Page 53 of Crazy In Love
“Dude!”
“We know what’s really up,” I snicker. “But I’m told saying so out loudhurts feelings.”
“Fuck this.” Chris grabs my wrist and stomps past his friend. “If I’m going to be insulted, I’d rather take it while holding my niece.” But then he stops and spins, waiting for Ollie’s dazed eyes to come to his. “You didn’t screw anyone’s lives up, by the way. Stop with the shit.”
“Pretty sure I did,” he yawns. “I’m the reason Tommy left her that night. I’m the reason that prick got access and did the things he did. And thenIdared to lectureherabout leaving?” Disgusted, he shakes his head. “Jesus. Could I be more of a cock?”
“You didn’t hurt her.” I drag myself free of Chris’ tight grip, and meander back to stand in front of Ollie. He’s taller than me by several inches, muscular like Tommy and Chris, but he comes with the added bonus of no sleep since… the night before last. “I knew her after Plainview. I met the girl who ran away from this mess. The one who needed to find the good in humanity again.”
“Don’t. Please,” he groans. “I don’t wanna?—”
“I had her for ten years, which means I’d met you alllongbefore we ever came together in the same space. She told me about Tommy. And Chris. Raquel. Grady,” I sneer. “The feral pig bastard.”
“Deserves worse than he got,” he growls. “Deservessomuch worse.”
“She told me about you, too, Ollie. The friend with two baby sisters he’d protect to the death. She told me about the guy who was always overly empathetic and kind, and she cried, terrified you’d find out how everything came to be. Sheknewyou’d shoulder that blame, even though none of it was your fault.”
“I was the key to what happened to her.” He runs his fingers through his hair, tugging the locks until they stand on end and glow under the hospital hallway fluorescents. “She was assaulted, Fox, and a little baby boy was the result. If I’d behaved that night, or if I’d called literally anyone else, none of this would’ve happened.”
“If you’d changed anything about that night, we wouldn’t have Franky.” I gently pat his shoulder. “It sucks, I know. But we’re here now, and we wouldn’t trade that baby boy for anything. If you’re struggling to overcome your guilt about all this, I suggest you talk to someone. For your own mental health. Alana hasneverheld a grudge, and I have no reason to lie to you about that. Ask your sister,” I wink. “She knows I say what I mean, and I punish those who mess with my family.” I squeeze his muscular arm and wait for his tired eyes to come back to mine.
Doubt. Devastation. Hope, maybe. A tiny sliver of it.
Then I turn on my heels and wander straight past a watchful Chris. “I need to see my babies.” I cup my mouth and speak barely above regular volume. “Franklin Page? Aunty Fox is looking for you.”
Like I knew he would, he pokes his head out of Alana’s room and stares me down, his glasses perched on the end of his nose and his lips flattened into unimpressed lines.
Because I’m embarrassing him.
“In here.” He rolls his eyes and brushes my hand away. “Hazel’s sleeping. But Mom said we can make any noise we want ‘cos she’s not gonna wake up from it.”
“You were like that when you were a baby, too.” I set my hand on the back of his neck and walk him in, only to find the exact scene I’ve imagined for most of a year already.
I’m a romantic at heart, and living through Alana’s heartache for a decade left me wishing for better for her. So when I find Tommy laid out on Alana’s bed, his shirt gone, his baby girl resting on his chest, and Alana’s cheek on his shoulder, I feel like it was all worth it.
All the pain. All the tears and fears and the complete and utter devastation Alana carried for so long, worth it now that she has her family together.
In the quiet, Tommy lolls his head to the left and meets my eyes.
“Hey.” Alana scans me up and down, her lips curling into a sweet smile. “You were gone awhile. Started to think you’d jumped on a plane and left me for New York.”
“No chance.” I release Franky and stroll toward the bed.How many boundaries do I disrespectfully dance upon now that I’m in the same room as a shirtless Tommy Watkins, while my body still tingles after being destroyed by Christian Watkins…
So many boundaries. So much disrespect.
“I’m not leaving a single day before my six weeks end.” I place myfingers on Hazel’s chubby cheek and stroke. “I’ve been counting down to this vacation. No way I’m giving any of it up.”
“Kinda worried you and Chris had turned on each other,” Tommy jokes.Oh God, if only he knew. “Not sure who would win that battle, but seeing as how we don’t wanna lose either of you…”
“You shoulddefinitelyworry about him most of all. I’ve got street smarts and a lead foot that’s known to run men down in broad daylight.”
“She’s talking about you,” Franky mumbles.
I twist and glance over my shoulder to find Chris standing in the doorway, his shoulder resting against the frame.
“That was a threat,” the boy continues. “Don’t give her the car keys.”
Amused, Chris folds his arms and smirks. “I think I’ll be okay. I’ll keep an eye out for speeding cars, just in case.” He lifts his chin. “Hazel still as cute as she was a couple of hours ago?”
