Page 69 of After All This Time

"I'll leave you to it," I whisper. "We've got a long day tomorrow, so you might want to get some sleep."

"Why do you have a long day?" she asks, and for the first time since I walked through the door, she turns to look at me. Her gaze meets mine, and it nearly floors me. In her eyes, I see everything I've been feeling this past week. The confusion. The exhaustion. She's tired of fighting. But like me, she doesn't know how to build the bridge back to us.

"Long drive to Pennsylvania," I answer, holding her gaze. "But at least we can take turns behind the wheel."

"Why aren't you flying? You always fly."

"Not this time. I'll see you in the morning."

She doesn't say anything at first, but then her voice softens, cracking just enough to remind me of the girl I've been missing. "Goodnight."

I walk away, closing my bedroom door behind me, and that one word does more for me than I thought it would. It's not exactly forgiveness, but it's enough.

Chapter 27

Amelia

When I open my eyes, the weight of today settles over me, and I remember that my little road trip for one is now a trip for two. It's not a bad thing. Not entirely. Because seeing him last night,reallyseeing him for the first time in days, made me realize just how much empty space he leaves behind when he's gone.

This past week has been hell. I know he's been staying out late until he's sure I'm in bed and disappearing into his room before I get home from work. But it's only made me realize how much I hate this space between us. I hate that we fought. Hate that we both leaned into our worst instincts instead of trying to fix what was wrong. Looking back now, I can't even pinpoint how we managed to go full asshole mode instead of actually talking like the adults we're supposed to be. But here we are, dancing around each other like we're strangers sharing the same air.

But the truth is, we can't keep this up, and I already know we're not getting through this weekend without facing the stormwe've both been avoiding. It's sitting there, right between us, waiting for the right—or wrong—moment to crack us both wide open. With hours on the road ahead of us and a weekend of family dynamics to survive, there's no avoiding it. Not this time.

Once I'm up and dressed in a pair of sweats and a tank—because comfort is key for a long drive—I head to the kitchen. Coffee first. Breakfast can wait until we're on the road.

I'm perched at the island, mindlessly scrolling through my phone while waiting for caffeine to jumpstart my brain, when I hear his door open.

I don't look up right away, but his scent finds me first. That clean, sharp bite of his shower gel hits me, followed by the subtle woodsy warmth of his cologne.

Have you ever met a guy who smells so damn good that you're prepared to let him ruin your life? Yeah, that's how Tobias smells—like sex, temptation, and a desire to be put on all fours and have your spine straightened out while saying fuck the consequences.

When I finally force my eyes up, he's standing there, tugging a black hoodie over his head, and the stretch of fabric over his shoulders is enough to make me hate myself for looking. I lift my coffee cup, taking a small sip to disguise the heat creeping up my neck, pretending to be engrossed in whatever reel is on my phone.

I thought I'd have hours to vent my issues to Allison and get it all off my chest. But nope. Instead, I get hours trapped in a metal box with the actual issue.

"Morning, Firefly. You sleep okay?" Tobias asks, his voice soft, doing everything he can to smooth over the jagged edges between us.

I know him too well not to see it—he needs us to be okay, even if we're barely holding it together.

"I did, thanks."

He pours himself a cup of coffee and sits across from me, cradling his mug between his palms.

"Were you serious about driving up with me today?"

"Yeah." He watches me over the rim of his mug. "That okay?"

"Sure, it'll give me someone to annoy."

"You are pretty fucking annoying," he fires back, his crooked grin tugging at the corners of his mouth—the one that almost makes me believe we could rewind time, go back to before we turned "us" into whatever the hell this is.

I have my playlist blaring loud enough to drown out everything else in the car—mostly my thoughts. It's working until Taylor Swift's "Fortnight" comes on, and I see Tobias's head snap toward me out of the corner of my eye.

"Really?"

"If you don't like it, you could've gotten on a plane."

"I would've booked a flight, but I left it too late."

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