Page 49 of Jaime
Jaime didn’t say anything;he just scooted closer, frowning, and put his arms around me. I sank gratefully into his embrace, holding him close. Between us, Evie wiggled, and it was like catharsis. Something released within me, that no amount of therapy ever could.
Her small fists pressed to my chest, and I couldn’t help but laugh, even though my voice shook.
“I know, sweetheart,” I said, parting enough to look at her. “That was a long time ago. It’s done now. We’ll all be okay.”
She looked up at me with those round blue eyes, so much like my sister’s. I still remembered Amelia well. And the way she would always cry unless my mother was holding her. At the time, I’d even resented her because mom stopped looking at me. She only ever seemed to look at her.
I swallowed the memory down, surprised by how potent this all felt and how much it seemed like now that Jaime knew, I could finally move on. He had been my answer. My second chance. It didn’t make any sense, yet here we were.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Jaime swallowed and shook his head.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” I said.
I pressed my lips to his, surprised when he hesitated for a moment before returning the kiss.
“Let’s head back,” he said.
He stood first, and my stomach slowly knotted as I looked up at him. I’d said something wrong. I didn’t know what exactly, but his shoulders were stiff and he was pointedly not looking at me.
When I stood up though, he immediately took my hand, easing some of my worries.
I could see his thoughts racing while we drove back to his place. His brown eyes were fixated out the window, even when Evie started to wail in the back.
“We’re almost home, Evie,” he said absently, but that was it.
I pulled in and let him take his time changing her, then settling into the armchair with her bottle.
When she was quietly sipping and the silence had gone on for too long, I finally couldn’t hold myself back any longer.
“Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind?”
Jaime didn’t seem surprised by my question.
He took a long moment, gaze still fixed on Evie before he spoke.
“Did you really think I was going to hurt Evie?”
My stomach twisted into a knot.
Taking a slow breath, I slid across the couch cushions to be closer to the armchair where they were sitting.
“I don’t know if I thought that specifically,” I admitted. “But the way you were that day reminded me of how my mom was at that time.”
He swallowed audibly.
“What way was that?”
“Stressed, lost... alone.”
He gazed unseeing at the floor now, looking completely dejected. My heart ached, my mind scrambled for how to explain in such a way that he wouldn’t hate me. I hadn’t thought of how hurtful the comparison would be.
“You could tell that I felt alone just seeing me?” he asked, finally looking at me, pain in his eyes.
My silence answered his question. He squeezed his eyes shut, letting his head fall back onto the cushion.
