Scared of Forever (Scared #2) (31 page)

“Blake?” I repeat
softly.

“I had nowhere else
to go,” he says quietly. I flick on the switch next to the door,
the light illuminating the porch, and lay my eyes on one very beaten
and broken-looking man. His eyes are sunken into his head. He has
lost nearly half of his body weight. More than that, every ounce of
life that he once possessed, in his eyes, in his face, seems to have
completely disappeared.

I contemplate my next
move. I could wake Tyler up, since I don’t completely trust Blake,
and I’m still a little scared of what he could be capable of. He
may still hate Tyler and I, and hate is a strong emotion. It can
cause people to do very bad things. But my instincts have served me
well all my life, and they are telling me that he isn’t here to
cause trouble.

I close the door
quietly and unhook the chain. Blake walks in, looking bashful and
intimidated. He casts an eye over the moonlit room, staring intently
at the family photos of Tyler, Sadie, and I that almost completely
cover the living room walls. Some of them include his mother and
father, Chayse, Mirelle, and Maia and Jackson.

It’s understandable
that Blake would feel cheated. He’s looking at the life he could
have had, probably seeing his face in every picture where Tyler’s
is. But he wasted all of the opportunities that life had afforded
him, while Tyler had made the most of every one.

“You can sleep on the
couch,” I say gesturing towards the sofa. “It’s late, and Sadie
needs to go back down. We can talk in the morning.”

The notion that Blake
could steal something and take off in the middle of the night is not
lost on me. But if he does, that’s his choice. His karma. And he’ll
never ever be able to revisit the option of us helping him again. I
think he understands that. It’s an unspoken agreement.

I’m up early in the
morning. From my room, I can hear Sadie speaking her baby garble
happily in her crib. I gently nudge Tyler awake, wanting to apprise
him of the situation involving our houseguest before he discovers it
for himself.

He grabs me into his
arms and pulls me on top of him. “Tyler!” I laugh, trying to
wriggle free from his hands wrapped tightly around my waist. He
smiles up at me brilliantly. This is my favorite sight every morning.
Well, second favorite, after
Sadie
. “We have to talk,” I say, distractedly as he
kisses my neck softly. “Blake is downstairs,” I say gently. “I
think.”

Tyler looks at me
quizzically, trying to remain composed. “What the hell is he doing
here?” he asks, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“I let him in,” I
reply. “I was putting Sadie back to sleep last night, and he
knocked on the door. I had to let him in, Tyler. You’ll see what I
mean if he’s still there. He looked horrible. And helpless.”

“Blake never does
anything without a reason. What does he want this time?” Tyler
asks, clearly irritated.

“Just hear him out.
For me,” I plead softly.

“Okay,” Tyler
agrees hesitantly. “But only because you asked me to. And I’m not
promising I won’t knock him out if he pisses me off.”

I retrieve a very happy
Sadie from her bed. She babbles away as we walk down the stairs,
repeating the same fragmented sentences and words over and over
again. Tyler follows. Blake is curled up on the couch in a fetal
position.

Tyler wastes no time,
walking over and pushing against his shoulder. “Blake,” he says
firmly. Blake stirs and opens his eyes, and I see him flinch as he
takes in Tyler’s face.

“I’m not gonna hit
you, Blake.” Tyler says, sitting on the sofa opposite him. “Unless
you make me. What are you doing here?”

Blake rubs his eyes
with his thin hand. “I had no money left and no place to stay, and
then I got mixed up with these guys, and couldn’t pay them for
stuff, and I needed somewhere to go.”

“What stuff?” Tyler
asks.

“Drugs, mainly. I
went to look for Aria. But when I found her in Phoenix, she was with
someone new, and when she found out that I was broke, well, that was
just the icing on the cake for her. Turns out she was all about the
money, after all.” Blake turns to face me. “You would have never
treated me like that. I was such a fool.”

From the kitchen, I see
Tyler’s already clasped-together hands clench, as does his jaw. He
looks towards Blake menacingly, protective fire burning in his eyes.
I love my husband.

“Blake,” I say
lowly, shooting him a warning look.

“Sorry,” he says
sincerely before turning back to Tyler.

“Are you still on
those drugs?” Tyler asks.

Blake averts his eyes.
Tyler’s fix on mine. Looking for my approval to help him. Searching
for the silent understanding that we are so blessed to have between
us. I smile, knowing that Tyler will do the right thing. He walks
over to the kitchen and picks up his cell phone before walking out
onto the veranda.

