Just because I quietly watched her walk out of my life before didn’t mean I was about to do it again. She was already sleeping in a different room and icing us out. I knew what came after that.
Slowly, Christian’s hand slid off my clenched fist and he rose from the table, yawning.
“I’m about to try to get some sleep. You good down here?”
Reluctantly, my eyes found his. “Yeah, I’m gonna go to my parents’ house.”
There was a flicker of panic he couldn’t hide on his face and my heart twisted.
Fall in love with three people, they said.It’ll be fun, they said.
But this shit had me in knots right now. Me and Christian hadn’t even crossed that line yet, and I still claimed him like he was mine. Everything was perfect before that elevator ride. And now I had to deal with the consequences of something I would never regret.
“I’ll be back before bed tonight,” I told him warily. Then I kissed his brow and walked out the front door, ignoring Rico’s closed office door and the heaviness in my heart.
“Where’s mom?”The screen door on my folks’ house rattled closed behind me.
“Hello to you too, son.” My father engulfed me in a hug I didn’t protest. “Your mama down on the beach playing with that new drone you got her for Mother’s Day.”
The chill trying to harden me thawed at his words.
River Calloway tightened his hold on me and rocked from side to side.
“What you doing on this side of town?” he asked. Like it was a one-hour drive instead of a twenty-minute walk from Rico’s house.
“Needed to see y’all,” I answered. What I needed to do was ground myself, and the walk over here had done half the work. His embrace was doing more. Tension and defiance stillbunched my muscles. I had a crick in my neck I needed to work out and a dull throb had settled at my temples. I knew some would look at me and say I was overreacting. That my life didn’t begin and end with romantic love and I shouldn’t let it dictate my mood. But my life did revolve around Christian, Harlow and Rico. It had for twenty years now and it was easier accepting that than ignoring the truth. I wasn’t apologizing for it.
The concern on my father’s face was palpable when he pulled back from our hug and studied me. “What’s going on with you, son?”
“You got a minute to talk?”
“Always.” He led me to the living room, waiting for me to claim a spot on the sofa before he sat down in his recliner. “What’s on your mind?”
An HourLater
“You do what I say and you won’t have to repeat yourself next time.” My dad gave me a pointed stare. “Watch what I tell ya now.”
“What are you telling him to do?” My momma hadn’t reached the living room, but her voice carried from the back of the house.
Gina Calloway slid my father a suspicious look, setting her drone and the remote control down on the coffee table. Her face softened when she looked at me. “Hey, honey.”
“Hey, momma.”
She kissed both my cheeks. “What y’all in here talking about?”
Seconds ticked by of my parents glaring at each other with no heat before my father cracked.
“I’m teaching Soul how to put his foot down.”
She sat down beside me as I explained the past twenty-four hours, tacking on my father’s advice at the end.
“River, please.” She tossed her twists over her shoulder. “Don’t listen to him, Soul. You gone be single by dinner time. That man ain’t never put his foot down in the thirty-five years we been together.”
“That’s ‘cause you know how to listen,” he said, his chin taking on a proud tilt.
“River, don’t get me started.”
“You saying you walk all over me?” His attempt at sounding offended fell flat when his eyes crinkled and his cheeks lifted.
