“Is there anything you need me to do before I leave?” Becca asked, popping into my office that Friday afternoon.
I looked up from the computer. “No, you can go. Have a good weekend.”
She hesitated in the doorway. “Are you okay, Em? You’ve seemed off this week.”
“I’m fine.”
“Bill and I are going to Friday’s for dinner if you want to join us.”
“Bec, I’m okay,” I said, offering a tight smile. “I have a lot of work to do.”
Her blonde ponytail bounced as she nodded. “All right. See you Monday.”
A little after six o’clock, I locked up the office and got into my car. I drove through town, not realizing where I was going until I sat in the Academy parking lot. Cason was working today. Showing up at his work was an awful idea, but he wasn’t returning my calls or texts and I was getting desperate.
I walked inside the store, my stomach tangled in knots and my palms clammy.
“Hi, can I help you find anything?” a girl asked.
Before I could respond, I heard, “Emery?”
Turning around, several emotions smacked into me at once. First, relief that he was okay. But there was also sadness when seeing the dark bruising on his face and his cracked lip.
“Hi,” I said.
“I got this one, Jade,” Cason told the girl, not taking his eyes off me. Jade walked away, and Cason stepped closer. The light in his eyes was gone, and he looked so… broken. “What are you doing here? I thought I told you we were done.”
“You can’t say shit like that and not give me a chance to respond,” I said. “Ryan’s behavior was appalling, but that doesn’t mean you need to push me away.”
“Why not?” Cason looked around before tugging on my suit sleeve and dragging me to an empty aisle. “That’s reason enough to end this.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“He’s your son, Emery.” His tone might’ve been angry, but his eyes remained emotionless. I hated it. “He fucking hates my guts right now. You and I can’t be together without causing even more conflict.”
I knew he had a point, but I was thinking with my heart not my brain. Because my heart needed Cason. He’d made it start beating again after so much time feeling lost and fragmented.
“I don’t want to lose you,” I managed to say past the lump in my throat.
Finally, emotion sparked in his eyes. A heartbroken look that clawed at my chest. Cason pressed himself close and grabbed my face, kissing me. His lips trembled against mine as a strangled whimper left him, one filled with raw pain.
And then he pushed me away.
“You should go,” he said, averting his gaze.
“Cason…”
“Dammit, Emery,” he snapped, looking at me. “We knew it would all come crashing down eventually. Stop making it harder and just accept it.”
How could I? Cason was used to people disappointing him. Hurting him. I didn’t want to be another name on that list. I wanted to take care of him, to protect and love him the way he deserved to be.
“I can’t accept it,” I said, nearing him. He bumped into the shelf behind him, his gaze flickering to my mouth and back up again.
“Well, you have to.”
“No.” I pressed closer. “I love you. That hasn’t changed.”
“Emery,” he croaked, as a single tear slipped from his eye.
