Page 92 of If You Stayed

I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t going to lie to the girl. Her father was a major dick, and knowing that he’d screamed at Kierra after she injured herself made me want to rage. It was taking everything inside of me to not march across the room and slam his head through a window.

Henry Hughes wasn’t a man. A grown man would never shout at his wife in that fashion. They’d never hurt someone they loved so deeply and humiliate them in public or private. I could only imagine how Kierra felt terrified and embarrassed and hurt by the outburst that he’d unleashed when he thought he was alone to torture her. How often did those kinds of things happen between the two of them?

How often did he hurt her? With and without his words?

“I’m not always the best with my words, Ava, and truthfully I don’t even know what to say right now because what I want to say isn’t child-appropriate.”

“It’s just funny to me.” She sighed and picked up a glass filled with punch, finally surrendering to the fact that I wasn’tgoing to allow her to down champagne. “He was my hero for the longest time. How could my hero be my other hero’s worst nightmare?”

I wanted to comfort her, but mostly I wanted to find Henry and make him feel how he made my two girls feel—small and scared.

My two girls.

Realistically I knew they weren’t mine, but my heart disagreed. I felt protective of Kierra and Ava.

My eyes began to dart around the house in search of Henry, who seemed to be quickly on the move as he interacted with guests. I figured it was about time I gave him one or two birthday greetings.

“I’ll be back, kid,” I told Ava as I picked up my own glass of champagne, downing it and placing it back down on the table.

As I walked around the house, I saw a ton of people laughing with one another. Some were dancing. Others spoke highly of Henry as if he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. The more positive comments I heard about him, the more my rage built.

When I looked across the way, I saw Kierra standing next to Henry’s mother, Tamera. The two smiled as they interacted. When Kierra looked up at me, her eyes flashed with a stillness. Her smile faltered for a second before her lips turned back on. She held up her hand, waving slightly. I waved back. I still felt uncomfortable after our last exchange. All I wanted to do was be near her, and I knew it was inappropriate to say the things I said to her, but I couldn’t help myself.

I just needed to let her know that I felt more whole whenever she was near me. There was something about Kierra and her eyes. I’d never known locking eyes with someone could feel so much like home.

She excused herself from Tamera and began to walk over toward me. “Hey, stranger.”

“Happy birthday, Kierra.”

“Thanks. This is amazing. Ava is a sneaky devil. I can’t believe she pulled this off all on her own.” She then narrowed her eyes. “Which is exactly why I don’t think she pulled it off by herself.”

“She may have asked for a little help. I may have made a few calls.”

“Gabriel…you didn’t have to do this.”

“I know. I wanted to. You look amazing, by the way.”

She was wearing a fitted deep-red gown that highlighted every curve of her body. My eyes had moved up and down her frame many times since I’d spotted her that evening. “Oh, this old thing? It’s a Kierra original.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Bullshit. You made this?”

“Finished it last week. I finally dusted off my machines.”

“It looks beyond fantastic. You look beyond fantastic. I’m so fucking proud of you, Kierra.”

Her eyes teared up. “Thanks, Gabriel.” A small breath released from between her lips. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“Always.”

“For the first time in years, you make me feel seen. You make me feel…good enough. I haven’t felt like that in such a long time.”

I bit my bottom lip, debating if I moved in too close to her seeing as how there were so many others around us. What would our proximity appear like to them? What would people say if they saw me so close to Kierra? What would they think?

“Kierra—”

Before she could reply, the room filled with people singing “Happy Birthday.” We looked over our shoulders to see Henry and Ava coming out with a giant cake being guided on some robotic table. The three-tiered cake was covered in white, gold, and pink fondant with sparklers sticking out of it, making the whole cake seem remarkably luxurious.

Kierra’s eyes widened with surprise as she clasped her hands together and placed them against her mouth in awe.

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