Page 67 of One Little Mistake
“GG told me you’re having trouble with your lock’s future. Maybe this key will work?” The smile on this kid would make my ovaries combust, if they hadn’t already.
Easton’s gaze finds mine, and my heart shatters because I know I’m about to break him.
“Thanks, Tate. I love it. Are you sure you don’t want to keep it?”
“Nope, I’m good. GG says sometimes the key is staring you in the face.” Tate leans in, then whispers, “But she said a bad word, too.” The inappropriateness of my grandmother eases the tension as he continues, “If you can’t fix your lock with your eyes, maybe the key will help. I’m going to see Uncle Preston now. We have a date to play old maid, but I told my dad I would let him win so he doesn’t get too sad.”
Easton scoops the little guy up into a fierce hug. “I love you, little man.”
“Love you, too. Welcome to the chaos, right?”
“That’s right, buddy. Go give Preston a run for his money.”
Tate smiles and runs away. Lanie glances between East, Ash, and me. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m heading out,” Ashton says, already turning away.
“Ash,” Easton calls, but he just raises a hand and waves.
“We’ll talk later, East. I have to find Loki.”
“Fuck.”
Unsure of what to do, Lanie gives me a hug and follows after Tate.
“God, that kid can really kick you in the love sack sometimes.” Easton chuckles. “I hope my kids are half as amazing as he is.”
And there we have it. The reason we can never work. He grew up with this big, amazing family. I’ve only ever known dysfunction, and now, because I chose Miles Black, I can never give anyone a family. A single tear turns into two, and before I know it, the floodgates on emotions I’ve worked to suppress rear their ugly head.
Chapter 26
Lexi
“Sweetheart? What’s wrong? Please, Jesus, Lex. Let me in. Tell me, what’s wrong?”
I open my mouth, and slobbery mucus nearly suffocates me as I try to speak. The sobs that wrack my body cause my limbs to tremble. Easton glances around, then takes me by the hand. Leading me down the hallway, he finds an empty family room and drags me inside.
“Baby, please. Please tell me what’s wrong? I-I can’t take seeing you hurt like this. It’s killing me that I don’t know how to fix it. Please let me fix it, Locket.”
I place a hand over my mouth to control the anguish trying to escape as I shake my head. How do you tell someone like Easton Westbrook that you’re broken?
“Why, Lex? Why won’t you tell me?”
“You push, and you push, and you push,” I finally choke out. “It was so much easier when you were an asshole. I can’t take you being nice to me, Beast. I don’t deserve it.”
“Jesus Christ, Lexi. Stop saying that,” he yells.
I want to scream and cry and make him understand that my body hates me. Or that I was a terrible person in another life. Something. Anything to make him understand why I deserve this pain, but I don’t. I won’t because even with all these reasons running through my head, I know no one wants to hear it. No one wants to hear that I might have accidentally caused this, or how my body and mind betrayed my heart, so instead I shut down. I go numb because it’s easier for us all, and I tell him my story as if I were a witness and not a participant in my own life.
His anger gives me strength, and with sudden clarity, I know he won’t give up on us unless I force him. He needs to know what I did so he can leave me to my misery.
“I killed my baby, Easton.” It comes out detached, and I sink into an emotionless pit so I can get through this.
“Wh-What?”
“My baby died because of me. Before I knew what a monster Miles was, we talked about having kids. My periods were irregular, so we went to a specialist, someone his dad knew, and he told me I would struggle to get pregnant.”
My words come out in a rush, but I have no feeling left to put behind them, and they sound monotone. Once again, I feel like a voyeur in my own life.
