“Cole?” I rest my hands on his chest as my eyes widen. “What are you doing here?”
He doesn’t get to answer as Travis grabs him from behind, yanking us apart. I watch in horror as Travis lands a punch to Cole’s cheek, my hands coming to my mouth as his head snaps to the side.
Cole wastes no time as he charges Travis, throwing a punch of his own before they both fall to the rug. Cole is on top, sending multiple punches to Travis’s face before I snap out of my stupor and walk over, resting my hand on Cole’s shoulders.
He doesn’t fight me as I pull him off Travis, but he stays firmly planted in front of me, blocking Travis’s view.
“Get the hell out of here before I call the cops,” Cole spits as Travis pushes himself up on shaky legs. His lip is split and blood has formed at his temple, but I feel nothing. My whole body is shaking.
“Are you fucking him, Marlowe?” Travis seethes, taking a step forward.
Cole instinctively throws his arm out to the side, caging me in behind him. “I told you to get the hell out.”
“You promised me, Mar,” Travis whispers, and I can hear the pain in his voice. “You said you wouldn’t leave me.”
“And you promised me you’d get well,” I reply before I can think better of it.
Cole’s arm fully encircles me now, resting against the small of my back as he holds me firmly against his backside. I grip his tee in my hands as I blink rapidly to keep the tears at bay.
“It was just a one time thing, Mar,” Travis tries to tell me, and I feel Cole scoff. “I swear it won’t happen again.”
“Claire needs stability.” I take a small step to the side so I can look Travis in the eye, yet Cole’s arm never strays from its position in front of me, ready to shield me should he need to. “You can’t provide that for her. If you go back to rehab, finishthe program, and stay clean, then we can talk. But I can’t do this anymore, Travis.”
I watch as he runs a hand through his hair, messing it up even more than it already was. “I love you, Marlowe. You said you wouldn’t go anywhere.”
“And I won’t,” I say before I can think better of it. “But right now, I need to put Claire first. And you need to put yourself first.”
“You owe it to me,” he says through clenched teeth. “You owe it to us to wait for me.”
“She doesn’t owe you shit, asshole,” Cole snaps, and I notice that his other hand is fisted roughly at his side. “Get out of here. This is your last chance.”
Travis looks at me like he wants to apologize, like he wants to wrap me in his arms and never let me go. He looks as though he has forgotten the last twenty minutes and that it’s all rushing back as he glances at the couch with tears in his eyes.
As he looks back at Cole and me, his jaw tightens before he audibly swallows, his attention on Cole. “Take care of her for me until I come back for her, yeah?”
Cole simply stares at him in silence. Travis casts one last glance in my direction before he turns around and heads for the front door. The second I hear the door close behind him, a whoosh of air escapes my lungs and my knees buckle.
I’m caught in a pair of muscular arms before I hit the floor, and he carefully leads me over to the couch and sits me down. Cole hastily wraps his arm around me, holding me firmly against his chest as I cry.
“What are you doing here?” I ask as he rubs a soothing hand on my back, the other cupped against the back of my head.
“I called him.” Pulling back, I see Neve standing in the hallway, a mix of concern and anger covering her features. “I noticed in our shared maps that he was closest.”
I give her a sad smile as a fresh round of tears comes to my eyes. She practically runs over and leaps onto the couch, joining me in Cole’s embrace as she holds me tightly.
“It’ll be okay, Mar,” Neve whispers, her head on my shoulder. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
CHAPTER SIX
A SUNDAY IN APRIL
“My god, I need coffee,” I groan as I roll over, almost falling onto the floor. I crack an eye open and realize I’m on the couch rather than in my bed. A second later, I also realize I’m not even on my couch. Lifting my head despite the pounding headache, I notice Blue laying on the floor in only her bra and underwear, and I can’t stop the laugh that slips past my lips.
“What the hell happened last night?” She asks with a scratchy voice. I slowly climb to my feet and make my way into her kitchen, looking for some water and Advil.
Pulling a bottle of water from the fridge and the meds off the counter, I walk back out to her. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you made us do tequila shots.” I extend the bottle in her direction.
Blue’s eyes widen as she sits up, a look of recognition dawning on her guilty face. She cautiously takes the bottle from me and tosses two pills into her mouth before she reaches for the bottle of water. Once the meds go down, I snatch the bottle back and slip out two Advil for myself.
