Page 17 of Unbreak Me
“Well, when you have one to be proud of…” Miles grins into his bourbon.
“Jesus, can we get off the topic of my brother’s dick sizes in front of my wife?” Travis glares at us, causing Mile’s grin to get wider.
“So when is Savi coming down?” Sophia changes the subject before Miles starts to press any more of Travis’s buttons.
“In a couple of weeks. She just finished up with finals and is hanging around to celebrate with a couple of her friends before heading here,” Jake says. “Mom and Dad won’t be able to make it back until later this summer, but they are definitely coming to the wedding.”
Sophia’s brother, Maverick, is getting married, and we all got the save-the-date invites in the mail for their wedding next May. My parents have become close with Sophia’s family, and we all instantly took a liking to her brother and her friends.
Weddings are not my favorite to attend. They bring up too many emotions for me that I don’t want to deal with. I ended up leaving early at the last one I went to and made up some work excuse. This is Sophia’s family, though, and Travis is a groomsman, so I’m going to have to suck this one up and try and make the best of it. If tomorrow night goes well, I might bring a date this time and actually have a good time.
“My mom mentioned to me that Meaghan and Trevor are coming…Savi too. It means a lot to me that you all will be there.I know it means a lot to Maverick and Bella, too.” Sophia smiles at us.
“Your family is our family now. We wouldn’t miss it.” I smile back at Sophia before downing the rest of my drink. “I’ve got an early morning, so I’m going to call it a night. I’ll see all of you tomorrow.” I stand up and say my goodbyes before heading outside to my place.
There’s an uneasiness in the air that I can’t put my finger on. It’s got me restless and on edge. I make my way to the shower to rinse off the saltwater from earlier, hoping it will calm my nerves. Between not sleeping much because of these dreams lately and having my first date in three years, it’s no wonder I’m feeling like this. I get out and throw on some grey sweats when I hear a knock at my door.
My heart starts beating out of my chest, and I rub the tattoo over my heart, puzzled at why I feel something big is about to happen. My brothers usually just barge in, and something tells me that it’s not them on the other side of the door. Dragging in a deep breath to calm the nerves that have suddenly flooded my body, I walk over to the door and open it.
All the air in my lungs escapes. I grip the door frame for support so hard my knuckles turn white as I stare into blue eyes, the color of the ocean—eyes that were once my whole world.
“Eve…” I whisper in a pained voice, not even believing that what I’m seeing is real.
“Hi, Ryder,” she says softly. Her voice filters through the air, and I close my eyes briefly at the sound. How many times have I begged to hear that voice again? So many emotions slam through me at once that I’m unable to comprehend what they all mean. The one that takes me by surprise, though, is the one I never thought I would ever look at her and feel. All the hurt for the past three years comes crashing down on me, and anger quickly takes its place.
“Where the fuck have you been for the past three years?” My heated stare pierces her blue eyes as they widen in shock.
CHAPTER SEVEN
EVE
Iwatch as his greys brew like a storm. I hug my daughter tighter against my chest for strength. It’s been a long day of traveling, and I almost got a hotel room, but I knew if I didn’t face this right now, I might chicken out. Besides, the tickets cost more than I thought they would, and I need every dime I have if I’m going to do this without my parents' help.
The couple living in our old apartment told me where I could find him. They mentioned he was living in the pool house out back of the house he shared with his brothers. I don’t have the nerve to face his brothers just yet, so I snuck around back and was betting on Ryder being home. I have no clue what I’m walking into, but I knew the emotions would be there. I just wasn’t prepared for how bad it would hurt to see him looking at me like that. Anger is something that I’ve never seen in his eyes when he looks at me.
I pull the blanket over my daughter’s head more, and Ryder blinks in shock when he realizes I’m not alone. She fell asleep in the Uber, exhausted from traveling all day.
“Do you…” He looks from the bundle in my arms to me and back again. Pain flashes across his features, so raw and so real it slices through my heart like a knife. “You have a child?”
I nod my head, unable to speak through the pain. This is so much harder than I thought it was going to be. Fear creeps up so suddenly that I take a step back. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just shown up like this. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’m so sorry,” I say again, trying to take a deep breath but unable to as my breathing becomes shallower. Panic consumes and squeezes my lungs tightly. I gasp for air but can’t seem to get any.
“Hey,” he says, taking a step forward. “Look at me, Eve.” I lift my eyes to his and try to focus on him. “I need you to breathe for me. In and out.” He breathes deep, and I mimic him. His eyes never leave mine as I take another deep breath and start to feel the air come back to me. I blink back the tears that have escaped and loosen the death grip on my daughter.
“Thank you,” I whisper when I can talk again.
His jaw is clenched tight, and I can tell he wants to say more, but he holds back. “Let’s get you inside so you can lay her down. Or him.” He swallows hard, like it hurts to speak the words. He opens the door wider, and I step inside his place.
It’s a cute one-bedroom apartment. He has a big, comfortable grey sofa with a chaise along one wall. The white walls are filled with car photos, and a small smile appears on my face as I see all of his accomplishments staring back at me. I’ve been stalking his business website, and it’s given me some happiness over the years to know that all of his visions have come true and he’s made a name for himself like he always dreamed of doing. It made what I had to do hurt less to know I could give him that by walking away.
“You can use my bed.” He leads me to the room where a king-size bed sits. None of the furniture is familiar as I take in the dark grey upholstered bed and wooden dresser and nightstands.What did I expect…him to be living in our old apartment with all of our things? It’s been three years. Of course, he’s moved on and gotten rid of everything.
He pulls back the navy blue comforter and stands back while I lay her down. I tuck her teddy bear under her arm and pull the covers over her before brushing back her curls.
“You have a girl,” I hear him say softly behind me. “She looks just like you.”
I stand up and glance behind me. He’s looking at her in awe, but there’s no denying the pain behind those greys.
“Only when she’s sleeping,” I say softly. “She has her daddy’s eyes, and he’s all I see when I look at her.” His eyes shoot to mine as they narrow, and his hands clench at his sides. “Ryder, I need to tell you something.” He needs to know that she is his.
