Chapter 34

I brought nothing to the table, and while that could be read as some kind of existential dilemma, in this case I did mean it literally—my meeting with Elijah had left me with hardly any time to order in an elaborate dinner before David came around.

I’d rushed back to our apartment, heart pounding at the sting of judgment I was sure to get from Paula when she figured out where I’d been the whole time.

To my sweet relief, I walked in to find the apartment uninhibited, and set around to making it look like I’d never even left in the first place so that by the time my best friend arrived scarcely half an hour later I was tucked up on the couch, scrolling listlessly through my phone in a way that if she’d been paying any attention, Paula would’ve realized was all for show.

A cursory glance at me was all she took before heading straight for her bedroom to shed off her clothes and slip into her at home signature look: Sweatpants and a loose-fitting tank top.

David followed in at her heels about forty-five minutes, and now we all sat in a tense circle, having exhausted all possible conversation.

A shared remembrance of David’s confession the day prior left the interactions between us somewhat restrained, and from the way Paula kept trying to catch my eyes I knew that she caught onto it too and was dying to find out what had gone own between the two of us.

This went on for about ten minutes uninterrupted before my best friend suddenly swore under her breath, standing to her full height as she walked to the coatrack to get the very same coat I’d worn to ambush Isla while she announced that she was heading outside to go order takeout.

“Get some for me too,” I called after her, shooting a surreptitious glance over at my ex. “And David too!”

“Lover boy can go get dinner for himself,” was all the reply I got, and to this I noticed two spots of pink appear on David’s cheek. He fidgeted uncomfortably in his chair, appearing in that moment oddly endearing.

Before I could shoot back a retort of my own Paula was slamming the door behind her, leaving in her wake a moment of such complete silence that I swallowed, fixing on an awkward half-smile on my face as I glued my eyes to my phone screen.

“Ha-ha,” I began, wishing to be anywhere but where I was at that exact moment. “Paula is so crazy, isn’t she?”

My ex said nothing, and when I peered over I saw that his eyes remained firmly trained on me. David had never been one to beat about to bush, and even now he had on an expectant set to his chin that five years of being together had taught me what to expect.

“So about last night,” he began, and at the flash of alarm he must’ve seen cross my eyes he backtracked, shooting me a disarming smile. “I know, I know I was in no position to put you on the spot like that and I’m sorry.”

I blinked, not sure that I’d heard his words clearly because David apologizing? The sixth extinction event had to be upon us then.

It was a major obstacle that we’d argued about time and time again before; how even when he was in the wrong he was always loathe to admit it. The fact that he’d grown in our time apart changed nothing, especially considering how he was the reason that we fell apart in the first place—though hindsight gave it a kind of perspective that I was only just starting to admit to myself, that we hadn’t been as okay as I wanted to believe even long before he cheated.

Still, it’d be a bit of an asshole move to leave a guy hanging like that, and after a long stretch of internal debate on how I would couch my question, I finally spoke.

“Look,” I started, clearing my throat as I looked him right in the eye. “Yesterday made it clear that we still have feelings for each other. But with everything going on right now, I’m not sure I want to explore that side of us—”

He made a valiant effort, but I could see the moment his face fell and rushed on so he wouldn’t think I was done.

“—at least not yet.”

My words sank in slowly, and I watched his smile come back in blinding brilliance as he perked up.

“You mean that…”

“I need time, David,” I clarified. “And I can’t promise that I’ll be ready anytime soon. I’m scared too, that we won’t work out even when I’m ready because of how badly we ended that last time.”

“I’ll wait,” he said in the quiet that followed. “As long as you care to have me around I’ll wait. I don’t care how long.”

The words were spoken without the slightest bit of fanfare. I sensed only sincerity, and after a beat I nodded and we sat there on opposite ends of the couch, grinning at ourselves like buffoons as the conversation devolved into less serious issues that only got interrupted at the sound of the doorbell ringing.

“Paula,” I muttered, straightening from my slouched position. “She’s ringing the doorbell when she has a key?”

