Page 28 of The Last Ones Standing, Part Two

“I know, baby. I miss you too, but he still has to ask me. I’ll talk to you soon. I love you.”

She hangs up, leaving me hard from hearing her voice and frustrated as fuck because she won’t bend.

“Fuck,” I bellow and hit the steering wheel.

From the moment I decided to plant the seed for us to kiss that first time, I knew this would all be hard, but I never factored in all this other shit that happened after. Gio, I can handle, all of this shit piled on top, it’s threatening to topple my dreams over.

* * *

Nyla

Lying in this lonely hotel bed, I squeeze my thighs together and groan as I look up at the ceiling and bite my lip. I like this side of Jace. That conversation was sexy.

“Grr. Just tell me to come home already, Gio,” I flip over and growl into my pillow.

I kick my feet like a toddler. I’m so sexually frustrated. Toys won’t do because I need the intimacy of touch, not mine, but the big strong hands I’m used to.

I want the safety and comfort of Gio and Jace pressed against me. I want to be wrapped in their love and passion. This time apart has helped me to see our relationship for what it is.

A knock comes at the door. I look over my shoulder. “Hey,” Holly calls as she sticks her head into the room.

I turn over and throw an arm over my face. “Hey.”

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

She enters the room and the bed dips as she lies beside me. Silence fills the room for a moment. She reaches for my hand and gives it a squeeze.

“Why don’t you just go back?”

“It’s complicated. It’s Gio’s move this time. Not mine.”

“But you miss them.”

“Yeah, I do. They complete me. If I’m earth, Jace is the wind, and Gio is the fire.

“We need each other to survive. Some days, I don’t feel like I’m surviving, but I can’t keep allowing myself to accept tiny flames from Gio, I need him to burn bright and hot for me.”

“So you want him to call for you.”

“Yeah, I need him to. I can’t take pieces of him again. This time he has to change. The change has to be real.”

“I get it.”

Silents takes over again. My thoughts are all over the place. Holly turns on her side and stares at the side of my face.

“I want you to hear me out. You are all I have. I see you like a big sister. I could never repay you for all you’ve done for me.

“I don’t want you to keep stressing about time running out. When you go back to them, let them love you. Live the life you deserve, and if you need me, I’ll be there to give y’all my body for your babies.”

I turn to her with tears in my eyes. “What?”

She squeezes my hand. “You saved me. Donny was going to kill me. I remember hating that baby inside me so much and being relieved when he beat it out of me.

“I was blaming my child for trapping me with that psycho. The guilt I’ve carried for that all these years has been crippling. I want to do this for you. If you need a vessel, I’ll be it. You don’t have to rush away from happiness or stress about when and what if.

“You don’t even have to worry about me wanting in on your relationship or your money becauseA, I’ve got my own money thanks to you andB, relationships aren’t for me. Donny wasn’t the first dude to hit me. I fell into the cycle I grew up in. I don’t trust myself to find love.”

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