I’ve had enough. “Hey, bud, can you go find your blue Charger?” I scoot out of the recliner, careful not to wake Frankie.
I follow Ollie and lie Frankie in her crib, pulling the door closed. I hear Ollie rummaging through his cars and head back to the living room.
Miles is to tapping away on his phone.
“It’s time to go.”
His gaze shoots to mine.
When he doesn’t move, I drag myself to the front door and pull it open, making myself clear.
After a moment, he stands and finally shoves his phone into his pocket. I follow him onto the porch, closing the door behind me.
He turns to face me. “So, how is this going to work?”
I blink, wondering if the fever is making me delusional. I blink again, and his too-smooth face still stares at me with anticipation.
I inhale, needing patience to be in the air. “How is what going to work?”
“Us. New York.” His brow creases.
“You’re serious?” I really need to know if this joker has somehow developed amnesia. Has he somehow forgotten the past six years and the things he’s done?
His eyelids droop. “How long will you keep doing this?” He huffs a little laugh. “You’re never going to make it.” His eyes run over me. “Look at you. You’re a mess. You don’t even look like you.” His hand flies out to the side. “This house is old and already falling apart.” He points to the muddy mess of my front yard. “Oliver can’t even talk, and there is absolutely no one here to save you.” He pauses, and I wonder how he’d like a fist to the throat. “It’s not like you can go back to prancing around a stage using your body to spark a career.”
There we go. The lowest blow, but for some reason, the bite doesn’t sting quite so bad.
“You’re a mom now. Even your eyes can’t make up for what that changed.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “You done now?”
He crosses his arms, satisfied with his belittlement.
“Miles, it’s time for you to go to New York. I hope it holds everything you’re looking for.”
His hands fall to his waist. “You’re seriously going to do this?”
“I’m not doing anything. There’s nothing left to discuss.”
He huffs and turns, descending the stairs. I follow, needing this to be over once and for all. I have to get my life back.
He stops at the door to his fancy SUV and turns toward me with a smile curling at his lips. “We can do this the easy way, and you can come with me, or you can stay here, and we’ll just see how long you last.”
I shake my head. “In what world do you think I would even consider following you anywhere. Miles, we arenevergetting back together. We aren’t a family. You don’t want those two babies. You’ve made that perfectly clear.”
He doesn’t move, completely unaffected.
“You don’t even want me.” I have to hold back a laugh. “You never did.”
His shoulders roll back. “I did want you. I still do.”
This is pointless. “You don’t. You want a crutch to hold your hand as you take on the big city. Someone you can cast your stress and anxiety on until you don’t need the bracing anymore.”
He only stares at me, apparently unable to deny it.
“I was foolish not to see it before, and once I did, I held on, wanting to be so wrong. We had children together becausewewanted them. It was just more lies.”
“We can be a family in New York.”