My
turn to talk
. “Blake, I sincerely hope that this isn’t
another round of your bullshit. I swear to you, if you abuse Tyler’s
trust, you will have me to answer to, and it won’t be pleasant.”
My voice is laced fiercely with the threat, assuring that there is no
misunderstanding it.

“You once defended me
like that,” he says, looking at me sadly.

I don’t respond. I
can’t tell this already worn out man that what I feel for Tyler,
what I felt from the day I met him, has always bested what I felt for
Blake. I’m not so cruel as to shatter his soul. He already gets to
live with the regret of the past, and that’s enough for me.

I feed Sadie, and leave
breakfast on the table for both Tyler and Blake. Tyler walks in a
half an hour later.

“I’ve arranged for
you to go to a rehab facility in the city. After that, a guy at one
of the free clinics I help support will give you a job. It’s not
fancy, just assisting the doctors, utilizing your existing medical
knowledge. Our mother will be here to pick you up at three,” Tyler
says. “Out of curiosity, why didn’t you go to her first?”

Blake looks away again.
“After she made me take that paternity test, I behaved like an
asshole. I realize now that I did. And I was so angry with her for
cutting me off. That day she was, for the first time in all my life,
ashamed of me. Ashamed and so disappointed. I couldn’t face her.”

“Well, now you have
to,” Tyler replies firmly. “She wants to know that you’re okay.
And I have a home, a family, and a business to take care of now. I
want to help you, Blake, but I’m not going to drop all of my own
priorities because you rolled into town again.”

We all sit down to eat
breakfast. Blake, Tyler, and I hardly speak, but by the time an hour
has passed, Blake is absolutely charmed by his niece. Fascinated by
her every small word and movement. I smile at the newly formed bond.
Sadie really can fix everyone
.

Eliza arrives sharply
at three to pick up Blake, and he says his very grateful goodbyes
before leaving. I hope this is the start of a road to recovery for
Blake, and also for Tyler and Blake’s relationship.

Sadie goes down for her
afternoon nap, and I find Tyler sitting on the porch steps, staring
out onto the waves ahead as the tide rises.

“Always deep in
thought,” I say lacing my arms around his neck.

“Just processing this
morning,” he says softly. “Did you really believe Blake?”

“That’s not my
question to answer,” I say, walking down and sitting between his
legs. He rests his chin on my head leisurely. “We did our part,
that’s all that matters. The rest is up to Blake.”

“You’re right,”
Tyler says lovingly, playing with a strand of my hair. “You’re
always right.”

“I saw how fired up
you were when he talked to me. Jealousy suits you. It’s sexy,” I
say, looking up towards him.

“I kinda feel sorry
for him,” Tyler says, looking out into the vast, blue ocean. I eye
him quizzically. “It must have been crushing for him. It would be
for me, if I ever lost you,” he continues in answer to my unvoiced
question.

He scoots back and I
sit a step up between his legs. “I love you,” I whisper.

“I love you, too,”
he says sweetly. “I hate to ask, but am I feeding you too much?”
he laughs, his fingers finding the sides of my torso.

“Nope,” I say
slyly. “But you are responsible for my chunky midline, in a way.”

“What?’ he says
excited. “When did this happen?”

“Hmmm, maybe
yesterday when you attacked me while doing the dishes, or the day
before when you joined me in the shower? Uninvited, by the way. Or
the day before that, when you woke me from a very nice dream? Or any
of the other three hundred and sixty-five days of this year,” I
laugh. “I think your mission in life is to live inside me!”

“It’s my job!” he
laughs. “Plus it has excellent perks.”

“Sadie’s asleep for
at least another hour,” I tease.

“Not interested,”
he says cheekily.

For a second I’m kind
of floored, until he continues in jest. “I’ve already knocked you
up, twice now. My work here is done.” Tyler dusts his hands
melodramatically and stands up.

“Fine,” I tease,
standing and walking back into the house.

“Nice try,” he
grins, shutting the door and pushing me against it.

I
could never, ever get tired of this man touching me.
At
least I can’t imagine it. The soft kisses he leaves on my neck
still fill my body with the same fire that they did two years ago. My
body still implodes with pleasure in his arms. But it’s not just
sex. It’s a mind fuck, a total convergence of souls. To live and
breathe for someone other than yourself. To unequivocally trust in
the other in every way. To understand without words. That’s what we
have. There is no apprehension or fear in forever, not for either of
us. Tyler doesn’t give me a single reason to be scared.

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