Page 52 of Relentles
CJ gritted his teeth at the anger blazing through him. He wanted to fuck someone up so, so bad. “You don’t need sex, sweetheart. You need to heal. You need counselling. Once you’re better, you’ll find a guy. Agoodguy who deserves you.”
“But not you?”
“I don’t deserve you, Molly. I think you’re beautiful and I want to protect you, but I’ve been trying to date Jaleena.” And she wasn’t making it fucking easy. He would drop off herChristmas present later and see where her head was at. If she still gave him the runaround, then deuces.
“Ryan?” she asked, hope rising on her face as she said his name.
Unlikely. He’d keep that shit to himself, though. “I don’t know, Mo. You’re so fragile while Ryan is…”Ryan.
CJ kissed her one last time, then guided her onto the pillow and slid away from her. He got to his feet and turned to look at her. Her nostrils flared and the tears pooling into her eyes began rushing down her cheeks.
Horror washed through him. He didn’t want her to cry again.
CJ leaned over and reached for her, gathering her into his arms and sitting on the side of the bed.
“Mo, I can’t stay here all day. I have things to do. I want to see Jo.”
She nodded.
“I thought maybe you’d come to dinner on Christmas Day. You won’t enjoy it in the condition you’re in.”
“I will, CJ. If you want me to. I promise.”
He didn’t want to say the wrong thing. “I’ll ask Lolly. If she and Aunt Zoann think you’re up to it, then, yes, I want you to come. You can sit in the kitchen with Mom because I know my dad won’t allow her to cook. She’s still healing.”
But she had survived, and Jo had survived. It should’ve been the best Christmas ever. Weariness shouldn’t chase him, and grief shouldn’t bloom in him each time he thought of Harley.
“I have to leave.”
CJ sat her next to him and got to his feet.Again.
“How many girls have you woke up next to?”
“Why?” he asked suspiciously. It was something a girlfriend would want to know.
“You…you weren’t freaked out,” she said quietly. “The first time I woke up next to Ryan, he was. He was worried about morning breath.”
CJ grinned. “Only one.”Harley.“We’d fall asleep during playtime. Or when all the kids were having a sleepover at one of the houses. Invariably she and I ended up together.”
“Harley, huh?”
“Yes.”
Swiping at her tears, Molly stared at the wall, touching her hand to her belly. She wore a blue nightgown that reached just below her knees. “The unicorn stole my baby. I asked him to bring it back, but he brought it to the Gnomes. The Barts laughed and the unicorn made them spit in my face.”
For some reason, CJ felt the need to decipher her words. But she spoke of unicorns and gnomes as if they were real. Once again, she was creating stories in her head to express the horror she’d lived.
“I want Mama and my baby back. Ryan didn’t want it, but I did. Daddy didn’t want Mama, but I did. I don’t have anybody to love me anymore. I thought Ryan did.”
“I love you, Mo. There are more ways to love a person than just romantically. And I love you as a close friend. A sister. I swear I’ll always take care of you, no matter what you need. I’m going to earn us an ‘A’ on our science project. Just get better. F-for me.”
“I love you, too, CJ,” she whispered, her lips trembling. “And I’ll tr-try to get better for you. Just tell me what you want me to do.”
“First, eat something even if it is a little bit. Lolly isn’t going anywhere today, so she can take care of you. Aunt Bailey might come over to talk to you. Tell her what’s in your head. She’s trained to help you. I’ll text you later.”
“I don’t have a phone.”
“I’ll tell Dad. You’ll have one by this afternoon.”
