Coming Home (34 page)

Leah had just finished curling her hair when she heard her phone beep with an incoming text, and she leaned over and swiped the screen.

We’re running a little late. Are you guys on your way
?

Leah picked up the phone and texted her sister back.

Not yet. Danny should be here any minute. We’ll meet you guys there
.

A minute later, Sarah’s response came through.

K. Get a table if u guys get there first
.

Leah put her phone down on the sink before she checked her makeup in the mirror. She and Danny were meeting Sarah and Kyle at one of their old hangout spots to celebrate the promotion Kyle had just gotten at work.

She walked out of the bathroom and back to her bedroom to grab her purple platform heels, or as Robyn called them, her “happy shoes.” She
felt
happy. It was such a simple concept, but it had eluded her for so long that she was constantly aware of its presence in everything she did. Everything felt new, like she was looking at the world through a different pair of eyes, rediscovering and suddenly appreciating things that the old Leah had overlooked.

The two weeks since Danny’s birthday had been the best two weeks of her life—an incredible blur of laughing and talking and cuddling, of smiles and shared secrets and making love.

She never imagined, even in her most sanguine teenage dreams, that being in love could ever feel like this.

Leah heard a knock on her door, and she stuck her head out of the bedroom. “Come in!” she called. “I’ll be out in a sec!”

She heard the front door open and close as she pulled her shoes out of the closet and stepped into them, and then she walked over to the full-length mirror, taking one last look at herself before she made her way out to the living room, her heels clicking against the hardwood floor.

“So guess what?” she said, stopping short when she saw him in the dining room. He was sitting with his elbows on the table and his hands clasped in front of his mouth. As soon as he saw her, he lowered his hands and smiled, but she could see that it was forced.

That there was a struggle behind his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He inhaled slowly, and Leah watched his throat convulse as he swallowed. “My lawyer called today.”

Her stomach lurched, and she a felt a cold prickle down her spine.

“What did he say?”

Danny wet his lips before he looked up at her. “We have a sentencing date.”

It felt like her throat was closing. She tried to take a breath, but it was as if her lungs were full of glue. “When?” she managed, her voice barely audible.

“May second.”

Leah stood there for a minute, trying to process what he had just said.

May second. The day before her birthday.

She crossed the room to him, and he sat up as she approached, allowing her to crawl into his lap. Danny dropped his head to her shoulder, and she curled her arms around him, trying to keep her breathing even.

She couldn’t react right now. She couldn’t fall apart. She needed to keep it together.

But what was the point of being strong? What difference would it make? If she cried or if she didn’t, if she screamed or if she remained stoic, if she bargained or denied or accepted or fought, none of it would change anything. None of it would prevent what was about to happen.

May second. Less than two months away.

They sat there in silence, their arms around each other as Leah’s thoughts ran rampant. One minute her mind was racing with what this meant for them, what it meant for
him
, and the next it was eerily devoid of anything whatsoever.

“What do we do now?” she whispered, her voice not sounding like her own.

She hadn’t felt so utterly helpless since her mother died.

Danny took a breath before he lifted his head, looking up at her as he took one of her curls between his fingers. “We go meet Sarah and Kyle at the bar, and we celebrate his promotion.”

“What?” Leah asked, her brow furrowed. “Danny, no.”

“We made plans, Leah.”

“Who cares?” she said desperately.

“I do!” he said, and then he closed his eyes, taking a breath as he reined himself in. “I do,” he said again, this time more calmly. “We can’t let this dictate the next two months. What are we gonna do, Leah? Sit here and mope? Wallow in it? I’m not gonna let this take any more time from me than it has to.”

Leah wet her lips and nodded. “Okay,” she said, dropping her eyes. “Okay. You’re right.”

Danny used his fingertips under her chin to lift her eyes back to his. “I don’t want this to influence everything we do now. It can’t be like that.”

She nodded again.

“I mean, I know it’s gonna be…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “We have to at least try.”

His eyes were imploring as he looked up at her, and she knew that if he needed to maintain a sense of normalcy, she would do it, no matter how difficult it was going to be. And in a way, she understood. He had no control over what was coming his way in two months, but he
could
control everything up until that point.

And maybe that’s how she needed to deal with it too.

“Okay,” she said softly, pressing her lips to his. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he whispered, brushing the hair away from her face.

She smiled down at him, trying to keep the sadness out of it, and he twisted one of her curls around his finger.

“It looks nice like this,” he murmured, watching the silken strand slip through his fingertips.

She brought her hand to his face, running her thumb over his cheek.

“Are you ready to go, or do you need another minute?” he asked.

“I’m ready,” she whispered.

He nodded, looking up at her. “Me and you tonight. Nothing else, okay?”

“Nothing else,” she repeated softly.

“Okay,” he said, lifting his chin and pressing his lips to hers, and she concentrated on the feel of his mouth. The way he tasted.

And nothing else.

Nothing else.

Paddy’s was a local bar that had been a favorite of Leah’s in the years right after she graduated college. There was a fun, younger crowd vibe, but without all the chaos that most college bars boasted. She hadn’t been there in a long time, but as soon as she and Danny walked through the doors, it felt like she’d never left.

Everything was the same, from the layout of the tables to the pictures on the walls to the music that was playing. It was comforting, and familiar, and exactly what she needed at that moment.

“Sarah says they’re like ten minutes away,” Leah said to Danny as she put her phone back in her purse. “Do you want to go grab us a table and I’ll get us drinks?”

