Pulled(60)
Author: A.L. Jackson

More than that, I wanted a child. I desperately wanted to be a mother. Yeah, they’d cut me open and removed the ability, but they couldn’t remove the ache, the need to hold, feed, and nurture. The pangs of envy I’d feel as I’d walk through a store and hear a child cal mommy as if no one else in the world existed. The way she’d pick up that precious little person and ease his or her fears. The way she loved and coddled. I wanted to be her, and I would never be.

What troubled me most was the way Daniel felt about it. I’d never all owed myself to really consider how broken he was over Eva. It was as if when I lost the ability to become a parent, he did too. That scared me because he was actually going to be one, and I wasn’t sure he could handle it.

But if I put everything together, that question was easy to answer.

“I wish he was mine.”

“I wish he was mine.”

After lunch, I sat in the office checking my e-mail when that welcomed tingle ran down my spine. My phone vibrated with a text, asking if it was clear.

Daniel was here. I bounced in excitement. Yep, officially fifteen again.

I skipped out of the office and raced to the front door, swinging it open the very moment he topped the stairs. As soon as the door closed behind him, he swept me into his arms, and buried his face in my hair as he breathed me in, my heart thrumming in contentment.

“Hi,” I whispered into his chest, the buttons of his black dress shirt pressing into the side of my face.

“Hi.” His lips pressed into the top of my head.

“Look at us, sneaking around again.”

“We can’t win, can we?”

He pulled back, just enough so that I could see his gorgeous face, his hazel eyes bril iant and filled with fire, the sorrow of yesterday gone. “We already won, Melanie.” He was right. Maybe the battle wasn’t over, but it was already won. We had each other, and that was the only thing that mattered.

“I can’t stay, but I had to see you.”

I squeezed him tighter. “No, stay with me.” He groaned, holding my face as he kissed me, his lips lingering. “You have no idea how badly I want to take you up on that, but I have a meeting in a half hour that I can’t miss. Can you get away tomorrow night? I want to take you to dinner.”

“Like on a date?” I laughed at the absurdity of the whole situation.

He grinned down at me, red-faced. “Yeah, like on a date.”

He was too adorable. And truly, there was something really appealing about pretending we were just a normal couple for a few hours.

“Wel , in that case, I’d love to.”

He tore himself from me when our chaste kiss goodbye evolved into five minutes of much, much more. His voice was low and rough against my ear. “I love you.” I stood in the middle of the living room, gasping, trying to bring myself down from the high I was riding as he walked out the door.

I scrambled to my phone, fumbling through the numbers with my trembling fingers. “Katie, I need your help.”

I stood in front of Katie’s full -length mirror, appreciating the way the simple, black, jersey dress hung on my body. The scoop neck revealed just a modest amount of cle**age, and the three-quarter length flared sleeves brushed against my forearms. The only problem was the skirt; it was a bit too tight and short—really short.

Of course, Katie paired it with four-inch heels.

“I don’t know, Katie. It might be a little much.”

“Are you kidding me? You look amazing.” The doorbel rang, declaring that the time to worry about my appearance was over. Katie pushed me toward the door.

“Go. Have fun.” She smiled warmly at me, giving her encouragement. I hugged her, thanked her for taking care of me, and moved to fol ow her from the bedroom. I stopped short as I reached the threshold, reaching for her arm.

She looked at me over her shoulder, confused.

I mouthed, “Wait.”

Something didn’t feel right.

We both stood silently, straining to listen as Shane unlocked the door. A very familiar voice cut through the air. My fingers curled into the tense muscles of Katie’s arm when we both realized Nicholas was here.

“Yeah.” Shane sounded irritated. “No, that’s fine…

Yeah, she’s here, that is her car…I don’t know, they rented movies or some shit…Why don’t you just cut her a break for once?” Shane was arguing with Nicholas—over me. I desperately fought to hear the other side of the conversation but couldn’t with Nicholas’s hushed tone. I’m sure I looked terrified because Katie squeezed my arm, reassuring me it would be okay.

Tonight was the first time I’d ever left Nicholas a note saying I was going out for the evening. In my mind, this was just one of the painful steps I would have to take to extract myself from his control. Little by little, I would free myself.

Stil , I hated for Shane and Katie to suffer because of me, but they’d accepted me as family and that’s just what families did for each other.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the door slammed, and Katie rushed down the hallway.

“What the hel was that about?” she demanded.

Shane exhaled loudly, his body tense. “He knows something’s up.”

I wrung my hands to calm my flaring nerves. “What do you mean? Is he suspicious about Daniel.” He shook his head before striding into the kitchen.

Katie and I followed close behind. He pulled a beer from the fridge and downed half of it. “No, I don’t think so. He just knows something’s changed.”

The bel rang again. This time I knew who it was, but Shane told us to stay in the kitchen. Seconds later, Daniel trailed Shane to where we waited. He took me in his arms, visibly shaken and full of apologies. “Baby, this is so messed up. I’m so sorry.”

I cut him off by pressing my lips to his. We couldn’t let it ruin our night. He returned my kiss, though I could feel the despondency in his touch. He rested his forehead on mine, his eyes strained as he gazed down at me. “I don’t know how long I can take this.”

“Al right you guys, get out of here,” Katie urged, trying to pul everyone from the heaviness threatening to suck us under. Daniel nudged me, breaking our embrace. I gathered my purse and jacket from the kitchen counter, once again, feeling self-conscious that the dress was too much.

I shrugged into my jacket, tying the belt around my waist, and reached for Daniel’s extended hand.

We thanked Shane and Katie and bid them

goodbye, knowing this night would never have happened without them.