“But—”
A single heated look from the furious woman across from her cut off Kylie’s protests. “Kylie Anne. I am not in the mood to argue with you right now. So I suggest you do as you are told, right now, before I decide that you need to spend the next week confined to Mommy’s apartment without any video games or books.”
Shock had Kylie jumping to her feet and hurrying for the bathroom door. But she paused, gathering her courage to turn back and look her Mommy in the eye.
“I’m really sorry we broke the rules. But I promise when you’re ready to listen we had a really good reason.”
“I am very sure you believe that.”
More tears blurred Kylie’s vision. “Can I?—”
“One week of restriction, Kylie Anne. Would you like to make it two?”
But I just want a hug.Apparently her Mommy wasn’t ready for that, though, so shook her head and closed the bathroom door behind her.
Somehow, she managed to keep the tears at bay until she was in the shower.
Addison
“What the hell, Addison?”
The words, and the fury behind them, had her jerking around to stare at her boy. Danny was sitting up in bed, his hair mussed, but looking no less formidable for it. Because she needed, desperately, to be wearing something other than the flimsy excuse for a towel currently wrapped around her she grabbed her suitcase and tossed it on the bed and unzipped it. “Watch how you speak to me, little boy.”
“No.” Anger flared in his eyes. “We’re not doing that right now. I’m not Little and you’re sure as hell not acting like a Mommy.”
His words were a dagger straight to the heart. Because he was right, and she’d already been feeling guilty about the hurt she’d been able to feel radiating off her babygirl before he’d even spoken.
Still, there were rules and a structure to their relationship that needed to remain intact even when they were angry with each other. Moving quickly, she yanked on her underwear and bra before reaching for her jeans. “You may not be Little, but you are still my boy. If you have something to say to me, you can say it respectfully.”
Color slashed across his cheekbones but he didn’t back down. “I’m not sure I can say what I want to say respectfully.”
Fully dressed now and feeling more settled for it, she raked a hand through her damp hair and pinned him with a cool stare. “Then maybe we should wait until we’re both a little less angry to have this conversation.”
“Whatever.”
Temper and guilt warred inside her, twisting her stomach into knots. “All right, you can have a week of restriction right alongside your sister.”
“Fuck that. You’re not even giving us a chance to explain. Kylieneededyou last night. That was why we came all the wayout here. But you’re too caught up in your fucking power trip to let her explain why she needed her Mommy.”
Her gaze darted to the bathroom door, behind which the shower was still running, before looking back at her furious boy. “What happened?”
“Oh now you want to listen?” he asked with a sneer. “After you broke Kylie’s heart? That Little girl adores you, and you just completely shattered her.”
You broke me, Addison. You broke me and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to put myself back together.
More daggers. Shredding her heart to pieces with every word. “You’re right.” Even to her own ears, her words sounded hollow. Empty. “This was all a huge mistake. Tell Kylie I’m sorry. You both deserve better.”
“What?” Alarm rang in his tone. “Addison, wait!”
But she couldn’t wait. Couldn’t stand to see the damage she’d done, yet again, to the people she loved the most. Turning, she ran for the door.
Danny
What the fuck just happened?
Standing at the closed hotel room door, he replayed the scene over and over in his mind, trying to make sense of it.
But it didn’t make sense. They’d been arguing, sure, but then she’d gone white as the sheets on their bed and bolted for the door without even bothering to get all of her things. She’d stopped just long enough to grab her shoes and purse but nothing else. And he’d been too stunned by the sudden change to stop her.
