Page 54 of Unloved

“Don’t be so obtuse, you know there’s only one reason we still talk to you.”

Ignoring the insult, I focus more on the matter of importance. “Is she okay?”

“Of course she is. She’s perfect,” he says, his voice full of adoration.

The tension in my shoulders lessens, only a little, knowing that she’s okay. The rest of my coiled muscles are reserved for whatever surprise he wants to throw my way.

“Can we meet at The Spot?It’s the gym I train at.” My request is met with nothing but silence. “We won’t actually be talking in the gym,” I clarify. “There’s a coffee shop nearby where we could probably sit and talk.”

“That’s fine. I’ll be out of town this coming week, so how does the following Friday sound?”

Motherfucker is going to make me wait another week. “Yeah, that works.” I swallow hard before asking the next question, knowing my mother doesn’t take a single breath without his permission. “Are Mom and Kayla coming with you?”

He chuckles. Fucking chuckles. “Neither of them will get a kick out of seeing you slumming it.”

“I’m not slum—” I cut myself off, shaking my head. Why do I keep trying to prove myself to him? We get nowhere. Every. Damn. Time. “Okay, I’ve got to go. I’ll text you the address for Friday.”

“Three p.m. Rhys, don’t be late.”

It’s all he says before hanging up.

With my eyes closed, I tip my head up to the ceiling and take in a lungful of air.

In with the good.

Out with the bad.

“Are you okay?”

I rub my hand over my face before facing one or both of them. I don’t want his negativity to touch them. I don’t want to talk about him. I don’t want him to ruin any more good things in my life.

Turning around, I muster a fake smile. Samuel is the only one in the room with me, and I know the second he sees right through me.

“Yeah,” I say, feigning enthusiasm. “He was just calling to check in.”

Wordlessly, he walks toward me with nothing but sincerity and empathy in his eyes, and it makes me want to break down in his arms.

He grabs my face, his touch gentle yet firm. “Whatever it is, we can handle it.” His eyes dart between mine, searching for my secret. “We can handle it together.”

Finding it impossible to say anything, I wrap my hand around his wrist and lead him back to the bedroom. Like a little kid who just wants to hide from the world, I climb back into the bed. Starting at the bottom, I crawl under the bedding until my head peeks out, right beside Lennox.

There’s a hint of sadness in his eyes and I know it’s for me. But I try to will it away by dropping a kiss to the tip of his nose.

“Are you okay?” he asks me.

I kiss his nose again and let him know the only thing I care about right now is being in this bed with him. Withthem. I feel Samuel come up behind me. He throws his arm over my middle and Lennox reaches for him, cocooning me in. We lie like this till they both fall back asleep, and I pray to a god that might exist, that I don’t fuck this thing up.

* * *

“Have you ever thought about teaching sign language?”

I don’t know why Lennox’s question makes me pause for longer than necessary, but for some reason it stumps me.Why haven’t I ever thought about teaching sign language?

“You’ve been teaching us for just over a month now anyway.”

I glance down at the booklets and laptop strewn around my four by four dining table and search for my cell, but when I come up empty, I find a pen and write on a scrap of paper, showing Lennox.

Do you think I could do it?

---