“Won’t we get in trouble?” she asks, squirming in her seat.
I shake my head. “I don’t think anyone lives here.”
I walk up the couple of steps to the front door. The paint on the door has cracked, making the house look even more deserted. I knock twice before twisting the doorknob. To my surprise, it’s open. My eyes go wide in disbelief as I swing the door open and see the tiny living room before me. I take a step in and flick the light switch, but no light shines through. The musky smell of the apartment makes my noise cringe. Clearly, no one has lived here in a while. I walk over to the kitchen and see the fridge is gone. Did someone steal it? What happened to this place after we left? To be honest, this entire street looks a little deserted. Did they stop renting to college students after all the partying that used to go on here?
I walk down the tiny hallway and glance between the bathroom and the bedroom. Amari is right behind me and walks past me into the bedroom. “Where was my room?”
“This was your room,” I say, walking farther in.
She glances around the room with her brows furrowed and confused because of how small this room is. I forgot how small it was and how little room we had to move around.
“How did we all fit in here?” she asks, curiously.
Now that I’m standing in here, I’m not even sure how we did it. “Both our beds were right up against each other,” I say, pointing to where they were. “I had to get rid of a lot of my clothes because they didn’t fit in the closet.” I only brought a duffle bag of stuff with me and never went back to my mom’s house to pick up more.
Being here reminds me of all the good times—and bad—that we had. It seems like we moved in here just yesterday, but at the same time, it feels like a lifetime ago. I can’t believe how much we went through, knowing no one thought we would make it as parents. But we did. We may not have made it as a couple, but we made it as parents. That’s the thing we got right. Even though there were so many bumps in the road, we’ve always put Amari first.
Kai
I took a big contract with work a couple weeks ago. With that and trying to hire more people to join my growing business, I’ve been too busy to look at the house. A house that I thought Blakely and I would build together. What I had hoped for us didn’t go as planned. Instead of stopping the building process, I continued with it while I tried to win her back.
I still remember the way her eyes lit up when she saw the kitchen in the beach house I rented. I had the contractors do the kitchen exactly like that. It was the only sign I got of what she might like, so I went for it. I don’t know when or how I’m going to show her this house without her thinking I did it for her to get back with me. I always told her from the start, back when we were living in the tiny apartment, that I’d give her everything she deserved. This is an example of that promise. A house to plant roots in. To grow our family in. A house to come home to. Butwithout my family, it’s not much of a home. I won’t be able to live here myself. If anything, I can sell it, and no one will know that I was building it for my family. Everything I’ve done is for them.
I started from the ground up, building a business that I never even imagined would be as successful as it is. No one knows how well it’s going. I’m not one to flaunt my money around. But I’m doing pretty good for only starting out four years ago. So good that I’ve always wanted Blakely to live out her dream of being a stay-at-home mom, raising our kids. Shit, I don’t know if she wants more kids. She always wanted them close in age, but given we had Amari so young, who knows if she wants to start over again? I’m willing to do anything she wants. I’m fine with the three of us.
As I drive down the winding road to check on the house, the crisp October breeze fills the car with my windows down. The red, orange, and yellow leaves swirl around the road from the wind.
I notice movement up ahead as I get closer. It’s a person walking briskly. It’s almost nightfall and someone is out here walking? This area is so secluded, with trees everywhere and houses hidden behind them. No one would see if anything were to happen to this person.
The closer I get, I realize it’s Blakely. I can tell by the way she sways her hips when she walks. I pull to the side of her and roll my window down. She looks over at me with her eyes wide.
“What are you doing?” I ask. Ever since Amari started school, I’ve been wanting to talk to B. I just haven’t gotten the chance.
“Walking,” she says between her breaths.
“Do you realize it’s getting dark?” She nods with her brows raised.
“I got lost.” She puts her hands on her hips.
“How’d you get lost?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know.” She raises her shoulders. “What are you doing?”
“Driving.” I don’t know what to say. I can’t tell her,Oh I’m going to see the house I built for us.I didn’t expect to run into her. She stares at me with questions in her eyes, like she knows I’m hiding something. “Do you want to get in? I can take you home.”
She looks between me and the road and then climbs into my truck. “Where are you really headed?”
I look her up and down, noticing she has skintight leggings on that accentuate her waist and a sports bra that makes her chest look extra plump. “Why are you dressed like that?” I ask, trying to ignore the blood flow increasing in my pants.
She raises an eyebrow. “What?” She shakes her head. “I’m trying to lose weight for the wedding.”
My stomach drops at the sound ofweightandwedding. I hope Liam didn’t put it in her head that she needs to lose weight. She’s beautiful the way she is. Ever since the first time I laid eyes on her, she’s always been the most beautiful person I have ever seen. She’s grown into her body after having Amari. Her curves accentuate her body in all the right places.
Now, I’m lost in thoughts about the wedding. So, she’s still going through with it. I grip the steering wheel hard, trying to ignore the sudden sadness. Is this why she hasn’t said anything, because she is going through with it, after all? “Do you guys have a date?”
“Yes,” she says, swallowing hard.
“And?”
