Page 83 of The Only Time

I take a step forward and slam my fist into his face. He falls forward and moans as his hands rest on his knees. Before he can recover, I grip his shoulders and knee his stomach. He falls back onto the ground with a howl that echoes the foyer.

With his hands over his face, he screams. “Who the fuck are you?”

I grab him by the collar of his shirt and lift his head off of the ground. “I’ll be your worst fucking nightmare if you so much as look at Mia ever again. Do you hear me?” I growl.

He looks up at me in silence.

I shake his collar. “Answer me,” I yell.

“Yes,” he stutters. “Yes, I hear you.”

“Good,” I bite. I release my grip on his collar and let him fall back to the ground. “Just remember,” I say as I back away, “touch her, and you’ll die.”

With that, I turn on my heel and walk out the door. I open and close my fist as the pain sears through my knuckles and fingers. I’ll have to check and see if it’s broken when I get home, but it was worth it.

That motherfucker better never be anywhere in the same vicinity as her or I’ll come back here to take care of him myself.

I get back into the car and tell him to take me to the airport. As I lie my head back on the seat, I close my eyes and all I see is Mia’s face when I told her I loved her. She didn’t believe me. How could she not believe me?

I wouldn’t drop everything, quit my job, and run to someone if I didn’t love them. I wouldn’t feel like my entire world was going to be over if something happened to them and I wasn’t there to protect them.

How was she supposed to know you felt any of this if you didn’t stay to explain, you idiot?

But she asked me to leave. She didn’t want me to explain. There was nothing left for me to do but give her what she wanted. I lost her the second I pushed her away from me. I don’t deserve another chance.

It’s a good thing her brothers weren’t there at the time. They probably would’ve kicked my ass for hurting her in the first place or making her cry while she was lying in a damn hospital bed. I would’ve done the same thing to anyone making Layla feel like that.

The driver comes to a stop and lets me know it’s my time to get out. I take a deep breath and open the door. This isn’t how I pictured coming back home.

I don’t know what the answer for us would’ve been, but I was willing to fight for it and figure it out. Maybe I could’ve opened my open wood crafting shop in Cleveland. Although, what I make is more geared to southern living. Plus, the weather in Ohio wouldn’t be great for a barn during the winter.

Whatever, the point is we could have figured it out. Now, I’ll never know what could have been because I was too afraid to take that leap when it really mattered. I’ll have to live the rest of my life knowing I fucked up.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Mia

Everything hurts. My head, my back, my shoulders, but most of all—my heart. The pain of watching Eric leave was far greater than any of the pain from my fall.

My sisters-in-law came to visit me just after Eric left my hospital room. They could tell that I was a mess, and I didn’t have the energy to deny, so they know everything.

It didn’t take long for me to spill my guts about how conflicted I was. I know I told him to go, and in some sense, I wanted him to. But when he did, I felt angry. Why did he fly all the way out here to give up so easily?

What the hell was that about?He didn’t fight even a little bit for me. Of course I was going to struggle with my trust. I had every right to be weary.

Now, I’m sitting here on my couch as my brothers and their wives clean my house and stash my fridge and freezer with allthe food my Ma prepared for me. It’s like I just had a baby, only I’m sitting here all alone with nothing to show for it but a massive head injury and a banged up body.

Just the thought of it brings more tears to my eyes. Despite all of this, I miss him. I miss him so much I feel it in my bones.

I’m staring out my backdoor as I sit on my white, fluffy couch as Alexis approaches. She hands me a coffee cup filled with my favorite brew.

“Thanks,” I smile softly as I take it from her.

She joins me on the couch. I can feel her eyes on me as I take a sip of my coffee.

“Got something you want to say?” I ask as I turn my head her way.

She laughs to herself. “Sorry, I guess I’m being pretty obvious right now. I’m just worried about you.”

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