Page 21 of Hush Money
I just shake my head.
“You’ve done enough,” I say, pulling the blanket around me even tighter. But it still falls off one shoulder, exposing my skin, and I swallow. Our eyes meet for a brief moment, and I see him shift. Then he clears his throat.
“Call me if you need anything. And if you don’t mind just checking in every once in a while, that would be great. Todd will be here soon. He will be watching the door but can also take you anywhere you want to go.”
I force a shy smile and nod.
“You worried about me or something, Everett?”
His face grows more serious.
“Always,” he says without hesitation. Our eyes lock, and then I watch as his eyes move over my face. Then he disappears out the door and down the hall.
He keptthe picture of us.
It’s my favorite one.
I still have a copy of it. It’s in a frame, in a box, in the attic of my house.
That I share with my husband.
Shared.
God, I’m a fucking mess.
And if I were anywhere else in the world right now, I am certain that I would be absolutely panicking right now—which, maybe I still will be.
But Keaton makes me feel steady. And just like he always did when were kids, he’s the only person who makes me feel like I’m not alone.
I remember when I felt that way about Tanner. Like I was the only person he saw in any room we were in. But then bills got more expensive. Hours at the office got longer. The IVF cost a fucking fortune. And my bodystillcouldn’t give us a baby.
And then the hormones made the pounds a little slower to fall off. And he stopped looking at me.
And then the drinking got worse.
And worse.
Until I started taking my birth control in secret again. Because I realized that I was scared.Scaredof my own husband. And I was worried about what bringing a baby into that house might do.
I sit back down on the big couch, wrapping myself up in the blanket I’ve been living in since he brought me back here last night. It’s ultrasoft, and it smells like Keaton. So it’s sort of like I’m wrapping myself up in him. And then, I drift off to sleep. Because when I wake up, it’s past lunch time. I decide that, today, I’m going to rot in my billionaire best friend’s apartment. I order some delivery, and Todd brings it in a little while later.
I grab the remote and turn the TV on, but before I can even scroll, my phone dings next to me. My heart starts racing. I move my eyes to the screen, but I let out a sigh of relief when mymother’s name flashes across the screen. She’s not my favorite person, but at least it’s not Tanner.
“Hi, Mom. How?—”
“Did you leave him?” she asks me, a hint of panic in her voice.
I swallow. How the fuck does she know?
“What?”
“Did you leave Tanner last night?”
“Mom, how do you?—”
“Yes or no?” she cuts me off again. I swallow back the lump that’s forming in my throat. I cry when I’m frustrated, and I can feel it coming.
“Yes,” I say simply. I’m not offering her any more.
