I shake my head. She looks so stunned by my revelation that I’m not sure how to answer that. “No.” She breaths out and her shoulders loosen in relief. “I would never let anything happen to him, Mrs. Holloway.” My words are a solemn promise. Because, really, Cole is my life.
She stands up from the couch and heads for the kitchen again and I sip the raspberry juice in my hands, trying to process the conversation we just had. Minutes pass, and I notice Cole’s mom hasn’t returned. I glance at the clock. I’ve been here almost an hour. I got the info I wanted.
I set the glass on the table and follow her to the kitchen. Her hands are planted on the marble counter of the kitchen island, and her head is bowed down. Her shoulders shake silently as if she’s crying.
I take a step closer. She sniffs and lifts her head, and I’m met with blue eyes similar to Josh’s. I feel the animosity I had toward her slowly ebb away. Standing before me is a woman who is caught between the past and the present. The air is still loaded with the revelation. I bridge the gap between us and wrap my arms around her. She has been good to me and my sister’s since we moved here and treated us almost like we were her own children. I hate to see her hurting.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Holloway.”
She returns my embrace, but only for a few minutes before she steps away. She wipes her palms over her face to hide the hurt swallowing her whole.
“I’m terrified of what Stephen might do,” she says in a low voice. “Maybe you and Cole should break things off.”
What?! That’s not what I was expecting to hear at all. “Why?”
She takes another step back and leans on the sink behind her. “Nothing good will come of this.”
I shake my head and start scratching on the scars on my forearms. Suddenly I feel as if ants are crawling all over my skin. “I can’t. Please don’t ask me to give up Cole.”
Her eyes soften. “I might have an idea as to why Stephen hates Cole. Cole reminds him of his brother, Thomas. Apparently, Stephen’s mother doted a lot on Thomas trying to make up for her husband’s ignorance and neglect. She didn’t give the same attention to Stephen, which made him jealous. Stephen called his own brother an abomination, the same words his father used over and over on Thomas. The other reason is that Cole was also the main reason that cemented my decision to go back to Benjamin. In Stephen’s eyes, my son took me away from him. Your father wants someone to blame, and Cole is the scapegoat.
“You have to break up with him, honey. You know very well, if your father puts his mind to hating something or someone, it’s difficult to convince him otherwise. He will eventually hurt my son. I won’t stand back and watch while he does that.”
I imagine my life without Cole and I feel my heart falling, crashing with a resounding bang at my feet. My mouth opens and closes, but no words come out. I’m still trying to recollect my thoughts, words that will convince her that, our love will survive anything. Thing is, I’m not so sure about that. Maybe I should cut all ties with him. He’d be safe away from my father.
But what about me? A little selfish voice whispers to me. What about us?
My eyes smart with hot tears but I keep them lowered to the counter in front of me. How can she ask me to deny my eyes the sight of Cole, when they were made entirely for that purpose? Asking me to cut him loose is like forcing my heart to stop working. To yank it from my chest and throw it in a deep dark hole.
I mutter, “I’m sorry” over and over until I’m not sure what I’m sorry for.
Maggie’s eyes move from me and over my shoulder, they widen at the exact moment a strong arm wraps around my waist, pulling me back to an equally strong chest.
Cole.
Oh, God.
Oh, crap.
I breathe his scent in and the flow of words stops immediately. Blinking away the tears, I paste a smile on my face and turn to face him. He looks just as breath taking as always, only this time, his eyebrows are scrunched up in what I can only guess is confusion.
“I thought you were supposed to be in school,” I sign, my fingers shaking
“I wanted to check on you. You weren’t in the house,” he signs. “What’s going on?” He glances over my shoulder to his mom and then back to me.
I look at Cole’s mother, and pray that she can see how sorry I am. “This is not my story to tell, Cole, talk to your mom.”
I lift to the tip of my toes and kiss his cheek, brush a thumb across his bottom lip. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
If the history between our parents doesn’t scare you and make you break up with me, a soft voice whispers inside my head as I turn and leave Cole’s house.