"I guess it's time to go face the music." He sighs and my heart sinks.
Chapter 14
Evan
As soon as I say it's time to go face the music, I can feel her body tense and I can only imagine what's running through her mind.
"This changes nothing between us. I still want you as much as I did before."
She nods her head that's against my chest, but it's halfhearted.
"I'll let you talk," she says, pulling away. But I only grip her tighter.
"Oh, no baby girl, you are going in there by my side."
Then I gather our things and head out before she can come up with another excuse. The drive home is quiet and I'm sure a lot is running through her head. I hold her hand, letting her know I'm here and I want her.
Even though I hate how sad she looks, and I want nothing more than to try to cheer her up, but now isn't the time. Words are one thing, but what happens once we get to my house will be another.
When we walk into the house, Brett is there sitting on the couch and the girl he was with earlier is sitting next to him, and she looks extremely uncomfortable. Well, I can't really blame her. This is not going to be the best way to meet the boyfriend's dad for the first time.
Brett looks up when he hears me, but then gives the most disgusted look to Aspen. For the first time in my life, I really want to punch my son with all my strength. She's mine now, and that means it's my job to protect her. Though he may be my son, I raised him better than how he treated her, so we’re going to have a lot to talk about.
"Why is she here?" Brett nods in revulsion toward Aspen and even though I'm just holding her hand, I can feel the tension rise in her.
"Because she's been invited here. Who's this?" I direct my attention toward the girl whose name I still don't know sitting next to my son.
"This is Elana, my fiancé. I was bringing her home for you to meet her." He sounds cocky, like he thinks he has the upper hand, but he's about to find out that I never go into anything without a plan.
That name sounds vaguely familiar, and I try to put the pieces together.
"This is the girl you dumped Aspen for."
"Yeah, well, I didn't expect to find you fucking my ex-girlfriend. What the fuck were you thinking?"
"You will watch how you talk to me in my house."
We stand there for a minute staring each other down, but he finally gives me a quick nod, so I continue.
"I could say the same thing about you dumping Aspen just because her mom got sick, and she wouldn't put out. I'm disgusted with you."
His face goes pale, knowing he's being called out. There’s no real argument to give the girl he's with whose name I've already forgotten who gives him a disgusted look. Thankfully, she keeps silent. At least she knows her place.
"The feeling is mutual then," he says as he crosses his arms and glares at me. The girl sitting next to him looks like she wants to die and crawl into a hole just to get out of this situation.
As I'm about to reply, Aspen yanks her hand out of mine and runs upstairs. I don't even think. I turn and follow her. Before she goes into the bedroom, I catch up with her, and wrap my arms around her waist. Then I pull her into the room and close the door behind us before pressing her up against the door.
"No, I... no, let me go home," her voice shaky. Even though Aspen's trying to keep her composure and be strong, she doesn't have to be.
"I told you this changes nothing between us and I meant what I said. I'm not letting you go." When I tighten my grip on her, she shakes her head and places a hand on my chest, pushing me back. Even that slight distance between us makes me hate every bit of it.
"Please. Let me go home. You stay here and talk to him. Later tonight when you're done, you can come over to my house. This is horrible because I never wanted to get in between you two. I know how important he is to you, and I have a lot to process as well.”
I know she means finding out that Brett’s getting married. That news must have been a shock and I should be there for her. It’s what I want to be. Someone that she can lean on, talk to and vent about all this.
Though I'm conflicted about what she actually needs. While I know she's telling me to go talk to Brett and that she needs time to process, I don't know if that's what she actually needs or if she should even be left alone right now.
In the end, I have to trust her because it goes both ways. If I want her to trust me, then I have to trust her as well. So, I lean in and kiss her gently at first but deeper, needing to let her know exactly how I feel in this kiss. Though there’s something about this kiss which seems really important to me even though I can't put my finger on it.