Page 89 of Insatiable Hunger

“Valerie…”

“What the hell is wrong with you, Zeke?” She throws her hands into her hair. “I mean, honestly, what thehellis wrong with you? We’ve been married for three years, and it took me this long to find out? This is unbelievable. I can’t be here right now.”

She storms into the house, and I follow, though I don’t know why. It’s not going to fix anything. “Val, please. Let’s talk about this.”

“Back the fuck off, Zeke. I mean it.” After slipping into some shoes by the front door, she spins to face me. “I cannot do this right now. I need space to cool off. Please.”

I watch her leave, not trying to stop her anymore, because she deserves the space she asked for, and I deserve to be in the doghouse for this. Looking at the hurt I’ve caused is worse than I ever could’ve planned for.

I want, more than anything, to be with Elias, and I promised him we’d figure this out, but how could we possibly do that? All because I’m a fucking a coward. If I had just been honest one time, years ago, none of this would be happening right now.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Elias Carnell

“Honey, I’m home!” I say dramatically as I stroll inside.

Setting my bag down by the front door, I walk into the house, looking for Katie. I’ve been gone for the last few days visiting Bodhi, my old roommate and best friend. He lives up in Durham, North Carolina, and he just graduated.

Katie’s sitting at our new dining room table with an iced coffee and her laptop. She must be working. Glancing up from her screen, she smiles. “Hey. How was the trip?”

“It was good. I know it’s only been a couple months since I moved back here, but it was nice to be around both of them again.” I grab a water out of the fridge and amble over to the table, sitting across from her. “Bo looks so healthy too. It’s awesome to see.”

“That’s great, E.” Her eyes flick to mine for a second before returning to her screen.

Things with us are still tense. I was hoping with time, they’d fizzle off and we’d go back to how we were before she knew I was fucking my stepdad. Apparently not.

But I can’t take it anymore.

“Katie,” I grumble. “Can we please fucking talk about this shit and move on already?”

This time, when her eyes meet mine, they’re softer. “Elias… I agree we need to talk, but I just can’t right now. I’m on a deadline with this shoot, and the woman has been a total bridezilla. I have to focus on this until it’s done. Then we can talk, okay?”

What she’s saying is fair, and I understand her work comes first, but my shoulders drop, and I can’t help but feel bummed out. Fighting with her—well, not speaking with her—has been hard. We’ve never dealt with an issue like this.

“Yeah, okay,” I mumble. A knock sounds at the front door, and both our gazes snap in that direction. “You expecting someone?” I ask, raising off the chair.

She shakes her head. “Not that I know of.”

Shrugging, I meander toward the front door, pulling it open. “Mom, hey!”

“Hi, dear. Can I come in?”

“Of course.” I step aside, letting her through. “I didn’t know you were coming. You have great timing; I just got home.”

“Is there somewhere we can talk?” she asks, her body language stiff and she won’t look at me.

This can’t be good.

“Uh, yeah. We can go up to my room.” I point toward the stairs before letting Katie know where I’m going.

My hands are clammy, heart racing behind my chest at what she could need to talk to me about. She isn’t the show up unannounced type, nor is she the cold-shoulder type. I feel like if I’m being honest with myself, I probably know what this is about, and it fucking terrifies me.

We get up to my room and she sits at my desk, and me, my bed. The tension in the room is thick. Ten times worse than any of the tension I felt downstairs with Katie.

“So, what’s up?” My voice cracks on the last word, giving away my nerves.

She brushes the hair off her forehead. “Zeke and I met when I was working at a bar downtown several years ago.”

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