Alcohol You Later (42)

With an unsteady hand, he pushes my hair away from my face. “Where my children sleep?” he asks, stroking his thumb along my jaw. “Or where you sleep?”

I recoil as if I’ve been slapped. Emotion lodges deep in my throat while I glare at this man I hardly recognize. “You are a real bastard, Nicholas Potter.” My voice holds firm, though I’m breaking inside.

“And you’re jealous,” he taunts, a prideful smirk tugging his lip.

That he finds any of this remotely amusing makes the betrayal cut that much deeper.

“No…” I push him aside, fleeing to the bus, needing some distance to get my emotions in check.

But he’s hot on my heels. “You’re a shit liar.”

I whirl around, eyes brimming with barely restrained tears. “And you’re a shit friend.”

He slams his bedroom door behind us, looming over me while I start ripping drawers open and throwing my belongings back into my suitcase.

“What else?” He grips the back of his neck, teeming. “Lay it all on the table, pretty girl.”

“You’re a shit father!” I want to take the words back the instant they leave my mouth, even if they are true.

“Yeah, well, I learned from the best.”

I snort, shouldering past him on my way to the closet. I’ve grown weary of his excuses. Sick to death of the games. And I’m through feeling sorry for him.

He doesn’t get to play the victim this time. That role belongs to me. And to those precious babies he’s hell bent on ignoring.

“What are you doing?” he asks, panic setting in as if he’s only just processing the scene before him.

“I’m going home.” I swat at the tear blazing a trail along my cheek. “This was a mistake.”

“The hell you are. You signed a contract.” His voice is angry and filled with trepidation.

Is he actually threatening me? “And you just broke my one and only term.”

“What? Hannah?” He pulls a face. “She was my waitress, not a groupie. She offered to give me a ride home.”

“And the hickeys on your neck were just a thank you for the tip?”

He stares at me, mute. His mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. “I didn’t even realize—”

“I’m done, Nicholas,” I say, cutting him off. “It’s over. I quit.”

“What are you talking about?” His placating tone and flippant demeanor suggest just how not seriously he’s taking my resignation. “You can’t quit. They love you.”

I can’t help but smile, picturing their precious little faces as the mounting tears spill over. “I’ve never experienced a better feeling.” My hand lands on his chest, and I give a weak shove. “You should try it sometime…seeing as they’re yours and all.” I return to the bed, zip my suitcase, and move for the door, with no idea where I’m going or how I’m getting there.

All I know is I need to get away from here. Away from him.

He spins me around, locking his storm-filled eyes with mine. “You are not leaving.” His heavy fist pounds against the door above my head, rattling the thin walls of the bus.

“Aren’t I?” I challenge, my chest puffing up. “Who the hell’s gonna stop me?” My anger makes me feel ten feet tall. Invincible. “You?” I snort.

He’s bigger and meaner but I feel no fear. Just complete and utter heartbreak.

“No,” he answers, his tone all cocky confidence. “I won’t have to stop you. You won’t leave because you love them too.”

My defiant smile cracks. “You’re right,” I say, not even trying to hide my tears any longer. “I do. And I’ll miss them every day.” And I’ll miss you, I think as I reach around my back for the knob of the door, desperate to make my escape before he somehow convinces me to stay. I twist my wrist, and it opens a fraction of an inch.

Sweat beads on his brow, and I can hear his frantic heart pounding in his chest.

“Ray! Wait.” He advances, sandwiching me between him and the door. “You can’t leave us.” His words are no longer angry or spiteful but a desperate plea.

My head falls back, eyes connecting with his. I feel his fear and anxiety in every breathy exhale and the sound of our frantic heartbeats as they meld together—loud and erratic and completely uninhibited.

“Why?” I ask. “Why should I stay?”

He plasters on a shaky grin. Practiced. A facade. Vulnerability has never been his strong suit, and I just know whatever he’s about to say is only going to further piss me off. “Because you love me.”

Ouch. My lip quivers. I could lie and try to deny it, but what would be the point? “And that’s precisely why I’ve got to get out of here, Nicholas.” I place a desperate palm to the center of his chest. “And you need to let me.”

This time I shove with a force that catches him off guard and he stumbles back.

I waste no time ripping the door open, flinging it so hard it nearly flies off the hinges. But just as my first foot makes it through the threshold, he’s pulling me back into the room that suddenly feels devoid of air.

“What if I told you I loved you too?” His glossy eyes lock with mine. “Would that change anything?”