Page 65 of Louder Than Words

I watch as Trevor weaves between the jungle gym, playing peekaboo with Lydia and tickling Charlotte until she squeals. And for a second, I wonder where this version of him was a year ago.

Back then, it was like pulling teeth to get him to even read the girls a bedtime story. And now, all of a sudden, he’s Superdad. And it would be beautiful, if it didn’t feel like it was all for show.

I force myself off the bench, listening to the way the mulch crunches under my weight with each step. I listen until the sound of Lydia’s screeching laughter fills my ears and drowns everything else out, and can’t help but smile.

I sneak up behind her, poking her in the side just as she bursts into a fit of giggles.

“Mommy, you scare me!” she squeals, pointing her little finger at me. Her nose is already red from the cold.

Trevor snickers. “Mommy’s sneaky, huh, Lyd?”

My eyes dart to him, thinking he’s saying it just to be a dick, but when I look at him, he’s actually smiling. Like he might actually be in a good mood for once.

Maybe I can do this.

The second the girls run down the tunnel toward the slide, I turn toward him, clearing my throat.

“So… where’s Marissa?” I ask sheepishly, rubbing my hands together for warmth. “She couldn’t come?”

He doesn’t look at me at first, eyes still fixed on the girls as they glide down the slide together.

“She had to work,” he says, then turns to glance at me. “What about Jax?”

For some reason, him asking about Jax lightens something on my shoulders, but also twists my stomach. Like I’m stuck between wanting to believe he’s genuinely curious and suspecting he’s just trying to pry.

I shrug. “Same. He had to do another interview today.”

Trevor nods without looking at me. “Oh. So I guess that means he’s not busy punching old dudes in a bar?” he says flatly.

My head snaps toward him, eyes scanning the playground around us to make sure the girls didn’t overhear. Thankfully, they’re too wrapped up in a giant game of tic-tac-toe to notice anything else.

I’m not even sure I heard him right, because what the fuck?

I shake my head slowly, a lump already forming in my throat. “It wasn’t like that, Trevor.”

He scoffs. “No? Should I believe you? Or the hundreds of people posting about it online? Because from what I read, some poor guy barely walked up to your table and Jax just laid him out for no reason.”

His words hit me like a slap in the face. I blink at him, trying to make sense of what the hell is happening. “Me, of course. I would kno—”

“Really? Because it seems like you don’t. Like you’re just making excuses for him—again.” He shakes his head, scoffing. “What the hell has gotten into you? Letting a violent, mentally unstable man like that around our daughters? Come on, Allie.”

I’m too busy fighting back tears to answer. I don’t understand what happened to the man I was in love with just a few years ago. He wasneverthis nasty or hateful.

And now? He’s worse than anyone I’ve ever met.

The sound of crunching mulch pulls my attention and I see Charlotte dragging Lydia along by the hand. They stop in front of us with wide smiles and rosy cheeks.

“Mommy?” Charlotte says, not letting go of her sister’s hand.

I kneel in front of her. “Yes, baby?”

“When are we moving to New York?”

My eyes go wide. “No, no, baby. That’s not what we said, remember?”

Suddenly, the feel of a hand encircling my arm yanks me upright.

“Ouch, Trevor, let go!” I try not to shout, not wanting to scare the girls.