Page 53 of Heartless

“Help yourself,” she pointed at the fridge.

I was desperate to prolong my visit and I racked my brain for any topics we could discuss, but then Madison said something that made my blood run cold in my veins.

“I forgot to tell you. I’m meeting with the architect in two days. Do you want to join?”

I ground my teeth together. “No.”

“He’ll be coming here,” she said, like that would make a difference for me.

“I told you. You’re in charge of that.”

“I know, but I still feel like you should give your opinion beforehand.”

Gazing up, I shot her a glare. “And I think you should learn how to shut up and follow orders.”

The moment I said that, I regretted it. Lately I had been enjoying Madison’s wit and determination to always have the last word. But I had to draw the line at the fucking gardens.

“I don’t want to hear another word about that. You have a green light to do whatever you see fit, but I don’t want to be a part of it.”

Then I whistled and the dog came running. I picked him up and started walking towards the door. I heard her footsteps behind me and felt the need to leave on a slightly better note.

“Do we have another invitation for a family dinner from your mother or am I banned forever?”

I tried to make my voice sound friendly and I failed.

“You’re not banned,” she said without offering any details, which annoyed me.

“I guess all that alien talk didn’t make me an undesirable son in law after all.”

“Your interest in Daphne saved you. And that insinuation that you’re looking for the mother of your future children also helped.”

I wanted to tell her everything. The words piled up one over another on the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t want to bring it up like that. In the middle of the night. Right after I acted like a jackass. So I faked a laugh, wished her good night and went on a walk around the gardens with the puppy in my hands.

I walked past the bench that always made my gut twist, but after a few steps I turned back and sat down on it. Because who knew if it was even going to be there soon? I spent a couple of hours there, torturing myself with memories.

When I finally returned to The Blue Diamond, I showered and settled into the bed with the small creature snuggled next to me.

And that was the first time I slept with a living thing in the past four years.

Chapter Eighteen

Parker

Four Years Ago

Istood by the hospital room’s window while the doctor examined Franny’s frail body. She had always been small and delicate, but since she got sick, she looked like a skeleton. She got so weak the past few weeks, she couldn’t stand on her own. I hated seeing her in the wheelchair, so I carried her in my arms wherever she needed to go. And every time I lifted her body, her diminished weight reminded me that she was dying. That thought was stomach-churning, but I couldn’t allow myself the luxury of breaking. My wife needed me.

“How’s the baby?” She asked the doctor after he was done with the examination and my heart clenched.

I wasn’t a religious man but ever since she got the cancer diagnosis a month after we found out she was pregnant, I prayed day and night.

At first I prayed to wake up and realize this was a fucking nightmare that never happened to us. Then I prayed for a magical healing. And now I simply prayed for my wife to live long enough to see the baby she so desperately wanted.

“Everything looks fine, Franny,” the doctor said and I wanted to scream. There was nothing that was fine about any of this.

She broke into tears as she did often nowadays, then sniffed and whispered, “Good. That’s good.”

When we first heard the diagnosis, Franny had the option to terminate the pregnancy and get a treatment. She refused in hopes that she would have enough time to deliver a healthy baby and treat the cancer after the birth.

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