Page 54 of Unpredictable

“Victoria, the baby’s, and mine. I want the three of us to live here.”

“Who said she’s going to move in with you?” Sage asks harshly.

“No one, but I’m hoping she will.”

“Why not one closer to us? Closer to V’s parents and Reed and I?”

“I thought about it. But this house, along with the other two options I printed off, are halfway between you guys and school, which makes it perfect.”

“You’ve thought about this,” Sage says with a furrowed brow.

“Yes. I’ve thought of everything. It’s thirty minutes, at most thirty-five, from school, twenty to twenty-five from you guys. There’s a hospital fifteen minutes down the road. A fire station is literally a block over. It’s perfect.”

“What if she won’t live here with you?”

“I won’t make her, but I will let it be known I want her to. If it’s not what she wants, then it will make for a good investment.” I shrug.

Sage sighs. “She will love it.”

“You think so?” I smile.

“I know so.” Sage thinks for a moment. “She may have forgiven you, but I haven’t. I’ll be watching, and if you fuck up one more time, you make her cry one more time, and I’ll come for you,” she says calmly.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” I smirk. “Come on, let’s get you home before Reed loses his mind.”

???

As soon as I signed the papers and handed over a check to buy the house, it was done. One of the perks of offering cash when buying a house is not having to go through a bank. I’m sitting on the swing I hung on the front porch, slowly swinging back and forth and working through what I want to say. So much hangs in the balance right now.

Before I can work through it for the fourth time, her little yellow car swings into the driveway.

“I should check the safety rating,” I mumble under my breath as I stand.

“Nice house. Whose is it?” V asks as she makes her way up the driveway.

“It’s mine. Find it okay?”

“When did you buy this? What about your apartment?”

I grab her hand and pull her towards the swing. “Sit with me?”

V sits and turns to look at me. “Why am I here, Sterling?”

“I asked you to come because I want us to live here together. I don’t want us to live separately. I understand if you’re not ready for us to be together again yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t work towards it within these walls. I will do whatever I have to do to earn your love again.”

V looks away from me and bites her lip while overlooking the front yard. “Why? Tell me why you broke my heart. Tell me the truth, Sterling, because I refuse to let you batter my heart again.”

I swallow hard. “Okay, but can I hold you while I tell you?”

V silently slides closer on the swing, and I drape my arm over her shoulders, pulling her into me. I kick off and start swinging.

“When I was six, maybe seven, I realized my parents weren’t like other people’s parents. They weren’t like yours. My parents were always fighting. Anyways, when I was six or so, it came to a head. I remember them fighting so bad one night that it woke me up. I snuck down the stairs and leaned against the wall outside of Dad’s study. My mother was ranting and raving about my father freezing the accounts on her and telling her she was only going to have an allowance. Apparently, Mother dearest had a shopping problem and was trying to live outside our means and was about to bankrupt us if Dad didn’t put a stop to it.” I take a moment to pull myself together.

“I must have moved just right, and Dad saw me. He came over, gave me a hug, and whispered that I needed to go back to bed and let the adults talk. I pretended to go up, but I sat on the stairs. Mom jumped right back in demanding he let her access all the money. Threatened to walk away, leave and never look back if he didn’t. Dad told her to stop being ridiculous, reminding her she loved both of us too much to leave. I remember how calm she was when she told him he made his choice. She walked straight to the door; I remember saying her name, trying to get her attention. She stopped, but she never looked back. That was the last time I saw her.”

“Sterling….” V sounds pained.

“Then you walked away when I was yelling for you. It brought back memories of my mother I’d rather keep buried. All the women in my life have been after one thing. Money. It’s the root of all evil where women are concerned, no offense. My father goes through his cycle of trying to keep a woman, only for her to leave when she gets what she wants, and I decided I would never put myself through that.”

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