Page 32 of Every Little Thing

Where the hell is the scared girl I grew up with? The one that would jump out of her skin and start crying if you snuck up on her, the one who never made it through a week without, at least, three nightmares that woke us both up and the one that I loved so fucking much in spite of all that. Watching her, I can’t help but wonder who she is now and how much I would like to get to know her again before I shut that thought down and press my lips into a line.

“Is this why Eden set this whole thing up?” I fucking hate feeling like I’m being played right now and I don’t know how she thinks the two of us having a baby together is a good fucking idea. It’s insane. At best, she and I are a mess of pain and resentment and she wants to bring a child into this? She shakes her head.

“I’ve been looking into how to have a baby on my own lately and when I realized how expensive it was, she joked that I should ask you but it was never something I seriously considered until I walked in and saw you.”

“Oh, good,” I snap, crossing my arms over my chest. “‘Cause here I thought you had thought this all through and still thought it was a good idea. What was Eden’s plan then when she messaged me?”

She sucks in a breath and her nerves flash through her eyes for just a second before she shuts it down. “No… She seems to think that there is still something between us.”

“Did you tell her she’s fucking insane?” I ask with what I know is a condescending laugh but my chest aches as I force the words out of my mouth. Sitting here across from her, staring at the face of the woman I fell in love with at thirteen years old, I’m not so sure that’s true anymore. She lets out a breath and shakes her head, sadness creeping into her green eyes and I’m back to a teenage kid who just wanted to make her smile.

Fuck.

I have to get out of here.

“The answer is no,” I force out through gritted teeth as I grab my phone off of the table and stand up. She reaches out and grabs my arm as I try to pass her and I swear to God, my heart stops for a second as I look down at her. His gaze pleads with me and my gut turns as the ache in my chest grows.

“Please just think about it, Wyatt. I don’t ever expect you to forgive me for what I did but I think you might be my last hope.” Her eyes hold me prisoner, wrapping chains around my heart and my anger drains away, forcing me to confront what lies beneath.

I can’t do this.

I can’t let myself go there.

I can’t even let myself think about it because up until this moment, I didn’t realize that I was balancing on the edge of the cliff overlooking a ravine but now I’ve looked down and seen the jagged rocks on the bottom and if I reach for her, I know it will destroy me.

“Good-bye, Piper,” I say, pulling my arm from her grasp and walking away from her. Fuck, it hurts like hell. I’m halfway to the door when I hear her hushed sob and it takes every ounce of strength I possess to keep on walking but I know better than to turn back. The only thing waiting for me back there is more betrayal, more pain, and more lies. I am supposed to be moving on with my life, finally, and I can’t let her pull me back.

By the time I get to my bike, my anger is returning full force and I almost slam my fist into the seat before shaking my head and swinging my leg over. It rumbles to life beneath me and I try to ignore the pain in my chest as I pull out of the parking lot. It’s fucking baffling to me why she thought any of what just went down was a good idea.

Her and I have a baby together?

I scoff and shake my head as I weave through traffic. It’s moronic. Plus, I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about her just wanting me to be her sperm donor after everything we’ve been through. That is the cherry on top of the pain sundae courtesy of PiperRobichaud… or Landry?? Fuck, I don’t even know if she ever changed her name. No, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t mean anything if she still has my last name. Then again, I have to wonder what happened to the “someone new” she found if she is coming to me to give her a baby. Why the hell doesn’t she go to that fucker and beg him to knock her up?

Just the thought of someone else’s hands on her body makes me see red. Fuck. She’s not mine, I know that, but goddamn it if she doesn’t still feel like mine. Especially with the feeling of her hand still imprinted on my arm. My stomach twists with the rival emotions battling inside my chest. I want to turn this bike around and pull her out of her chair, throw her on the floor, and fuck her so hard that she’ll realize everything she’s been missing and never think of leaving me ever again.

Wait, what?

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I don’t want Piper back.

A red Fiat cuts me off and I slam on the brakes as my body tenses and flushes with heat. Grinding my teeth together, I speed up and slip into the other lane before riding right up next to his little piece of shit and smacking my hand on the window. He looks over at me with wide eyes and rolls the down the window. Big mistake, fucker.

“Why don’t you learn how to drive, motherfucker?” I bellow at him before punching the door frame and pulling ahead. Once I’ve merged over in front of him, I hit the brakes just enough to make his heart stop for a second before racing away from him. The speedometer hits one hundred before I feel calm enough to slow down and I sigh as my townhouse comes into view.

After parking in my spot, I climb off my bike and clench my fists as I march up to my place, trying to push all the thoughts from my mind. Fuck. I need something… a beer? Maybe. To punch a hole through a wall? Possibly. I’m still undecided. Hell, maybe I’ll make a real night out of it and do both. Once inside, I toss my keys onto the kitchen counter and throw myself into the seat in front of my desk as I lean my head back against the headrest and cover my face with my hands.

“Fuck,” I groan, dragging them down over my jaw before dropping them into my lap as someone knocks on the door. “What?”

The door opens and Cleo steps in with a sly smile on her face. “Hey, Fuzz.”

“Cleo,” I answer with a nod as she walks over to me and braces her hands on the arms of the chair, leaning over me just enough that I can see down her shirt. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, come on, Fuzz. Don’t play games. You know why I’m here.”

I shake my head. “I’m not in the mood tonight.”

“I think we can get you there, big guy,” she whispers, leaning forward and pressing her lips to the side of my neck. My eyes close and in my head, it’s Piper in front of me, her cherry lips against my neck and I moan. Her hand strokes my cock over my jeans and I groan again as it hardens and presses against my zipper, the teeth biting into my skin. “That’s what I thought.”