Page 100 of When Stars Fall

“I kept thinking she was going to attack one of us. She stormed in here with no warning,” Nikki says.

Rick is getting his ass handed to him in the morning. Unacceptable. I click the locks into place on the trailer. “Nikki, you can take the other bedroom upstairs next to Stacy, okay?”

“On it.” Nikki rises from leaning against the armrest and heads for the stairs. She glances at Ellie before she leaves.

“We need to talk, Wyatt,” Ellie whispers.

“I know. Yeah, I get that.” My eyes are closed, and I’m envisioning what she’ll say after seeing Anna’s behavior. This wasn’tthatbad. Could have been worse. Not a sentiment that’ll comfort Ellie. “I’ll take Jamal back to his room, okay?”

“I’ll meet you in the living room?” She loops her arm over Haven’s shoulders to take her to bed.

She’ll have to sleep with me as my trailer’s officially out of rooms. Haven’s single bed would be too tight for both of them to get a good night’s rest. I nod my agreement and head upstairs with Jamal.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Ellie

Present Day

Wyatt’s heavy footfalls as he comes down the stairs wake me up. I straighten and run my hands through my hair.

At the entrance to the main living room, he takes me in. “You’re exhausted. And you weren’t well to begin with. I’m so sorry, Ellie.” When he reaches me, he scoops me into his arms and carries me into his room. He drags back the covers and slides me under as though I weigh nothing.

“Did you still want to talk?” He perches on the edge of the bed beside me.

“I need to talk to you.” I yawn. “About a lot of stuff.” My eyes are heavy, but I can’t fall asleep until we talk. “Are you sleeping here too?”

“I want to.” He scans my face before staring at the door. “I’m sorry about Anna.”

“How she behaves isn’t your fault. But I wish Haven hadn’t seen her like that. She had a lot of questions. I said you and I would answer them sometime tomorrow. I don’t have all the answers.” Remembering the evening wakes me up. Anna’s wild eyes. A chill slithers along my spine.

“Me neither. Jamal is such a great kid. I worry she’ll destroy him.”

There’s an opening, but I’m afraid to plunge in. This solution has been on my mind for weeks, but I wasn’t sure it was my place to suggest it. “What about getting custody? Giving him the stability and love he needs?”

“Anna loves him.” He clenches his hands together.

Her love is toxic, at least right now. Whatever she has to hit to turn her life around, she hasn’t hit it yet. Her son is paying the highest price.

Wyatt sighs and stands, taking off his shirt in one swift movement. His muscles ripple, and I long to run my hand down his chest. I want to hear the sound of his heart beating under my ear again.

Before he drops his pants, he raises his eyebrows in silent question. My sleep attire is the tiniest pair of shorts and a tank top. When I nod, he lets his pants drop to the floor with a sly grin. I can’t help smiling back, wishing things between us could be this easy all the time.

Once he’s in bed, his hand lands on my hip. I scooch backward a tiny fraction, and that’s enough of an invitation. He rolls onto his back and draws me into his body so my head can rest on his chest.

“There’s something I need to tell you, Ellie. Is it okay if I go first?” Wyatt’s voice rumbles through his chest. “You had something you wanted to say too?”

“Yes.” Given what we just saw with Anna, I’m even more nervous about telling him.

He takes a deep breath, holds it for a beat, and then releases it. “I was drinking on the island.”

Surprise floods me, and relief chases it.Finally. “When? How much?”Twenty bottles.

“I’m going to trust you.” He kisses the top of my head. “God, I’m so worried you’re going to use this against me.” The words are murmured into my hair. Silence hangs in the room for a moment before Wyatt takes another deep breath. “Of the twenty bottles, I’m not sure how many I drank. Most of them went down the drain, then I ordered more and drank them. Whatever I drank, it wasn’t enough to be drunk.”

“When?” I slide my hand across his chest. My heart is beating erratically, but his is slow, steady. He’s telling the truth.

“The night I found out about Haven. The story wasn’t out yet. You dropped me off, and I was raging. So angry because you were keeping us apart, keeping something from me. The frustration was too much. Big emotions trigger me.”

---