Nick paces in front of the living room window, his hands clenched together at the back of his neck. I walk over to him, placing my hand on his shoulder. He flinches and moves away from me.
“Did you sleep with him?”
“What? How can you ask me that?” I ask him incredulously. “I’m just… Really, Nick, after everything we’ve been through, how can you ask me that?”
“Simple,” he says turning to face me. “I ask you over and over again to marry me and it’s always ‘no’. I asked after Mason passed away because I don’t want to live like this anymore. Then Liam shows up. So maybe I’m thinking he’s been in contact with you and you knew he was coming and you had this whole thing planned out.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No, Josie, what’s not fair is me coming home and spending these past few nights in our bed alone only to wake and find you asleep on the couch with photos of your ex everywhere. Then you drop the bomb that you decided, by yourself, to tell a boy I’ve been raising, who his father is because you wanted too.
“This is not the Josephine I fell in love with. I don’t know what happened while I was gone or what he’s done to make you act like this, but I don’t like it.” Nick storms out of the house, slamming the door not only on me, but on our conversation.
After Nick comes home from work, we head to the field. Liam is leaving tonight after the game, so this is the last time he and Noah will see each other for a while. Liam bought him an iPhone and thought he’d be sneaky when he handed me a check for an obscene amount of money. I was told to keep it, if I didn’t need it, use it for a rainy day or spend it on Noah however I wanted.
Nick’s mood didn’t improve once he saw Liam at the field. Noah ran up to him and jumped into his arms. I heard Nick mutter something unintelligible. I ignored him. I didn’t go talk to Liam, but Peyton did. They stood together, she on his shoulders, and watched Noah play.
When it was over, Noah left the field and headed straight to Liam, infuriating Nick. I want Nick to be understanding. I get why he’s not, but what’s done is done. There’s no going back. Noah’s father is leaving and won’t be back for who knows how long. Nick could at least give him a chance to say good-bye.
“Noah, let’s go,” Nick huffs as he throws the gear into the back of his truck. Liam shakes his head and walks over toward us, Noah right beside him. I can’t believe how much they look alike.
“So, I’ll be back next month for a week. As soon as I know which week I’ll call and let you know, okay?” I nod, unable to find my voice. I don’t want this reunion to end.
“You be good, okay? And listen to Nick just like we discussed.” He bends down and hugs his son. The son he just met and is now leaving.
“Bye, dad,” Noah says before running off to the truck. The look on Liam’s face must match mine.
“Don’t worry, Jojo,” he whispers to me. He places a kiss on my cheek before walking way.
“Take care of my family, Nick,” Liam says as he slips his helmet on muffling out Nick’s tirade.
I watch Liam’s bike as it flies down the road. When my eyes meet Nick’s, he’s glaring at me. He shakes his head, punching his truck in the process.
I think I just lost my fiancé.
CHAPTER 21
LIAM
It feels good being back in my studio. Since returning, I’ve been writing like crazy. I think at this point I have enough for a new album. Today, my bassist, Jimmy, and drummer, Harrison, are coming in to lay down some melodies.
I should be happy, but I’m not. This is why I left my life behind. I’m antsy as fuck and want to get back to Beaumont. The first few days back were questionable. I tried to call Noah a couple of times but couldn’t bring myself to do it. What if he didn’t want to talk to me now that I was gone?
The moment I saw his face light up my screen, I knew that wasn’t the case. When I answered he seemed happy, excited, asking a lot of questions about L.A. and the studio. He asked me to send him pictures of the cat and I did.
Now I can’t talk to him enough. The hours that he's at school and the time difference make me anxious. Weekends are now my friend.
And I hate Mondays, effectively killing my high from spending hours chatting with my son. I haven’t told the band yet, but I will. I just want to keep Noah to myself for a bit. Harrison is the only other parent around; he has a seven-year old boy. Quinn is a product of a one-night stand that turned into the baby mama dropping her blue bundle of joy on Harrison’s door step. Instant daddy.
When I see Josie’s face on my caller ID, panic ensues. Something must be wrong with Noah otherwise she wouldn’t be calling. We haven’t spoken since I left. It’s not that I don’t want to, but I don’t want to screw shit up for her and Nick.
“Hello?”
“Hi.” She's breathless. I close my eyes and count to ten. She can’t talk to me like this. It kills me that she’s not mine.
“Wha…” My voice catches in my throat from the way she said hi. I need to get a grip here. It was just a common two-letter word. It doesn’t mean anything. “What’s up?”
“Today is Monday.” She says this like it’s supposed to mean something to me. I rack my brain, wondering if Noah had mentioned something particular about this Monday.