Page 8 of Delirium
I was on cloud nine, walking through the house, going toward the dining room, where everyone usually gathered for their meals. Lunchtime was almost over, but I was hoping I would get to see Zoe, or maybe even Atlas, there.
“What’s that smile for?” A voice suddenly boomed around me. As I looked up, moving my eyes away from the picture, I saw Creed standing in front of me. I haven’t talked to him properly since I came back, afraid that he would shun me for what my father did, but there was no maliciousness in his eyes, and I knew I was a fool for thinking otherwise.
“It’s the babies.” I beamed, turning the picture of the scan toward him. “They look so cute.”
“Well, shit.” He exhaled, his grin getting bigger and bigger. As his large hands took the picture away from me, a pang of regret flashed through me.
He could have had this, and as his eyes glossed over the picture, I could see the memories slamming into him.
“I’m sorry, Creed,” I murmured, taking the picture away from him. “I’m sorry you never got to meet your kid.”
He looked up at the ceiling and then at me, trying to contain the emotions rushing in, but there was no use. I knew him better than a lot of these people, or at least I knew him before he became a part of the Club.
I knew how much he wanted that kid, how happy both of them were, and I hated that they couldn’t have that happiness they wanted so much. I hated that I couldn’t help them to get out of this life.
“It’s okay.” He smiled. “I never thought I would see the day where you would be this happy about a kid, not to mention two of them.”
“Yeah, well…” I chuckled. “Me neither, but things change.”
“They definitely do,” he murmured. “Are you going to show this to Storm?” he asked carefully. The entire fucking Club knew that the two of us were barely talking.
The entire Club also knew I was pregnant, and the amount of men and women coming to congratulate me was insane. I never thought I would be experiencing something like this, and it was obvious that they didn’t mind me being here. It was obvious that what happened at the gathering was Storm’s insane idea and not theirs.
“Yeah,” I finally answered, hiding my face from him. “Have you seen him?”
“He’s in the dining room,” Creed answered. “But do me a favor.” He grinned. “If you do decide to take him back eventually, make him work for it. He’s an idiot for what he’s doing, but—”
“I know,” I said, cutting his sentence off. “But I don’t think that I would ever take him back.” I sidestepped him. “Thanks, Creed. We should actually talk more often.”
“I know, right?” He laughed. “I’m awesome.”
I walked toward the entrance to the dining room, my mood skyrocketing, excited to show Storm the picture of our kids. The two of us might barely be on speaking terms, but I was going to uphold my part of the promise. He was going to be a part of their lives and I would never keep these things away from him.
The dining room looked almost like a cafeteria, connected directly with the fully equipped kitchen. Sometimes I had a feeling that this place was more like a hotel than anything else, considering the size of it.
But the pretty chairs and the long table in the middle weren’t what had my attention right now. Neither were Zoe’s green eyes, scared of my reaction.
Storm sat in the middle of the table, opposite of the entrance, his laughter echoing around the big room, his eyes plastered to the woman next to him. The one woman I prayed he wouldn’t spend time with while I was here.
The one woman I wanted to murder, no questions asked.
Nova held her phone to him, while his arm rested on the back of her chair, his body turned toward her. The way she looked at him was anything but friendly, but it was that laughter, that happiness oozing off of him that made my blood run cold.
He begged me to wait for him, to be patient, to believe in him, to just hold on for a little bit longer while he dealt with the shitshow. He used my weaknesses for his gain, keeping me on the side over and over and over again. Dear motherfucking God, why did I allow this?
They were oblivious to the tempest brewing in me, the need to chop both of their heads off, while I held onto the picture of my kids. My fucking kids, not his. If this was what he wanted, then it was quite obvious to me that he would rather have his Club and the bitch that sold us out than me and my children.
“Storm,” Zoe gritted out, still sitting on the left side of him, her eyes firmly plastered on me. I couldn’t move from the spot. I didn’t want to move.
Nova’s hand ran down the length of his torso. The intimate way she looked at him pulling the nausea to the forefront of my mind. Here I was, unable to even look at another man because my heart still belonged to the motherfucker sitting here and playing with somebody else. He obviously didn’t have the same problem as I did.
I took a step backward, then another one, hitting the brick wall behind my back. I turned my head up, seeing Indigo there, and the scowl on his face when he saw Storm.
“Storm, for fuck’s sake!” Zoe bellowed, standing up. His attention snapped from Nova to Zoe. Then as if he could feel me, his eyes connected with mine, widening in shock.
“Take me away from here,” I told Indigo, his hands on my shoulders, keeping me in place. “Please, Indigo. I need to get away from here.”
“Gladly,” he grunted, taking my hand in his and pulling me toward the main entrance.
