Page 101 of When the Time Is Right
She had the good sense to look sheepish. “You don’t understand.”
“Then make me understand. Explain to me why you’re using a shit custody agreement your dad had drawn up when Jack was born to validate your decisions. Explain to me why you feel like Mark is more important than the rest of us who have been by your side since day one. Explain to me how you can be so damn selfish to a man who has been so damn selfless, even before you two had a baby.”
My chest heaved, and I took a second to draw in a breath. As I did it, I took a step closer, as though my proximity might finally allow my words to permeate her thick skull. “This isn’t about you anymore, Lauren. Or Mark’s big promotion. Or even a new adventure in Portland. This is about Hudson. After all these years of taking care of each and every one of us, he deserves to be a priority.” I shook my head and backed away. “I can’t tell you what to do. I just want you to know that I think it’s the most self-centered, cruel thing I’ve ever seen.” I marched backward to Cal’s spaceship on wheels, adding, “Think about what you’re doing and who you’re doing it to.”
In one last show of bravado, she barked, “You’re only saying this now because you and Hudson are together.”
I chuffed. “Yeah, we’re together, but even if we weren’t, I’d still be standing right here, fighting for him. Because boyfriend or not, you’re fucking over one of the best men I’ve ever met. Good night. Tell Jack I love him.”
I hopped inside the van, and Lauren just stood there on her sidewalk, stunned and—I prayed—gut-punched.
My yellow-bellied brother put it into reverse and sweetly called out his window, as if nothing major had happened, “Bye, Lauren.”
She just waved us off.Me: My flight just landed. I’m headed to Lauren’s to see Jack, but I fully expect you to be in bed naked by the time I get there.Lex: Any particular bed? I’ve had my eye on Cal’s four poster for a while, but I’m thinking finding me naked in it might scandalize Vanessa.Me: Okay, first of all, gross! Secondly, my place is closer to Lauren’s, so let’s meet there.A picture came through as I made my way to baggage claim.
Lex.
On my couch.
Nothing but a blanket strategically covering a few of my favorite parts of her body.
Holy. Fucking. Hell.
If my son hadn’t been leaving for Portland the very next morning, I’d have left my suitcase on the baggage carousel and run home. Even stopping to find my truck in the parking garage seemed like a gross misuse of time.Me: Do. Not. Move. I’ll be there as soon as I can.Portland had been a success. Well, I mean, if you could consider ripping my heart out and being miserable while trying to piece together a life that was going to make me even more unhappy a success. Then yeah. Total success.
I’d never been so excited to come home from a business trip in my life. I missed Jack and Lex something fierce, but the lingering unknown hanging over our future put a damper on my mood. The reality was my son was moving across the country, and while I had a few weeks left in Atlanta to spend with Lex, it would also be spent packing up a life I loved.
But that was a pity party for another night.
After grabbing my bag and then finding my truck right where Lex had texted me that she’d left it, I drove to Lauren’s house, hoping to catch up with Jack for a little while before he fell asleep.
I jogged up the sidewalk when I arrived. However many seconds I had with him, I wanted every last one.
“Hey,” I said when she pulled the door open. After everything that had happened, Lauren and I weren’t on the best terms, but I’d managed at least a few civil phone conversations with her over the last week.
“Hey,” she whispered, crossing her arms over her chest like she’d caught a chill and it wasn’t eight hundred degrees and a hundred percent humidity.
I peered over her shoulder into the doorway. “Where’s Jack?”
“He went to bed about an hour ago.”
“What the fuck, Lauren? I told you I wanted to see him before you left in the morning and you put him to bed early? You’ve done some—” I suddenly stopped talking when I caught sight of a ceiling-high stack of boxes next to her couch. Both of which should have been gone by now. “I thought your movers were coming today?”
She smiled tightly. “They were. But then this morning I told Mark we weren’t moving with him, so he canceled them.”
My heart stopped as a blistering shock rolled through my shoulders. “What did you just say?”
