Page 46 of Broken Promises

“What are you doing?” I asked as we followed him, the kid choking from working himself up too much. “Ander?—”

“Hush,” he said quietly, half closing the door before standing next to me silently and waiting. Diesel didn’t say anything, so I did as I was told and shut up, the kid slowly calming down until he was hiccuping.

It was hard to see, but I was aware of Ander moving closer to the couch, his body dropping low as he got on the kid’s level.

“Hey. Do you feel better now?” he asked, and I could just make out the kid rubbing his eyes in the dim light from the cracked door. He didn't reply, but Ander acted like he had. “Good. Do you want to sit in the dark a little longer?”

He talked quietly to the kid for a few minutes about random things before standing, picking the kid up, and bringing him over for me to take.

“What did you do?” I asked slowly, and the little boy nuzzled into me, exhausted from his meltdown.

“Kids get over-stimulated, especially when they’re little and don’t know how to express their feelings properly. Between the noise, lights, and people touching him, I think it just got too much for him to handle and he freaked,” he explained, seeming to impress not just me, but Diesel too.

“How did you know it would help?” Diesel asked, staring at him like he’d grown two heads.

“I had a little sister who struggled with getting overwhelmed easily. It worked for her,” he shrugged, and I didn’t miss the use of past tense.

Diesel thanked us as he took the kid so they could get ready for dinner and we could leave, neither of us talking until we got into the car.

“Your sister?—”

“I got something for you,” he said, cutting me off and obviously avoiding the subject, reaching for the box that was by my feet. He placed it on my lap before starting the car, glancing at me when I didn’t move. “Open it.”

I knew what it was, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

I hesitated before lifting the lid off the shoe box, finding a brand new pair of high top sneakers in my size.

“You got me shoes?” I asked with confusion, looking over at him as he started driving out of the driveway and onto the road.

“Yours are fucked. No strings attached, promise. I just need to know if you’re running from the mafia, that they’re not going to fall apart and slow you down if I’m not there to shoot people for you,” he said, like it was a perfectly normal reason to buy shoes for someone.

The black, red, and white patterns on them were exactly the type I would’ve picked myself too.

“Thank you,” I said softly, earning a grin.

“You’re welcome. I was worried you’d throw them at me and refuse to accept them.”

“I’m still considering it,” I joked, pulling them out to inspect them better. “They’re really nice.”

“I’m glad you like them,” he smiled. “I saw Reid today.”

That was one way to ruin the mood.

“Yeah?” I mumbled, putting the lid back on the box.

“I kind of forgot he’s staying at Riley’s, and I went there after dropping you off.”

“Is that why your cheek is bruising?” I asked lightly, mentally scolding myself for making it obvious I’d noticed.

“Yeah. I don’t blame him, I just bailed and everyone thought I’d fucked you all over. We had a long talk once he stopped wanting to swing at me.”

I tried hard to fight it, but I couldn’t help myself.

“How is he?”

“His usual asshole self. He’s missing you though. He’d like to talk to you when you’re ready.”

“I’m so mad at him, Ander. You weren’t there at the hospital. He said some really cruel shit to me,” I said softly, holding the box a little tighter on my lap. “I know it was stupid to have unprotected sex when I wasn’t on birth control, but he didn’t have to scream it at me when I’d just found out I’d miscarried.”

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