Page 14 of Fight For Us
I racked my brain but came up empty. “Samuel?”
“My chef here in the city. My lawyer told me to tighten my spending for the time being. Anyway, I won’t keep you, you must be busy with Alex. Tell him hello from me.”
“I will.”
She said a quick goodbye and ended the call while I leaned against my closet door rubbing my tight shoulders. Every time my body hurt from a long day at the restaurant or Wes annoyed me by misplacing something, I thought about the toxicity of my parents lives in New York and was suddenly grateful to have gotten out at the right time. Whatever happened with them had nothing to do with me. I repeated that mantra for the rest of the night.Their choices, their problems.Even if it stung to hear how glad she was to be rid of us.
By the time I let my thoughts settle, I’d unpacked two boxes and organized my purses and shoes. With such a small space, I needed to be intentional about what I kept and where I put everything. This bungalow was a far cry from the opulence of our New York home, but that’s what I loved about it. Creaky wooden floors with sand embedded in each crack, faded nautical wallpaper in the bedrooms and salt crusted windows that took finessing to open. The place reminded me of a boat at sea. I’d fill this little home with as much love as I could. Alex would know he was always wanted and welcome no matter his age or what happened in life.
At bedtime, I gave him an extra hug, which was met with a groan. His brown eyes searched mine as he played with the leg of his precious stuffed duck, Quackers. In that moment he lookedlike my little boy again and not the preteen he was turning into. “Will Lilly be okay?”
I ruffled his curls and tidied the stack of comic books on his side table. “Yeah, she’ll be okay, honey. Why do you ask?”
“She looked sad today. I think she was trying not to be but I could tell.”
My chest ached but I kept my tone neutral. “She has some big changes going on in her life. Kind of like us.” I smiled. “The best thing we can do is be her friend.”
“I guess I can do that.” His mouth tipped in a mischievous grin.
“You guess?”
“She’s cool, even if she always hits me with red shells inMario Kart. But I have a plan to win.”
I laughed, watching his eyes sparkle with ideas. “I’m sure you do, buddy. Okay, time for bed. We need to get you back on a good schedule for school next week.”
“Not school,” he groaned. “I don’t want to go.”
“I know, I know. But I have a feeling you’ll like your new school. Want to drive by it tomorrow to check it out?” He thought it over for a second before I added, “We can get ice cream afterwards.”
“Okay.”
When in doubt, I bribed with ice cream. I said another goodnight and turned his light off, grabbing his phone to charge in the kitchen.
As I laid in my own bed, tossing and turning, I considered texting my sister or Kendahl to get my thoughts out there about the day and the exhaustion of it all. The darkened screen on my phone reflected light from my reading lamp, beckoning me to pick it up and type something, even if how I was feeling couldn’t easily be articulated.
I huffed and flipped onto my stomach. I didn’t want to bother them. They had their own problems to deal with. No one forced me to move here and take on this new life. That choice was all mine to own. I wished I knew how hard it would be. Still, I didn’t think I’d have stayed in New York, even knowing I’d be counting every last dollar to buy groceries.
I closed my eyes, focusing on the soft sounds of rolling waves that squeezed through the cracks in the old windows. I pictured Wes in my mind’s eye and said a little prayer to the universe that he was doing alright.
Chapter 6
Wes
After the morning rush,I was finally able to take a load off in my office. Sweat coated my skin as I cranked the air lower, shrugged out of my chef’s coat, and reclined in my chair. It was humid as hell outside and Sunshine seemed to soak the moisture up like a sponge.
I rolled up my pant leg and took my prosthesis off to give my leg some air. Days like this one, where I sweat through my liners, could be dangerous if I didn’t keep dry.
Leaning my head back, I groaned and rubbed my tired eyes. It had been a rough few weeks getting accustomed to having Lilly full time. I knew one thing for sure. I had to move out of my parent’s place as soon as possible. Sleeping on the couch, with its coiled springs poking me in the back, was fucking me up and making it hard to get through the work day. We all needed ourown space. My mom’s been up all night reading and shuffling around the kitchen, while my dad snores loud enough to blow the roof off. It’s a wonder I haven’t fallen asleep standing and face-planted into the fryer by now.
Someone knocked softly on my office door. “Yeah?”
Olivia opened it a crack. Seeing her gorgeous face peeking through helped my mood shift immediately. “Question for you. Can I come in?”
“Always.” She pushed the door open. I noticed her rosy cheeks before anything else.
“Oh my God, it’s so nice and cool in here.” She walked underneath the vent in the ceiling and tilted her face up. “It’s almost as nice as the walk-in.”
“That’s my goal,” I said with a smile. My gaze trailed lower, noticing her tight nipples visible through her white shirt. I cleared my throat. “Did you have a question for me?”
