Page 246 of There's No Us Without You
“I miss him.” My voice cracks, a sob escaping my chest.
Eden wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me to her chest, letting her own tears fall onto my cheek. “I miss him too,” she whispers. “So fucking much.”
As the alcohol wears off, the chill of the night seeps into my bones. Except it’s not just the cold, it’s everything else.
The pain.
The guilt.
When I sit up again and scrub a hand over my face, Eden grabs a blanket from the small table next to the bench seat and wraps it around my shoulders. “I’ll get you some more water,” she says, snatching my glass up and disappearing back inside.
When she returns, she hands me the glass. It seems I’m dehydrated as fuck, the whiskey leaving me with a dull headache as well.
“I called Emerson,” she says quietly, giving me a tight smile. “He’ll be here soon to pick you up.”
“Right.” I nod, knowing Emerson will be stewing in his own anger, and I bet he can’t wait to tear me a new arsehole. Not that I blame him. I’ve been more fucked up than usual, and I’m surprised he hasn’t left me as well.
I love that man just as much as I love this woman, but I need them both. And if Emerson left me right now, I don’t think I’d have anything else to live for.
He pulls up twenty minutes later and climbs out of the car. I’ve seen him almost every day for the last ten years, but he still makes my skin burn and my heart slam against my ribcage.
Only now I can act on my sexual attraction to him.
Eden walks over and they talk between themselves for a few minutes, Emerson glancing at me over her shoulder every now and again.
Whatever.
I don’t even care that they’re talking about me.
It’s when they both walk over that I sit up straighter, preparing myself for Emerson’s tongue lashing.
Except he doesn’t look angry as he takes a seat next to me. “Hey, big guy,” he says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Ready to go home?”
I rub a hand over my face. “Sorry you had to come get me.”
He lifts a shoulder. “You’d do it for me.”
“Are you sure?” A small smirk lifts the corner of my mouth.
“Well, you are a dick, but you aren’t that much of a dick. I think you’re forgetting I’ve known you for over ten years, dude. You aren’t as scary as you think you are.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I’m glad you think so highly of me.”
Emerson nudges my shoulder, placing his hand on my thigh. “Don’t push it, or you can walk home.”
“Now who’s being the dick?”
For the first time in weeks, a sliver of my true self rushes back in. Not all the way, but enough so I don’t feel like I’m losing my mind.
When I stand, Eden wraps her arms around my neck, and holds onto me, burying her face against my chest.
Closing my eyes, I breathe her in as I lift her off her feet. “Don’t give up on me,” I say into her hair when I place her back down.
She sniffs and grips me tighter. “I won’t,” she says, then leans up on her toes to press her lips to mine.
It’s soft, just a whisper compared to our previous kisses, but it’s enough.
After handing Eden my car keys—she said she’ll bring my car back tomorrow—I make my way to Emerson’s car parked behind mine, leaving my two people to talk amongst themselves again.
