Page 268 of Come Back to Me

“Tee! Can you come and play for us?” The urge to choke my brother overtakes me, but he doesn’t even notice he broke intoour conversation. “The stupid band that I stupidly hired to fill in this stupid moment of time between the stupid pictures and the stupid meal is late.”

“Sure.” When I frown at her and make to snag ahold of her hand, she steps back and avoids my touch. “We can talk later.”

“Are you feeling okay?” I demand, not about to let her leave as I point to her stomach.

“Of course.” Her confusion is clear.

So, wait, she isn’t pregnant?

She snatches the cello case from my hold, and I study that goddamn expression until the reality hits.

Sheisscared to tell me something.

If she isn’t pregnant then…

I grab her wrist with my hand, but all I can get out is: “This isn’t goodbye, Tee.”

“What?!”

Callan grumbles, “Goodbye? She lives under the same damn roof, Cody. You two can bitch at one another later. Now, come on, Tee. People are bored, and if they get bored, I’ll have to talk to them. You know I hate it when there’s an awkward silence?—”

I ignore him when Tee overrides the conversation with: “Cody, I’ve never said goodbye to you.”

Tee

Why the hell would he think this is goodbye?

Did I just accidentally ‘Dear John’ him?

Fuck.

Cody

She might as well have punched me in the gut.

Then stabbed me in the eye.

And then kicked me in the balls.

“I’ve never said goodbye to you.”

The problem is, I’m confused. In Tee’s words, I’mhellaconfused. Because when she was looking at me throughout the ceremony, I felt like that link between us was raging with life, filled with energy and love and fucking everything that I never thought I’d have because I didn’t know you could feel this way for someone.

‘Butch’ let her down, sure, but to throw it in my face that I said goodbye to her after that glorious connection that arced between us at the ceremony fucking stings.

I was all primed to clear the air with her after my talk with Mike yesterday, to make her see that she was the most important person in my life, and then Callan had to go and find a band crisis.

What even is that, anyway?

Fuck.

I watch her go, a lot confused.

I can’t fix what I don’t understand and?—

“You seem troubled, son.”

I jolt at the second interruption in as many minutes and find my mum staring at me, a piña colada in her hand.

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