Page 120 of Between Now and Forever
“It was late.”
I groan.What did Dylan do now?
“We had a long talk,” Jay says, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Well, as long as a teenage boy is willing to talk.”
I smile at that.
“And when he left, we had cleared the air and come to an understanding.” He chuckles. “He didn’t mean to, but he made me think a lot last night.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea he left the house, which probably makes me a bad mother. But I’ll talk to him. I’ll tell him not to bother you.”
“You see, I hope that’s impossible.”
I balk. “Excuse me?”
He runs a hand down his jaw, his eyes searching mine. I have no idea what’s happening, what they talked about, or why Dylan felt it necessary to talk to Jay without talking to me first. Especially considering his outburst sparked this fallout. I also don’t know why Jay is here, and that’s eating a hole in my gut.
“Jay, I’m sorry for—”
“Stop.”
“Stop what?” His tone slices through me. “Did you come over here wanting a fight? Because I’ll give you a fight.”
He smirks, and I see red.
“Let me tell you something,” I say, poking his chest. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to leave me and break my fucking heart.” Myvoice cracks, but I keep going. “Then come over here and stand on my porch and tell me my son was bothering you, and it made you think, and now you want to ... I don’t know what you want. But I want you to leave just like you did before.”
Tears gather in my eyes, and it takes everything I have not to break out into a sob.
“Gabrielle, please. Let me finish.”
“You already finished us. You walked away. You told me it can never happen between us.Ididn’t do that.You did.”
Tears trickle down my face despite my anger. Crying in front of him only makes me madder. It’s just new material for me to obsess over tonight when I go to bed, and God knows I don’t need more things to ponder.
“Please leave, Jay,” I say, looking at his handsome face for the last time. “And don’t come back.”
He doesn’t move. Not a single muscle in his body twitches. He stands in place and looks at me like he’s trying to decide what to make of this situation.
“I have to go,” I say, turning to the house. “I have outlets to change.”
“That’s electrical.”
I smile, knowing he can’t see it. “So it is.”
“Damn it, Gabrielle.”
He steps in front of me, blocking the doorway.
I commit every line in his face to memory. The way the corners of his eyes crinkle in the morning light. How his lips are shaped, and how his brows pull together when he’s thinking.
Just as I finish my inspection, my vision clouds over again. I don’t try to hide it from him.Why bother?Let him remember that he broke my heart.
“Gabrielle,” he says, his voice clear and warm. “I’m sorry for hurting you. I let another woman’s actions affect my relationship with you, and that’s wrong. There’s really no excuse.”
I blink, trying to keep the tears from falling, and shove the screwdriver in my back pocket.
He reaches for me but stops short of making contact. Instead, he smiles. “I came here to tell you that I will never walk away from you again and I’m a fucking fool for doing it the first time. I’m fighting for us and I won’t stop.”
