Page 130 of End It All

Quincy groaned. "Why are you and Ash talking about this?"

"It's fun!" I laughed. "Finally, I have someone to bug with all my crazy questions. I asked Benito and Harlow too, but they had no idea what the actual words were."

The way Quincy looked at me screamedI'm going to kill you.Instead of being afraid, I just smiled at him even more. He couldnever scare me, not anymore. Yeah, he was a psychotic asshole, but he wasmy psychotic asshole.And my innocent angel. He was a study in duality, and I would love him every minute of every day for it.

"I'm getting a job," Quincy announced out of nowhere. "I swear I am."

I propped myself up on my elbows as he ground his hips against my lap. "Can the job be riding my dick just like this?"

"No." He pouted. "You make it cheap."

I burst out laughing as he descended on me and smothered my face in kisses. When I couldn't take it anymore, I shoved him off and rolled off the bed, shakily getting to my feet. If he wasn't careful, I was going to have to fuck him again and we’d done that twice before I had to leave for my job the night before. Somehow, I wasn't bored of him yet. And he was far from bored with me.

A knock drew my attention to the door. Groaning, I fixed my hair and clothes.

"Who's that?" Quincy asked.

I shrugged. "No idea." I checked my phone. "No one texted me."

Quincy checked his phone too. "Me either. Damn, I was about to get some good dick."

I rolled my eyes. "You get that all day."

"So what? It's the one thing I never get sick of!" he called after me.

Ignoring him, I walked through our apartment to the door. Quincy had really been trying hard. The pizza boxes had been tossed out, along with a bunch of old newspapers and magazines no one was ever going to read. Bit by bit, he made progress. Every once in a while, I would ask if we could throw away a stack of this or that and he either agreed or said not yet. Whatever his answer was, I always respected it. And I could see the good from doing that. He'd already set himself up a therapy appointmentfor the next few weeks that was strictly online. Words couldn't describe how proud I was of the man I called my husband.

For a minute, I stared at my ring.It's still weird as hell that I'm married.Another knock dragged me from my thoughts. I looked through the peephole to make sure it wasn't some asshole that was after us, and froze. There, standing in front of my door, wrapped in a black dress with a purse in her hand, was my mother. I ripped the door open so fast that I nearly slammed it into my face.

"Ma," I panted.

Immediately, her face lit up like it was Christmas morning. "Blakey!"

She threw herself into my arms and I wrapped her up tightly. I stumbled backward, dragging her into my apartment before I shut the door. My mother stayed glued to me the entire time, the sound of her crying and her rising and falling shoulders making me feel emotional.

"It's okay," I whispered. "I'm glad you're here."

She pulled back and reached out, cradling both my cheeks. "I'm so glad you're here. And safe. I missed you so much!"

I hugged her so hard I thought she would pop, but I couldn't help it. After all this time, I was with the one person I had spent all my days and nights with. Early morning breakfasts, late night movies, shots in the kitchen at two a.m. when we couldn't sleep with rounds of poker. My mother was everything I aspired to be. How could I not love her?

When she pulled back, she wiped her dark locks out of her face. Her eyes flickered down before a frown took over her face. She snatched up my hand and stared at the ring on my finger.

“I keep forgetting you're married,” she whispered. “How bizarre. Every time I think I’m used to it, I’m thrown all over again.”

Awkwardly, I chewed my lip. "Sorry you couldn’t be there.”

She smiled, patting my hand. “I understand. Still.” She cleared her throat. “It’s hard not to feel a little sad about it. But I’m happy at the end of the day. At least one of us isn’t cynical.”

"Thank you.” I frowned. “Dad told me everything, you know. Why did you lie and say he abandoned me?”

My mother licked her lips. “About that…” She sighed heavily. “What can I say? I did what I thought was best. To protect you. To protect us. Maybe it was wrong, but seeing you almost die because some asshole hated your father? It was a wake-up call. I had to run. I wouldn’t even take his money after that. I know we struggled, but I made the best decision I could.”

I nodded slowly. “You could have told me the truth.”

She laid a hand on my arm. “I tried, so many times, I did. But I was afraid you would go after him. Try to look for him. I never wanted this life for you, but it found you anyway. Maybe I was delusional.”

I couldn’t stand the way her eyes glistened, the threat of tears imminent. Yeah, I was still upset with her for hiding the truth, but after being in the Vitale’s world, I could see why she did it. Thankfully, it wasn’t too late. I could still get to know all of them.