“Yeah.”

“See the jukebox back there?” Leah said, and Danny lifted his chin, looking over the crowd. “There’s a little nook on the other side of it. The tables back there are usually open.”

“Alright,” he said, leaning down to kiss her temple before he turned and walked through the crowd.

Leah made her way to the bar, resting her elbows on top of it as she glanced around the familiar space.

“What can I get you, hon?”

She looked up just in time to see the bartender’s face light up with recognition.

“Leah! Sweetheart! How are ya?”

“I’m good, Sammy. You?”

“Oh you know, same old, same old,” he said, leaning on the bar in front of her. “God, it’s been a while. You look good, kiddo!”

Leah smiled. Sammy was the sweetest old man she’d ever met; he had been the bartender at Paddy’s for as long as she’d been going there, and he seemed to remember every face, every name, every story that crossed his path.

“Thank you. You’re looking pretty good yourself.”

“Bah,” he said, standing up and waving his hand at her. “Quit makin’ an old man blush.”

Leah laughed, and he smiled. “So what can I get ya?”

“Can I get a pitcher? Whatever you have on special is fine.”

“You got it, sweetheart.”

Just as Sammy turned away from her, Leah felt two arms wrap around her waist, and she leaned back into his embrace.

“No open tables?” she asked, turning her head to look up at him.

And then her heart stopped.

“Hey beautiful,” he said, rubbing his thumbs over her stomach through the fabric of her shirt.

After a stunned second she turned in his arms, using her hand on his chest to push him away. He took a step back, relinquishing his hold on her, but he smiled.

“You look incredible,” he said, and she shook her head.

“Scott, don’t—”

“We need to talk,” he said, his face growing serious.

“I don’t have anything to say to you.”

“Fine. Don’t talk then. Just listen.”

“I don’t want to do this now,” she said, stepping to the side in an attempt to walk around him, but he picked up on it immediately, stepping forward and putting his hands on the bar on either side of her.

“You won’t do it anywhere else,” he said smoothly. “I’ve tried.”

She looked down at his arms, caging her in, and then she lifted her eyes to his, her expression steely.

“Just let me say this. She meant nothing to me, Leah,” he said, and she scoffed before rolling her eyes. “I mean, we worked together, and she was constantly flirting with me, and I just…I was under a lot of stress, and she was always there, right in front of me. I mean, shit, a man can only take so much temptation. I had to get it out of my system. But it didn’t mean anything.
She
didn’t mean anything.”

As Scott spoke, she stared over his shoulder, her expression disinterested as she searched the bar for any sign of her sister and Kyle.

“I know you’re mad because I didn’t come out after you, but I knew you needed some time to calm down—”

Leah whipped her head toward him, her expression incredulous as a tiny laugh escaped her lips. “So, what? You figured you’d just finish fucking her while I cooled off?” She laughed outright then, shaking her head. “You know, for all the time you’ve had to plan this speech, you’d think it would be a little less pathetic.” She pushed his arm off the bar and took a step past him.

Scott stepped back and to the side in one swift movement, blocking her path. “I know you’re still upset—”

“Actually, I’m not. I’m over this whole thing. Which is why I want to be left alone,” she said, stepping to the other side.

This time he reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back in front of him.

“Take your hand off me,” she said, her voice low but firm.

She was not in the place to deal with this tonight; she had already been teetering on her breaking point before they’d even walked through the doors of the bar. She had nothing left for him.

He leaned in and cupped her face in his hand. “I can’t let you go. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I still want you, Leah. I still want us.”

She leaned back and his hand slipped from her face, but he tightened his hold on her wrist so that she couldn’t walk away.

“Scott, knock it off. You’re hurting me.”

“You don’t think
I’m
hurting?”

Leah closed her eyes and shook her head. She needed to change her approach. She needed to stop antagonizing him. If she had any hope of putting some distance between them, she was going to have to placate him.

“Look,” she said. “I don’t want to make a scene. Let’s not do this here. We can talk, but just not here, okay?”

His eyes searched hers before she felt his hand go slack on her wrist. “Okay,” he said. “Where, then?”

Leah slipped her wrist out of his hand, and before she could answer, she felt someone grip her other hand and pull her away. She glanced up just as Danny drew her against his side, his eyes trained on Scott.

“Is everything okay over here?” he asked, his eyes appraising her quickly before settling back on Scott.

“Hey, buddy, no one needs you to play the hero. We know each other, okay? This is none of your business.”

Scott reached for Leah’s arm, and Danny used his hold on her to pull her partially behind him, shifting his body in front of her.

“She
is
my business,” he said, his voice disconcertingly calm. “And if you put your hands on her again, we’re gonna have a problem.”

Scott looked at Danny, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smile, and Leah’s heart began thudding in her chest. She didn’t like the look on Scott’s face, and at that moment, she didn’t care how much she hated him, or that he didn’t deserve a chance to explain himself. Her only priority became separating the two of them.

Leah tugged gently on Danny’s hand. “We do know each other,” she said, and Danny looked down at her, his jaw relaxing slightly. “Please, just let me handle this.”

“Yeah, let her handle this.”

“
Scott
,” Leah barked, and Danny’s eyes widened before they flew back to him. As soon as Danny realized who he was, the muscle in the side of his jaw flickered, and Leah immediately brought her hand to his face, pulling his attention back to her. He looked down again, but this time his expression didn’t soften.

“I’ll take care of this, okay? And then we’ll leave. We’ll go somewhere else.”