She’d leaned in for one more kiss, and then led him back to his cell. Her hands trembled as she took off the cuffs. By the time she slammed the door shut and disappeared back down the hall, Rick realized that he finally had an ally.
As he settled into his bunk, his mind was racing with ideas and strategies about how Angela would be most useful. With his baby gone and Rick locked away, he knew that Lily was out there celebrating with that pathetic sister of hers, the two of them convinced they’d outsmarted him. He’d have to plan carefully but he hadn’t come this far to let anyone get the best of him. He’d make sure Lily and her entire goddamn family would regret ever underestimating him. He’d make them all pay.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
ABBY
The rain poured down in steady, relentless sheets as Abby leaned against the porch railing. Movers drifted in and out of Wes’s house, their arms weighed down with boxes. Her boxes. Since Abby had been living at her mother’s, Wes had moved back into his house. Abby had decided to move home permanently.
Why wouldn’t it rain on moving day? she thought. Just so fucking typical.
Abby sighed, a sharp pain shooting through her back. It was aching so badly it was as if tiny spikes were digging into the muscles. The alien invader was killing her, literally killing her. That nesting instinct or whatever they called it made her restless. She’d been putting this off, but the baby would be here soon and she needed to extricate herself from Wes in all ways.
She saw Wes watching her. He was covered in sweat and drenched from the steady rain, his black hoodie covering his hair and part of his face. For once, she wasn’t annoyed. A wave of sympathy coursed through her. She was leaving this house, the house he’d tried so hard to make their home. These days—and she blamed the hormones—but these days, she was grateful for his steady presence. Wes had a knack for entertaining Sky, making all of them laugh, including Lily. Abby knew her sister was wrestling with the reality of what they’d been through. Lily had tried to apologize, but she had nothing to be sorry for. They’d moved past that night at the hospital, and for Abby, it felt like they were getting closer to where they’d been. But she worried it would never be the same.
Lily tried to put on a good show, but there were times when Abby saw the darkness consume her sister. One minute, Lily would be gardening, or teasing Sky while she cooked breakfast, or they’d all be in the den watching The Bachelor, or one of the dozens of DVD sets Abby had bought to improve Lily’s pop-culture IQ, and then Lily would vanish into her room, into her books, into the abyss Rick Hanson left behind. Every time Lily disappeared for the day or even the evening, Abby was on edge, waiting for Lily to break down again. But the next day, Lily would reappear, as if nothing were wrong. Abby knew that couldn’t possibly be true, but she had to follow Lily’s lead.
Everyone was trying to move forward, trying to forget about Hanson. Some days it almost felt like things were normal again. But Abby couldn’t seem to shake the anger and rage that still consumed her. She wanted to be like Lily—her sister seemed so kind and hopeful and optimistic—but for Abby, keeping up that facade was so much work. Still, she tried. She’d made serious progress with Wes, accepting that he wasn’t the enemy. She was just as “guilty” for pursuing their relationship. But Wes was still there, an outsider trying to get in.
“Ma’am, we’re all done here. Should we meet you at the new house?” one of the movers asked.
“That would be great. Thank you.”
They went to leave and Abby turned to Wes, offering up a weak smile. He moved beside her, trying to act cool, but there was pleading in his tone.
“It’s not too late, Abs. Let’s tell these guys to stop what they’re doing. We’ll unpack it all.”
Abby’s stomach did a flip, an emotional pull deep inside that she blamed on the alien invader. Why was Wes saying these things? They’d already been through this.
“Lily needs me.” Abby turned to go.
“I need you.” He grabbed her.
“Wes, please don’t.” She tried to push him away.
But he came back, as he always did, like a goddamn gnat, holding her tightly to him. “You’ve given up the last eight years of your life. Shutting yourself off to me and Eve and all your friends. When are you going to have your own life? When?”
“I don’t know.”
“And what about me?”
“You’re this baby’s father. My moving out doesn’t change that.”
“Wow. Thanks. That’s great. A sperm donor with visitation rights. I appreciate that.”
“We’ve talked about this. I can’t be with you. I can’t do that to Lily.”
Wes’s eyes flashed with anger. He shook his head and laughed, but there was something else in his expression. Something so smug and knowing, as if he had a secret he couldn’t wait to share.
“What? What is so funny?” she asked, hating that look.
“Lily kissed me. Did she tell you that she kissed me?”
Abby stared at him, at his anger-filled eyes.