Page 153 of Please Open Me
Somehow, Mason seemed to shrink as she said that, and slowly, I shook my head.
“You arenothinglike Holly.”
“I am choosing partners over my children.” Her words came out angry, but I knew the second her shoulders slumped forward, she wasn’t mad at me. “I’m just like my mom, andyou’rejust like my dad.”
A few choked sobs erupted from her lips, and she responded by clamping a hand over her mouth.
She thought I was just like her dad. James Albright, the frontman for Necrotica. A man who chose his vices over his child and pushed her onto anyone who would raise her. And, as much as I wanted to argue, when she boiled it down to the simplest comparison, Mason was right.
I’d chosen getting high over spending time with Jas and Juni.
I’d gotten high and let that sour the way I talked to Mason.
I scratched my temple before dragging a hand down my face, jaw open just slightly. My gaze unfocused as I took a deep breath, not daring to exhale. I was just like James Albright, and not in a good way.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, snapping myself out of my haze before reaching for my wife. “Mason, I’m–”
The second my hand hit her shoulder, she shoved me off and pushed past me before heading out of the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” I asked, turning to follow her.
“Stop!” she snapped, heading up the steps before tossing me a half-hearted look over her shoulder. “Don’t follow me. I’m going to bed.”
“But, you were hungry, Mason. For the love of God, just come sit down.”
Her knuckles blanched as she tightened her grip on the banister. For a beat, I thought she’d turn back. Maybe she’d sit down and let me make her instant ramen, or french fries, or something disgusting like a bowl of pickles and ice cream. Whatever she wanted, I would do.
But instead, she slowly shook her head, like she was tired in ways sleep could never fix.
“No, I’m going to bed,and that’s final.”
I froze as I watched her vanish up the steps, both because I had no idea where she thought she was going–Sebastian and Cam were in the master suite, Sophia and I were sharing the upstairs guest room, and the twins were downstairs on air mattresses in a formerly empty room–and because I was torn between the desire to chase after her, to not leavethisunfixed, but I was so afraid I’d make it worse.
So, I just stood at the bottom of the steps, still as a statue, hoping that if I thought about how sorry I was for long enough, maybe she’d get the message.
Chapter 37
Sebastian
I couldn’t prove it, but I was fairly certain Mason had snuck into bed sometime after midnight. Not only had she wedged herself between Cameron and me, she’d also gone to sleep hungry.
Why did I think that?
For starters, a few long strands of her hair clung to my pillow, and the dried patch of drool on my shirt sure as hell wasn’t mine. But more telling was what woke me: not sunlight, not my alarm, but the faint, ugly sound of someone gagging in my master bathroom.
At first, I ignored it. She didn’t want me knowing she was pregnant, and if I went charging in after touching her stomach yesterday, she’d connect the dots fast. So, I rolled over, smashed a pillow over my head, and pretended to sleep.
It worked until Rosie stirred in the crib by Cam’s side of the bed, and Cam picked her up, put her between us, and promptly fell back asleep. Despite all my lectures about safe sleep, my boyfriend and my girlfriend never listened.
By the time I sat up, Rosie was already kicking in the middle of the mattress, four new teeth flashing in a grin like she’d been waiting for my attention. She tugged at the embroidered flowers on her pajamas with unyielding determination.
“What?” I mumbled, groping for my glasses.
She squealed like I’d just delivered the punchline of the year.
I shoved my glasses on just in time to catch her clapping. “That was sarcastic, wasn’t it?”
Another sharp inhale, another clap. From down the hall, the shower came on.
