Page 59 of Comeback
My thoughts turned to my ex-teammates waiting for me at home. And the sinking feeling in my heart turned to rage.
Dane and Reavo’s surprise visit cost me the best woman and the cutest kid I’d ever known.
I was going to give them what they came for, whether they knew it or not.
Chapter 24
Emma
Nicole and Jeff’s house was lit only by the sliver of twilight that seeped through the cracks of the Venetian blinds.
Why are all the lights off?I wondered. Blindly, I swept my hand across the drywall, looking for a light switch that I just couldn’t find.
Nicole and Jeff were night owls, so I figured they were out on the town. I was relieved that they were gone—I felt pitifully empty after my breakup with Jack, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to talk to Nicky about it without crying.
Could I even call it a breakup? We weren’t dating. We’d only spentoneday together—we barely knew each other! He was just a guy with potential.
A great guy with a lot of potential.
Still. He had his problems. Problems he wanted to run from instead of addressing.
It was funny how fast things could change.
Part of me wondered if I’d pulled the trigger on him too fast. But what choice did I have? He’d basically threatened whatever budding relationship we might have had by saying he needed to leave.
You did the right thing,I told myself.
But did I really have to do it as harshly as I did? By attacking Jack at his very core as a man?
What’s done is done,I thought.He needed to hear that from somebody.
My hand continued to search along the wall, making large, sweeping circles. I just couldn’t find that light switch.
It was a little strange that Nicole and Jeff hadn’t leftanylights on because they almost always left a lamp or two on for me. That was partly why I didn’t know where the light switch was in the first place.
Screw it, I give up.
With Mackenzie asleep in my arms, I began to navigate the darkened house from memory. Sliding my hand against the wall for guidance, I walked towards the metal spiral staircase that led to our attic bedroom, its metal frame catching a glint of light in the dark.
Suddenly, I stumbled into a piece of furniture and stubbed my toe.I bit down on my lip and swore beneath my breath, trying my best not to wake Mackenzie. When the first wave of the blunt pain subsided, I peeked down at what I’d tripped over.
The hell is this doing here?I thought, squinting my eyes to see better in the dark. It was Jeff’s leather recliner, and it was turned on its side.
My pulse began to thump in my neck.
Something seems wrong.
Just like when Jack’s teammates were banging on his front door, I had the sudden instinct to turn and run, to leave everything behind. But I took a deep breath and tried to remember how utterly convinced I was back at Jack’s house that it was Trevor at the door.
Relax. It’s not him. He doesn’t know where you live.
I needed a moment to calm myself. My gut was trying to tell me to turn around and go sprinting back through that door, but I knew I was being crazy.
Stop running,I thought.Just like you told Jack.
I carried Mackenzie upstairs to our bedroom. I flipped the light switch and let out a sigh of relief. Nothing in our bedroom was out of place. Everything was as exactly as I’d left it.
See?I told myself.All in your head. You need to stop letting that man rule your life.
