Page 15 of From You to Me

I wheezed out a heavy breath.Well, I do have to face this someday. It was inevitable.

I set aside my apprehension as I slowly turned around.

“Can’t believe you have a pretty girl so early in your…” Mikey looked stunned for a second when he noticed that it was me. He stood next to Jay dressed in a similar fashion, his mouth gaping as he stopped his sentence short.

I didn’t think I had ever seen Mikey speechless.

Mikey looked exactly how I pictured him to be, his sun-kissed long blond hair tied back in a man-bun, with a few tendrils sneaking out. He wore a tight, pristine black suit that fit him perfectly, with his tie undone and hanging loosely around his neck.

My mouth curved into a jittery smile because I didn’t know what to do. Jay sat perched on the breakfast table, his expression stoic, but the slight clench around his jawline gave away his irritation.

“E. Whoa, what are you doing here?” Mikey asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

And before I could answer him, he was on me in a second and engulfed me in the warmest hug. I stood there dazed for amoment because I didn’t realize that he would do that. I sank into his familiar arms as a wave of nostalgia formed a lump in my throat and I hugged him back, relishing in his embrace.

A throat cleared behind us.

Mikey rolled his eyes as he pulled back and ran a thumb over my cheek. “E, how are you?”

Something about the way he asked me burned my eyes.

It’d been so long since someone asked me that.

I’m not fine at all, Mikey.

I blinked back the unshed tears and gave him a warm smile. “I’m fine. How are you, Mikey?” I whispered hoarsely.

He gave me his signature grin that made his eyes glow. “I’m good. I can’t believe you are here. Like how? Don’t tell me you guys are back together. Emmie has been an insufferable fucker without—”

“Mikey.” Jay stopped him in a hard, cold voice and gave him a pointed look. “Evelyn works for me. And it’s getting late. We need to leave.” He glanced at the expensive watch on his wrist.

Mikey frowned in confusion. “Works for you?”

And before Jay could say something that could potentially shoot pinpricks through my heart, I blurted, “Yes, I work for him. I’m the housekeeper, and no, we’re not back together.”

Mikey gave me a bewildered look. “I thought you went to Yale to become a writer or something. What are you doing working for this sorry-ass fucker?”

I peeked at Jay, who was looking at me with a curious expression for once, like he wanted to know why in the world did I end up being his maid.

But I shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “Well, things didn’t work out. So here I am.”

“Well, you can always work for me.” Mikey wiggled his brows. “I would love to have you as my maid, darling, and I just live downstairs. Trust me, I’ll take good care of you.”

The sound of the sliding chair creaked through the room as Jay raised from his seat. “Too bad Evelyn is stuck with me. We need to leave now, fucker.” He gave Mikey a sharp look and walked out of the hallway without sparing me a single glance.

My heart squeezed as the hurt settled, making it heavy inside my chest.

Mikey shook his head. “Don’t mind him.” His hand once again cupped my chin. “I gotta go now, but will see you later, okay? Bye, E.”

I nodded, smiling.

He grinned, soon disappearing behind Jay.

I sighed in relief as they both left.

It was good to see Mikey after all these years, and I was glad he didn’t treat me like a vermin. But I was sure I wouldn’t get the same reception from everyone else, especially Katy. I was pretty sure she sided with Jay on that notion.

I missed them, though. I missed them all so fucking much. I wanted to be a part of them once again. But sadly, I was stuck in the middle of both worlds with no way of getting out.

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