Always Us

“I think they’re finally sleeping,” she whispers. “Peyton and Eli apparently liked all the attention this afternoon.”

Peyton and Eli.“Great. Two drama queens on our hands. They totally get that from you.”

She tips her chin up to look at me. Her teary blue eyes are soft and sleepy. “I’ve missed you so much.” She blinks quickly, forcing her emotions away.

I press my lips to hers gently. “I’ve been a complete selfish prick.”

She tucks her head in my neck, and even with the stringent smell of antiseptic and plastic, she smells so freaking good.

“Mark.” She pauses. “It’s a really big mess.”

“It’s ok. We’ll figure it out.”

“She’s scared. She’s not eating or sleeping. She’s sick.”

I know she means Bree, and I hate myself even more for not being here. I know exactly what that feels like. I should’ve been here all along.

“Does she know about me?”

She shakes her head slightly. “I didn’t want to tell her . . . ”

While I was being a self-centered asshole.“How about we do it together?”

Her lips press against my jaw. “Ok.” She moves her arm beneath mine to wrap it around my back. “How did it go in Seattle?”

“I don’t want to talk about that. It doesn’t matter.”

“Please. I need to talk about something else. Take me out of all this for a bit.” She sniffs again, pressing in further to my neck, and I feel the dampness of her tears.

I tell her about it. The general conversation. The short practice. Rob taking video he to shop around. As I talk, her body fully relaxes into mine.

Today was a wake-up call. I want to keep playing football at the highest level, but I want this more. So much more. There was a time when I’d have given it all up. It’s still true. I’ll give it all up if I have to.

She said things are a mess. Tomorrow, I’ll find out exactly what that means and make sure Lex knows we’re in this together. I’ll meet my sister and let Cal know I’m moving in.

Then, at some point, I might have to face the woman who cared more about getting high than she ever did about me.

Chapter 44

LEX

I put a hand under my belly to try to help roll myself over in this tiny, crinkly, hard bed. I boost myself up and grab the railing, shoving my hips to the side to let gravity assist.

My arm and leg are numb after lying on that side for so long. My eyes land on Mark, sleeping in the chair next to me. His muscular arms are crossed over his chest, almost like he’s protecting himself, and I really want him to crawl back in bed with me. He spent half the night holding me until a nurse came in to reposition the monitors, and then we decided we needed more room.

Mark stretches his arms over his head. He rubs his eyes, and then those dark brown circles fall on me.

“Hey.” His mouth curls into a small smirk. The one that makes my stomach hop, skip, and jump. “How you doin’?” He says it all confident and sexy-like, and I bite my lip, unable to hide the blush creeping up my busted-up face.

He pushes the footstool down and stands to stretch his shoulder better. I can tell by the look on his face it’s sore. My mind starts spinning with questions. If he stays, I wonder what will happen to his PT schedule, training, meetings . . . everything that fills his days.

“Hey.” He moves to the side of the bed, leaning down to kiss me. “What happened? What’s going on in here?” He kisses me again before sitting on the edge of the bed and spreading his hand across my bulging stomach.

He smiles, feeling the kicks from one of ourlittle monsters.

I run my fingers over my sore forehead. A dull headache still lingers, but it’s much better than yesterday.

“It’s back to real life today,” I say, remembering how I savored every moment last night in this quiet room with him. I knew then that it’ll be anything but calm or peaceful when we leave here.

---