Page 101 of Fight For Us
I stretched my arms over my head and pushed to stand. “You’re right. I gotta stop being scared. My family needs me.”
My mom beamed at me, nodding. “That’s what I was waiting for you to say.”
“One thing first. Can I use your phone? I think I have Savannah’s number written down here somewhere.”
“What happened to your phone?”
I rubbed my tight jaw and answered under my breath. “I kind of broke it.”
She narrowed her eyes on me. “On purpose?”
I kept my mouth closed but she got her answer from my shame-filled expression. “Oh, Wesley. You need to accept that it wasn’t your phone that caused the accident.”
Yeah, I knew she’d respond that way. “I’m trying. Please just let me use your phone.”
She scrambled up and grabbed it from the kitchen. “Go ahead. Why are you calling Savannah? You think you can reach her?”
“I hope so. I should have tried months ago before everything got this out of hand.”
“Good luck,” she said, as I walked down the hall to my old bedroom and dialed my ex’s number.
I ended the call with Sav feeling more hopeful than I had in days. Before I gave my mom her phone back, I scrolled through her contacts and found Lilly’s number.
Me:Hey sweetheart, it’s Dad. Listen, I don’t know if your grandmother is looking at your messages so I’ll keep it short. Everything is going to be okay… I promise. Hang in there, you’ll be home soon.
I grabbed my keys from the kitchen table. She looked up from the book she was reading with raised brows. “How’d it go?”
“Mom, I don’t even know where to begin. I’ll fill you in later, but everything’s going to be okay.”
“Come sit, tell me how the call went. I ordered take-out for dinner. It should be here soon.” She patted the empty chair beside her.
“Sorry, I can’t stay.” I kissed her forehead and turned to leave. “I gotta go get my wife back.”
“Wesley Gordon Reed, you stop right there,” she boomed, stopping me in my tracks.
“Mom, I’ve gotta go. I promise I’ll fill you in later.” Anxious energy filled my veins each minute I was away from Olivia.
“It’s not that,” she said, gently. “You can’t go to Olivia empty handed. Hasn’t your boneheaded father taught you anything? You need a gesture. Something to win her back.”
I leaned against the doorframe and pulled in a calming breath. “Mom, you’re reading too many romance novels. We can talk this through like adults.”
She picked up her novel, showing me the floral cover. “And you know who recommended this book?” I shrugged and she went on. “Your wife. Think about it, Wesley. If she’s as important to you as you say, you need to show her.”
Fuck.I hated when she was right. I walked back to the table and dropped my keys down before taking the seat next to her. “Any suggestions?”
“Oh honey, it needs to come from you. Dig deep and you’ll figure it out.” She kissed my cheek and got up with her book in hand. “Remember when your father filled the entire house with flowers when you were twelve? Well, you didn’t know this butI was two seconds away from leaving his ass for being an idiot. You’ve got this.”
I remembered that, the house smelled like roses for a month. My father was so damn proud of himself too, strutting around like he was Casanova. I put my head in my hands and shut my eyes.Think.What could I do to show her she was everything to me? An inkling of an idea formed and the more I thought about it the more certain I became.
Tomorrow, I would get my family back.
Chapter 40
Olivia
I’d finally gotten Alexto bed after hours of trying to cheer him up. Difficult to do while I was heartbroken on the inside. The hardest part of being a mother was keeping myself upright when all I wanted to do was collapse. I couldn’t let him see me struggling, not when he was confused and upset.
We sent Lilly a few messages, letting her know we were thinking of her. She didn’t respond, so it was likely Regina took her phone. I even called my dad to ask his advice, but got his voicemail.
