It’s then that I realize two things.
One: there isn’t a single inch of me that isn’t fucking drawn to her, and it’s getting hard to deny.
And two, I really liked the way it sounded when Hollis said, “when we get home.”
Yeah, I’m fucked.
Chapter Seven
Emery
“Hollis, we have to get ready,” I tell him for the millionth time.
He throws himself on the ground. “I don’t want to!”
Ugh. This is what happens when he misses his nap. I can only imagine how he’s going to act at dinner. We’re going over to Ashlyn’s for her birthday dinner, and of course this is the one day he decided to successfully boycott nap time. Lucky me.
I lower myself down to his level and reach for his hand. “H, don’t you want to see Aunt Ashlyn?” He nods. “Then we need to get you dressed so we can go.”
Hollis has been used to seeing Ashlyn almost every day for most of his life, but since Harland came back, everything has been different. She started dating this guy named Brandon that she met at work, and I started using Mila as an excuse for why I didn’t need her to watch Hollis for me. It’s not that I like lying to her, but I also couldn’t necessarily tell her the truth. Besides, she didn’t ask many questions, because it gave her more time to spend with her new beau.
The reality that I need to tell her weighs on me more and more every day. And I’ve come close. There was one night we went out to dinner to catch up, and I almost came clean, but I couldn’t. The words got stuck in my throat, and I just couldn’t seem to get them out.
It’s only a matter of time before Hollis mentions something to her about it. Harland has been here just about every day, only missing a couple due to things his publicist needed him to do. Hollis has gotten used to that, and honestly, he’s not the only one. Harland being around all the time has been messing with my headspace, but in all the best ways. It’s like we’ve been hidden away, playing house together in my tiny apartment and ignoring that the rest of the world exists. Like our problems don’t matter. But that can’t last forever.
Once I get through her birthday, I’m going to tell her. She deserves to know, and Harland deserves not having to hide the fact that Hollis is his son. I know for a fact she’s going to be pissed. I mean, I’ve been best friends with her since the third grade. I just hope it doesn’t make her hate me forever.
I turn around to see Hollis playing with toys instead of putting his clothes on like I asked. Throwing my head back, I groan and take my phone out of my pocket. I dial the familiar number without even thinking and put it to my ear.
“Hey, Em,” Harland answers. “Everything okay?”
“Not exactly.” I pinch the bridge of my nose between my thumb and index finger. “I can’t seem to get Hollis to listen to me today. Can you talk to him?”
He chuckles into the phone. “Yeah. Put him on.”
“H,” I call. “Phone for you.”
I put it on speaker and hand it to him, knowing he would never hold it to his ear the right way. He tilts his head to the side as he takes it from me.
“Hello?”
“Hey, little man,” Harland greets him.
Hollis lights up instantly. “Hi, Hawlan.”
“I hear you’re not listening to your mom. That doesn’t sound like you. Is everything okay?”
He shrugs, not realizing Harland can’t see him. “I don’t want to go. I want to play with my toys.”
“Would it change your mind if I told you that I’ll be there?”
“You will?” Hollis smiles. “Can I bring my toys?”
Harland chuckles. “You can bring two of your favorite toys. One for you and one for me. Okay, buddy?”
He nods happily. “Deal! Here’s Mommy! I have to get ready!”
Handing the phone back to me, Hollis goes running down the hallway like he can’t get dressed fast enough. I roll my eyes at how easy that was for him and take the phone off speaker.
“Thank you,” I murmur.
“Hey, that’s what I’m here for, isn’t it?”
I don’t answer, mainly because I’m not entirely sure what to say. I’ve been so used to doing this on my own for so long that I never imagined what it would be like to have someone else to lean on.
As if he can read my mind, he exhales, and I can practically hear his smile. “We’re a team, Em.”
“Yeah,” I sigh happily. “We’re a team.”
Getting to Harland’s, I’m not going to lie, I’m nervous. This is the first time that we’re going to be around Ashlyn and Harland at the same time since Hollis’s birthday party, and things were very different then. And to top it off, their mom will be there, too. I’m just hoping Ash is too distracted by the fact that her mom and Harland are meeting Brandon for the first time today.
He’s a decent guy. I met him one night when he came to pick Ashlyn up from my place. Her car was in the shop and I had picked her up so she didn’t have to wait there. Brandon was the one to bring her back to get it. I wasn’t able to find any red flags, and he seems to make Ash really happy. To me, that’s what matters most, but I can already tell Harland doesn’t like him.
“Hawlan!” Hollis yells as he runs up the driveway.
Shit.
He bends down and scoops him up into his arms. “Little man! I got you something.”
He takes him around to the passenger seat of his car and pulls out the Avengers set he’s been asking for. Hollis’s eyes widen in disbelief, and he wraps his little arms around Harland’s neck and pulls him close.
“Thank you!”
“You’re welcome, buddy.”
Ashlyn’s voice flows through the air. “I thought I heard my favorite little guy.”
But as soon as she sees how him and Harland are being with each other, confusion etches across her face.
Play it off, Em.
“Oh, sure. What am I? Chopped liver?” I tease.
That manages to distract her a little. She comes over and gives me a hug, but then looks back at Hollis.
“Since when are they best buds?”
I shrug nonchalantly. “Since every time he sees him, Harland gives him a present.”
She chuckles, but still watches her brother closely. I walk over and take Hollis into my arms, telling him we should go inside so we can open the box. As we head up the walkway, I can hear Ashlyn behind me.
“If you’re using that kid to get to her, I will literally cut you.”
Harland laughs, as if it’s no big deal. “You’ve been watching too many Lifetime movies.”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find a sharp blade and some bleach.”
Yeah, I need to tell her soon.
And maybe make sure she isn’t around any knives at the time.
Sitter at the dinner table, I’ve got Hollis on my right, with Ashlyn on the other side of him. Harland, to avoid suspicion, is sitting across from his sister, but his eyes stay locked on Brandon. Since the second he got here, he’s been fucking with the guy.