Page 101 of Forbidden Romeo
As Holden’s whore.
As McCay’s bitch.
They had succeeded in fucking breaking me.
But that was the thing with sea glass, wasn’t it?
Years broken and buried in the sand can produce something beautiful.
Give me time.
I’ll shine again.
CHAPTER 39
“Holden, wait!”
I chase after him as he stands at the corner, trying to hail a cab. Unfortunately, it’s rush hour in New York City and all the cabs are taken by executives rushing to get to work.
“Mother fucker,” he grunts. “Are there seriously no cabs to be had in this city?”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Where am I going? I’m going to fucking scream at McCay and my dad for this bullshit.” He snaps, waving my journal in my face.
“That’s stupid! First of all, as if they care. They knew what they were doing and I doubt they give a fuck that you found out.”
“Doesn’t mean they should get away with it.” Another yellow cab whizzes by us. “What the fuck!?” Holden shouts, pulling his phone out. “Great. Ubers are all twenty minutes away.”
I sigh, knowing I’m not going to win this battle. “Your dad lives ten blocks from here. We can just walk.”
“Damn right we can.” He takes my hand and begins crossing the street in spite of the fact that the light is about to turn red.
If I’m lucky, the walk will give him time to cool down.
Spoiler: The walk did not give him time to cool down. We arrive at his dad’s townhouse on Riverside Drive and Holden pounds on the door nonstop. It must have been two minutes of knocking when finally the door swings open.
Both Holden and I freeze, blinking, unmoving at the sight of a little boy answering the door. “Jamie?” Holden says, his voice raspy with disbelief.
“Uncle Holden!” Jamie rushes forward and launches himself into Holden’s arms. Somehow, Holden catches him despite being shell shocked.
From the kitchen, the door whips open, hitting the wall behind it with a bang and Megan comes storming out in a crisp, white chef’s outfit. “I’ll be back at two p.m. sharp when this catering gig is finished.” She nearly topples over a couple of stacked moving boxes and mutters a curse beneath her breath. “Jesus Christ, Erik.”
She skids to a stop, Holden’s dad right behind her like a deer in the headlights, seeing me and Holden standing there in his foyer.
Holden puts Jamie down and ruffles his hair. “Hey little man. I’ve got a whole box of Transformers under the bed in my old room. Fourth door on the left. Can you go find me Bumblebee?”
“Yeah!” Jamie’s eyes go wide and he takes off running up the stairs.
Once he’s gone, Holden turns back to Megan and Erik. “What the fuck is going on? Why won’t you return my calls?” he asks Megan.
She plants her hands on her hips, hackles raised and ready for a fight. But quickly with her exhale, she sags and leans against the wall beside her. “I’m sorry. I was… figuring stuff out. Which I know sounds lame, but the truth was when you said you wanted to be Jamie’s dad no matter what the paternity test said? I had the realization that I didn’t want Jamie to just have any dad. I wanted him to have his real dad. You’ve been cleaning up your family’s messes for years. This wasn’t your burden to take on.”
“Besides,” Erik snorted from behind her, “I have a lot more to offer in terms of child support, isn’t that right, Megan?”
Her neck snaps around to glare at him. “And Jamie and I both have a lot more to lose if you’re an asshole. Need I remind you of the terms of our child support agreement?”
“You did the paternity test?” I ask, slow to realize what’s going on here.