David shrugged. “Maybe she forgot to take it with her?”

After a moment’s contemplation I decided that the theory passed, and when the ring came in again more insistently on its second time I announced that I would be going to get the plates from the kitchen just as Paula stood up and walked towards the door.

My feet slid silently over the hardwood floors of our apartment as I made my way to the kitchen, where I pulled out dishes and laid them out, waited in anticipation of Paula’s loud voice announcing her arrival and the fact that we owed her eternal obeisance for the meals she’d brought.

Instead, the apartment outside remained eerily silent, and I called out my best friend’s name as a feeling of deep foreboding slithered heavily into me, dampening the light mood that my exchange with David had provided.

I received no reply, and tried calling David, and when he too failed to answer I hesitantly made my way out of the kitchen back into the living room and froze at the sight that greeted me: Elijah, dressed more casually than I’d ever seen in jeans and a simple polo tee, standing at the threshold of my door, where only David stood between me and them.

The two men stood at virtually the same height, though that was where their similarities ended, as they couldn’t have been more different from each other, in everything from their behaviors to even hair color.

Both eyes swiveled to me as soon as I made my entrance, and Elijah uttered my name, stepping forward and getting an unceremonious shove back by my ex, who’s every muscle stood out tautly.

My former boss stumbled but recovered quickly enough and paused to smoothen out the wrinkles on his tee. A flash of irritation crossed over his expression that he didn’t try to mask, and as I cautiously approached both men David began in a voice that carried just enough for me to hear.

“Leave,” he commanded in a tone that brokered no arguments. “Aurora has been hurt enough. She doesn’t want to see you anymore.”

“Oh.” Elijah breathed.

I was close enough that I picked it up now, and over David’s shoulder he gave me a wicked smile that had me shake my head furiously at him in a vain attempt to put a stop to whatever it was he had planned.

“Then why did we see only mere hours ago?” he asked, not giving me heed.

David scoffed, shaking his head pityingly at him.

“You’re lying. Aurora hasn’t left this apartment in a month because of you.”

“Really?” Elijah’s eyes remained fixed on mine as I mouthed supplications at him to shut the fuck up. “Maybe I’m wrong, then. Why don’t you ask her?”

My ex-boyfriend threw me a look over his shoulder and arched an eyebrow up in question, but I refused to meet his eyes and after a moment he focused his attention away from me back to Elijah. I suspected that when he left there would be a lot to talk about. The prospect made me nauseous.

“It doesn’t matter,” David said. His shoulders tensed. “She doesn’t want to see you.”

He made to close the door on Elijah, but the other man held it open with a hand before directly addressing me for the first time since he’d arrived.

“Aurora,” he began, the bass of his voice reverberating through the space of my apartment. This close to him and already the space felt smaller than it had mere moments ago. “Tell him that the father of your child would like to have a conversation with you.”

Silence.

“Jesus Christ,” I whispered under my breath, pinching the bridge of my nose as David’s head turned so fast I was surprised he didn’t get whiplash. He had disbelief etched into his features, but the longer he looked at me the longer he paled, until open mouthed shock remained.

Then something dangerous shimmered in the depths of his lovely green eyes, and thinking he could use the moment to his advantage, Elijah made to push past him for the second time again, but with the speed of a rattlesnake, David turned on him and delivered a punch right in his face with such force that I swear I heard something crack.

Elijah stumbled blindly back, and steadied himself against a wall, and a cry of dismay escaped me at the sight of blood running down his nose, which from my vantage point looked slightly more crooked than it had just moments before.

David shook his hands out to ease the pain as the other man straightened, involuntary tears rolling down his cheeks as he ran a finger beneath his nostrils, and it came out red.

His nose was definitely broken.

For a split second everything seemed to hang on a delicate balance, and all fell silent as Elijah’s lips, grotesquely stained with the blood that flowed steadily down his nose, stretched out in a smile that sent chills down my spine.

In that moment he appeared more than a little bit unhinged.

“I’m going to make you regret that,” he emphasized so softly that I almost didn’t hear him.

And then all hell broke loose.