Page 85 of The Beat of My Heart
Like the whirlwind she is, GG sweeps in, grabs an army of men, and is gone before I can count to ten. Lexi, Trevor, Preston, Seth, and I stand in the driveway, looking at each other.
“What the fuck just happened?” Seth finally asks.
“That was my grandmother,” Lexi says. “You never leave her company without wondering what the hell just happened.” Twining her arm through mine, she says, “Come on, Chica, let's get you to bed. You look like your head might explode.”
“I think it already did,” I tell her honestly. I don’t fight it as she walks me to my room, tucks me in, then heads back out to the living room. I listen in while she directs everyone to different rooms. I let out a long sigh when the house finally goes quiet.
I’m almost asleep when there’s a soft knock on my door and I know it’s Trevor. I watch as the door creaks open and he slips inside. Without a word, our eyes connect, and I raise the blankets, silently inviting him in.
I swear I hear him whisper, “Thank fuck,” but I can’t be sure. He slides in and pulls me close. We are silent for a long time before he breaks. At first, I think he is trying to speak, then I realize he’s crying. With my back to his front, he holds me as tight as he comfortably can.
“I’m so sorry, Angel. I tried to stay away, to keep you from this hell, I really did. Loki found you. He followed the security footage from the ballroom the day you found out about Lanie. He was able to trace you almost immediately, but I wouldn’t let him tell me anything. I didn’t want this life for you. We didn’t know you were pregnant. When he found out you had a son, I figured that’s why you only wanted a one-night stand in Boston. If I had known Charlie was mine, I would have come to you sooner. I would have found a way, I’m so, so sorry. I can’t even promise that everything will be okay because I can’t get hold of Loki. I’m so scared that they killed him. I’m so scared that they’ll take you from me too, and I-I don’t know what to do because now I know that I can’t live without you.”
I take in his words. They roll around in my head, but all I can think is, have I even been living without him? I’ve felt dead inside for a long time. I finally felt my heartbeat when I saw him in Lanie’s kitchen. But there are so many unknowns. I don’t know what to do. Choosing the only viable option, I say, “We’ll just take it one day at a time, Trevor. Together, we’ll take it one day at a time.”
As our breathing regulates, we fall in pace with each other. Our heartbeats sync, and eventually, with Trevor wrapped tightly around my body, we fall into a deep sleep.
Chapter 31
-Tell Your Heart to Beat Again, Danny Gokey
Trevor
Buzz*Buzz*Buzz*
Opening my eyes, it takes only a second to know where I am. Angel is still asleep in my arms, and the relief that washes over my body is instantaneous. Looking around, I take in my surroundings. The house is still silent, so everyone must still be asleep. That’s when I hear it again—the buzzing sound. Trying to slip out of bed without waking up Julia, I root around the floor for my jeans. Finding them, I pull my phone from the pocket.
Loki. Thank fucking God. Taking the phone and slipping into the hallway, I creep to the back door and step out onto the porch. It's fucking freezing, but I don’t want to wake anyone.
“Loki. Thank God, man, where the hell have you been?” I ask in greeting.
“Trev,” his voice is weak. Too weak for a thirty-year-old, and I feel the panic rising.
“Where are you?” I demand.
“Trevor,” he rasps, “I’ll be okay. I-I’m hurt, though. I won’t be home for a while.”
“Loki, this is my fucking fault, where are you?” I beg, “We’ll come to get you. Pres has Sylvie’s plane, just tell us where…”
“Trev, listen. I’m not out yet. I need you to know,” he coughs, and I hear the pain in it. “Romero will get immunity, I’m sorry. It’s the only way. We got everyone else, but Romero has to testify,” Loki breaks again and I hear his labored breathing. “Blacks youngest son is free too. We couldn’t connect him to anything, but everyone else is in custody. There’s a problem I haven’t worked out yet, and it involves the girls.”
“What? What girls? Loki?” I ask before I realize the phone has gone dead.Where the fuck is he?I need to find Seth. Storming into the house, I don’t care who I wake up at this point.
Julia’s house isn’t big, but it’s cozy. I clutch my chest, realizing how many firsts Charlie has had here that I have missed. I’m standing in the kitchen when I notice a painting hanging on the fridge. It’s a complete disaster of blues and greens, but she has written “Charlie’s first finger painting” at the top, and I suddenly think it’s the most beautiful artwork I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m running my finger across his handprint when I hear something that makes me pull back. It takes me a second to recognize the muffled voice as Preston’s.
If you know Preston, you know he doesn’t get worked up, and he definitely never yells at anyone. Judging by his tone, he is pissed, so I go running toward the front of the house. I’m stopped by Seth, who is standing at the door.
“You can’t go out there,” he tells me.
“What? Why not? Who the hell is Preston yelling at?” I ask.
Seth steps in closer, physically blocking me from the door, and I feel uneasy. I know Seth is on our side, but the way he is blocking me from my friend has me tense. I’m about to go ballistic when the front door slams open and Lexi comes storming through it, followed closely by Preston.
“How the fuck was I supposed to know that was your boyfriend?” he bellows.
“Ex-boyfriend and it doesn’t matter. I don’t need you barreling into my life like a jacked-up prince. Happily ever after’s are for fairy tales, and the last thing I need is another alpha male stepping in to take over my life,” Lexi yells back.
What the hell just happened?
