Page 92 of The Beat of My Heart
Nuzzling into his hard body, I say, “Okay.”
“Well, I don’t want to miss another minute with Charlie, I’ve told you that. In an ideal world, I’d scoop you both up, buy a house, and live happily ever after. Any other circumstance and I know this would probably be too much too soon, but the reality is, I don’t have a house to go home to right now.”
“Oh my God, Trevor. How could I have forgotten? Do you know how bad it is? Is there anything left?” I ask.
“Ha. It’s been a crazy couple of days, sweetheart, but Seth said it’s pretty much all gone,” he says. “But, Angel? None of it matters, it was just a shell, it wasn’t a home. I haven’t had a home in over ten years. When I’m with you, I’m home. That’s all I need. You and Charlie are home to me now.”
We stand there, embracing each other until Charlie pounds on Trevor’s back. Reaching behind Trevor, I grab hold of Charlie’s chunky little thighs and tickle. Charlie’s delighted laughter fills my heart in a way it hasn’t been filled before. Looking up, I see the same contentment in Trevor’s eyes. He is my future. This is my future, my family.
“Will you stay with Charlie and me if it’s okay with Dex?” I ask.
Feeling Trevor’s anxiety leave his body in a whoosh, he says, “If it's not okay with Dex, I’m getting a new best friend. I’m never leaving you again, Angel. Never again.”
* * *
Two days later,I stand in the middle of my family room, looking around. We have packed all my belongings up and carried them out to the moving truck. I’m leaving all the furniture so Lexi can stay here while she plans her next move. Turning around to find her, I try one more time.
“Are you sure you won’t come with us?” I ask for the thousandth time.
“Jules, I’ll be fine here. Plus, your dad said it’s probably better if I stay here too,” she tells me.
“But Seth is worried, Lex. I really wish you would reconsider,” I plead.
“GG and your parents will check on me multiple times a day, I’m sure. I’ll be fine, Jules, I promise. Now, get going, everyone is waiting on you,” she says, shooing me away, but I lean in for one more hug before I hear Trevor.
“Ready, sweetheart?” Trevor asks, carrying Charlie.
“You know, you have to put him down sometimes or he will never learn to walk,” I tell him.
“He has plenty of time for that, I’m not ready to let go of it him yet,” Trevor replies.
Shaking my head, I tell him, “I always thought Charlie would grow up here.”
Hugging me from behind, he says, “We can always come back, Angel. Once things are settled, I don’t care where we live, as long as you let me come, I’ll follow you anywhere.”
“I appreciate that, Trevor. I do, but with Lanie in Waverley-Cay and my parents moving to the beach in a few months, it wouldn’t make sense for us to be here. Lexi will check on GG, and my parents will come back for the summers. Plus, Lanie is getting enormous. They will have five kids under the age of seven before we know it. They are going to need me. Us,” I correct myself.
“Holy shit. That’s a lot of kids, isn’t it?” he laughs.
“Yeah, when Lanie has the twins, she said they will hire a night nurse to help, so that’ll make it easier, but I want to be there for my nieces and nephews,” I tell him. “Lanie’s as close to a sister as I’ll ever have, so you can bet your ass I’m claiming the name of Auntie.”
“Does that make me an uncle?” he asks, knowing full well that Tate already calls him Uncle Trevor.
Rolling my eyes, I tell him, “You know it does, I…”
“You are the most stubborn woman on the planet, I was only trying to help,” Preston yells from the kitchen as Lexi storms towards us.
“I love you, Julia, but are you getting these meatheads out of here soon?” Lexi asks through clenched teeth.
“Meathead? Are you serious? You are the most controlling, obnoxious woman I’ve ever met. I was just trying to hang a shower curtain she had laid out when I went to take a piss,” Preston complains.
“I don’t need you to do things for me,” Lexi retorts.
“You need someone to do something to you,” he says under his breath. “You’re stiffer than a wedding dick.”
“Are you always this stupid?” Lexi demands.
“Are you always colder than a witch’s tit in a brass bra?” Preston fires back.
