Page 61 of Come Back for Me
“I found her,” I say before I have a chance to think better of it.
“Found who?”
“Her.”
Sean goes silent for a second and then lets out a breathy laugh. “No shit?”
“She’s here . . . in fucking Sugarloaf, and that’s not even all of it . . .”
I tell him everything. I talk and talk, probably saying more in this one conversation than I’ve said to my brother in the last ten years. He doesn’t say a word as I unload the last few weeks and all the revelations. I even go over details that I don’t want to remember but can’t seem to forget.
I tell him about Ellie, Hadley, the tree, the house, the beating, and how they’re living here.
Once I’m done, I feel like I’ve completed a workout and can’t catch my breath. My heart aches, head pounds, and I’m winded.
“So, it seems you’ve been rather busy, baby brother.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
“No, but . . . I’m not really sure I can gather anything more than that.”
A lot of help he is. “Thanks, Sean.”
“Look, you just told me that the girl you spent the last eight years dreaming about, who is apparently some ethereal being who walks on water, is staying with you because she just left an abusive husband. On top of that, you might have a kid with said woman? Give me a fucking second to digest all this.”
I release a heavy breath through my nose and then look up at the ceiling. What a damn mess. “I’m not sure what to do.”
“Do?”
“About Ellie. I can’t get my head straight. I look at her, and my heart races. I think about her, and I fight the urge to find her. It’s ridiculous. Then there’s the fact that all I want is more.”
I’ve tried to deny my growing feelings. Ellie isn’t ready to even think about anything with me. I’ve waited for her for so long that the last thing I want is for it to fall apart because I pushed her too hard. I want her to want me. I don’t want it to be because of her ex.
“Tell me that you haven’t . . .”
“What?”
He hesitates, which is very unlike him. “You didn’t do anything . . . with her . . . like after her attack?”
If he were in front of me, I’d lay his ass out. “If you’re asking if I’ve slept with Ellie again, the answer is no. No, I am not a selfish asshole who would take advantage of a woman who is in the middle of hell.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. Simmer the fuck down. I’m saying that this situation is pretty nuts, and I also know what it’s like to feel something, even when it’s wrong.”
Sean has been in love with his best friend for the last twelve years. The problem is, she’s in love with someone else. His only saving grace is that she lives here and he doesn’t have to see her anymore.
“I didn’t say there aren’t feelings.”
“I figured. And then there’s the kid.”
Yeah, then there’s Hadley. “If she’s mine . . .”
“You need to find out.”
I blow out a deep breath and get to my feet. “The chances are that she’s not.”
“Okay, and there’s a chance she is. You said she has the Arrowood eyes, right?”
“Even Syd noticed it,” I tell him.
