Page 107 of Between Now and Forever
“No.” He looks at me like I’ve grown three heads. “I’m not talking to you. I hate you. I wish we had never met you.”
“Dylan!”Gabrielle says.
“Why are you being a jerk face to Jay?” Carter asks, reaching for his brother’s arm.
Dylan shoves his hand away. “Because you don’t understand what this means, Carter. This man is not your dad. He’s notlike your dad. He’s nothing to you. Do you hear me?”
Carter’s eyes fill with tears.
“I just want to hear you out,” I say.
“Don’t. Care,”Dylan says, scowling at me. “There isn’t an open spot in our family for you. We had a dad and now he’s gone and the last thing we need is to have another guy step in just so he can leave us too.”
“I’ve heard enough,” Gabrielle says.
Dylan turns his scowl to her. “Good, me too.” He reaches for Carter. “Come on, buddy. It’s me and you. This guy is nothing to us. All right?”
“Dylan ...” Gabrielle says, but her words are cut off by the look Carter gives us over his shoulder as he goes inside with his brother.
I exhale, running my hands down my face.How did this turn upside down so fast?
The boy’s words cut through me, sobering me out of my daydream.Am I delusional to think that I can fit into this family the way I want to? Is it possible to join them at their ages and expect to be accepted into the fold?
My face heats as reality slams into me.
Gabrielle’s sadness is palpable. “I’m sorry, Jay. I need to go in and deal with this mess.”
“I’ll go with you.”
She frowns. “Thank you, but that’s probably not a good idea.”
What?
“Look, Jay. These are my kids. This is my problem. Not yours.”
It’s not the words that bother me. It’s the tone she uses that cuts me to the quick.
“These are my kids. This is my problem. Not yours.”
It’s reminiscent of the last argument that Melody and I had the day before I came home and she and Izzy were gone. We had argued the night before over the fact that I hadn’t proposed to her. The next day, the school called because Izzy was sick and needed to be picked up. That was the day I discovered that I had been removed from my daughter’s emergency contacts list.
“She’s my child, Jay. If you wanted her to be yours, you’d do what you need to do.”
A tightness spreads through my body, nearly strangling me in the process. It’s too close to déjà vu to be comfortable. It’s too similar to the worst day of my life for me to live it again.
How did I get here? How did I get to a place where I fucking care? How did I put myself in this position to be kicked out of the lives of people I care about, like I don’t matter at all?
This is crushing me.
Do I like this woman?Hell yes.Do I want to try for more?Absolutely. I can’t deny it. But if this is what it feels like after being with her for a few weeks, then I don’t think I can take the risk of waiting for a few years to pass before she says something like that again.
“These are my kids. This is my problem. Not yours.”How apt. How fucking true.You gotta move on from this now, Stetson. Do it before it’s too late for everyone involved.
Whether she knows it or not, Gabrielle Solomon just drew the final line in the sand.
“You know what? You’re right. They are your kids, and it is your problem,” I say, my heart pounding in my ears. “I hope you guys figure it out.”
“What are you saying, Jay?”
