Page 99 of Full Circle

Celeste rolled over fitfully, jarring my attention. I promised Marla I would call her back later and ended the call. Celeste continued to fidget in her sleep, jerking erratically with whatever nightmare she faced. I settled in beside her and pulled Celeste in my arms. It quieted her enough that she stilled, nestling into the groove my neck to sigh contentedly.

“We’ll get through this, lovebug,” I promised her.

* * *

It was well into the night before Celeste roused from sleep. I only managed to doze, too nervous of her waking up and spiraling downward again. As she lifted her head from my chest, her eyes were bloodshot and swollen, tears still welling in the corners. Blinking hard, she turned to me in astonishment and said, “How did I get here?”

I would have laughed if it weren’t so sad. “Lovebug, I had to come get you.” Attempting to keep my tone light so as not to spook her, I added, “You were in a rough way.”

Celeste nodded curtly and flung the covers off to stand. “I have to go.”

“Go?” I repeated, throwing the blankets onto the floor in my haste to follow her down the hall. “It’s the middle of the night. Where are you gonna go?”

For some reason, my question brought her up short and another sob shuddered from her throat. I really did need to work on my tact.

“You’re right,” she added. “I don’t have anywhere to go. I have nothing.” She should have been dehydrated with all the tears she shed earlier, yet there were more trailing down her cheeks.

I pulled her to me, tucking her under my chin and stroking her back. “You have me,” I whispered. “I know it’s not much, and I’m sorry for that, but I’m here.”

The tension in her body lingered for another minute or two before she finally sank into my embrace, wrapping her arms around my waist and squeezing me close. The fight left her, which was the closest I’d felt to a victory with her in a long ass time.

“I can’t go home anymore,” she finally replied, pulling away from me to wipe her eyes. “Desiree is selling the house and all our land to your father. Along with The Comfy Cushion.”

My jaw clenched as my teeth ground together. Fucking Benny boy strikes again! He had nothing to gain from such a deal other than another way to manipulate me. This was about his anger over my refusal to start at Madden Enterprises until I had things settled down here. Using Celeste to get to me was always his favorite method, after all.

“I’m not gonna let that happen,” I vowed angrily. “He’s only doing this to get back at me.”

Her sigh let me know she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. “It hardly matters when I’m the one who has to deal with the outcome,” Celeste reminded me. She started down the stairs and I followed.

“Goddamn it, Celeste, quit walking away!” I yelled at her back. She almost reached the front door.

“Why? You taught me how!” she argued, throwing her hands up as she rounded on me. “And the only explanation I got doesn’t make a lick of sense!”

“It hardly matters when I’m the one who has to deal with the outcome.” I threw her own words right back at her. Because sometimes you just have to throw gasoline on a fire, like a dumbass. I folded my arms over my bare chest and glared at her.

“Oh my god, you cannot be serious right now!” Celeste yelled. “You left me!”

“And you hid my daughter from me for her entire life!” I screamed back. “Don’t you think that makes us even?”

My accusation hit like a slap across the face. She stepped backward, mouth hung open, and stared at me as though she had never really seen me before.

Fighting with her wasn’t going to make things better, so I let my temper deflate a bit. “You were the one who taught me that you have to love someone through their biggest mistakes. Or was that all a lie?”

Celeste opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish, weighing her response. “I’m sorry that I hid her from you. I wouldn’t have if I had any other choice,” she finally admitted.

But that only deepened my frustration. “It’s the same for me! My father has been controlling things from the moment I got arrested. Even now, all of this business with your family is about manipulating me! I’m sorry that you keep getting caught in the crossfire, lovebug, but we owe it to ourselves and each other to save this! To have the life we always wanted!”

Her eyes flashed. “What life? This isn’t living, Wes! Desiree has my daughter, my home, and my parents’ business in an iron fist. I have no hope of getting any of it back! You have no idea how hard I’ve been working, day in and day out, since Iris was born. I’m in that restaurant from sun up to sun down every single day, without a break, because that’s all that I have left of my mama and daddy that she hasn’t taken from me!” A sob caught in her throat and it killed me. I hated to watch her fall apart again, yet I couldn’t help but think this was a far more therapeutic version of what happened earlier. At least now she was voicing her feelings.

I stepped up to her, cradling her soft, wet cheeks with both my hands. “Celeste, that was all before me,” I assured her. She looked like a feral cat, cornered and terrified, but desperate enough to take the chance of listening to me. “It shouldn’t have taken me so long to come back to you. I can admit that. I was scared of how I hurt you and scared of not being worthy of you. I’ve been busting my ass just as much to build a life you deserve, without any of my father’s strings attached. And I’ve done it. So I’m here now, and I’ll stay here now. For my whole life.”

More sobs broke free and she leaned her forehead against my chest. “Wes,” she said tearfully, “we’re such different people now. I don’t know if I can love you again like before.”

I nodded into her hair. “You’re right,” I agreed. “We’re not the same and our love won’t be the same. It’s going to be stronger now because of everything we’ve been through.”

Celeste pulled away, taking all the warmth with her. “It’s not that simple.”

“It’s not that hard either,” I retorted.

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