TRINITY
I listened to the voice mail again. Hayes’s grandmother, telling me that if there was anything I needed or something she could do for me and Roy to let her know. She’d called Roy, but he hadn’t returned her calls. She hoped we knew how much they loved Tabitha.
I stared at my phone, trying to understand what this was about. Did I call her? She expected me to know what she was talking about. I searched the internet for Tabitha’s name and read the first thing that popped up.
Fire, explosion, gas leak … nothing left. I looked at the date—two days ago. Tabitha had died in an explosion caused by a gas leak. The house and everything in it had burned to the ground.
I didn’t feel anything. Should I?
The garage door opened and closed. I slipped my phone in my pocket. It was Gage. He stopped and studied me. Normally, I was never sitting in the living room when they returned in the evenings. I was sure it appeared odd now. The television wasn’t on. Just me, alone in the living room, sitting there.
“You good?” he asked.
I nodded. I was fine.
“Dinner is ready,” I told him.
His gaze searched my face again before he walked on through to the kitchen.
Huck hadn’t texted me all day. That wasn’t like him. Today must have been a busy one. I stood up and decided to go get a shower. I didn’t know how late he would be. It was already after seven.
My thoughts kept going back to the fact that Tabitha was dead. It was strange. Seeing Roy, then this, when I’d gone over half a year, barely thinking of them. I was sure Hayes would be disappointed in my thoughts. He’d have wanted me to feel something. Oddly enough, what I felt was relief. The house with all those terrible memories that haunted me was gone. Did it mean I was human that I felt this way, or did this merely justify Tabitha’s belief that I was evil?
After my shower, I curled up in the middle of Huck’s bed and closed my eyes. The next time I opened them, I knew I had been asleep, but I didn’t know for how long. Sitting up, I looked around for any sign that Huck had come home. When I didn’t see anything, I got off the bed and checked my phone. It was after twelve in the morning. No text or call from Huck.
Are you okay? I texted him.
I waited several minutes and no response. I was now officially worried. Pulling on a pair of shorts with Huck’s shirt I’d been asleep in, I headed for the stairs. Didn’t he know that I would worry? I knew that he did dangerous things. Not coming home or explaining why was concerning.
When I reached the main floor of the house, I heard voices. Feeling somewhat relieved, I followed the sound. It was coming from the living room. Gage and Levi were talking, but I didn’t hear Huck. I heard Gage say my name, and I stopped before walking in so they couldn’t see me.
Gage lowered his voice. “I don’t know what to tell her if she asks. He hung up the fucking phone. Maybe he texted her.”
“Do you think he’s with her?” Levi asked.
“He’s drunk. It’s not like him.” Gage paused. “I don’t know.”
“Why would he get drunk?”
“Fuck if I know.”
“Blaise will know. Huck tells him shit.”
“If I’ve got to go down to Devil’s tonight, I’m gonna be pissed,” Gage grunted.
“Liam will handle it if he has to.”
“Can’t believe he went to fucking Devil’s.”
“What? Since Liam bought it, the strippers have gotten way better. It’s kind of like family, right? Liam’s Cree’s grandfather, too, you know.”
Gage muttered a curse.
“I’m going to bed. He’s going through something, apparently,” Levi said, then yawned.
“What do you think Trinity is going to do if she finds this shit out? If he calls her drunk with ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me’ playing in the background and whatever female he’s with talking, it’s gonna be ugly.”
I stepped back, then turned and walked quietly away. I felt as if I’d been punched in the gut. When I reached the steps leading upstairs, I walked up them and back to the room I’d been given here. Tears burned my eyes. Not just because Huck had chosen to go to a strip club and get drunk, but also because he’d felt he needed to. This was what I’d known would happen.
My reaction to seeing Roy had probably been the turning point for him. He had acted different since that night. As if his head was somewhere else. Could I blame him? Even though he’d been sweet and held me, the more time he had to think about it, he had to have questioned a future with me. I hadn’t told him what Roy had done to me as a teenager. He didn’t know the abuse I’d suffered from Tabitha and Roy. I didn’t think telling him about it would help. He would just see how completely damaged I was.
Closing the bedroom door behind me, I wiped the tears from my face and looked around the room. Perhaps it was time I left. He was getting drunk because of me. The weight of dealing with this and us was getting to him. I didn’t know where to go or how to go anywhere. There was one person I thought I could trust, but I might be wrong there too. It was my only option.
I took the time to pack up the things that were actually mine, then climbed in bed in hopes that I could get some sleep. I would call Maddy first thing in the morning. Either she would understand and help me or she’d tell Blaise, who would tell Huck. But if Huck was ready to end things, then perhaps he’d be relieved I was leaving.
Every hour that passed, I silently cried and stared at the ceiling. I had heard Gage and Levi go to their rooms and close their doors hours ago. I kept my phone beside me, waiting on something from Huck. I hadn’t known my heart could hurt like this. But then I had never been in love. I should have known once he saw me at my worst, he’d change his mind. How could someone like me be a good mother? It was clear he wanted kids.
Tabitha was dead. That house was gone. But the horror that had marked me there didn’t leave. The things that had happened in those walls had left its imprint on my soul. It was cracked.
When the sunlight began to fill the room, I stood up and began to get ready. My body working on autopilot. Poor Huck. He’d had no idea when he started this with me how messed up I was. He didn’t want to face me with it. Tell me the truth about his feelings. I was naive to believe that sex meant more. I’d even started to think we had a bond that was stronger than my demons. My heart had been the liar, or maybe that was just me.
Once I was dressed and my bag was zipped up, I called the only person who might possibly help me.
I made the cinnamon rolls with extra icing, the way Gage liked them, and was sure to make extra biscuits with sausage gravy for Levi. Huck had never said that anything I made was his favorite, and I wasn’t sure if he had come home last night or not. But just in case, I made his usual choices. Gage walked into the kitchen as I was washing up the dirty pots and pans.
“My favorite way to wake up,” Gage said, but I didn’t turn to look at him. I was afraid I’d cry.
“Extra icing on the cinnamon rolls,” I replied as lightly as I could.
He groaned.
“Huck still asleep?” Gage asked, but I could hear the note of uncertainty in his voice. He was feeling me out. Trying to see what I knew. If Huck had contacted me.
“We both know Huck didn’t come back last night,” I replied.
The chime went off and I closed my eyes in relief. Maddy was here.
I could hear Gage’s chair legs as he pushed the chair back and stood up. He was checking the cameras to see who had just driven through the gate. I walked into the living room and picked up my bag. Gage was standing in the doorway, frowning at me when I turned around.
“You leaving us?” he asked, looking at my duffel bag. “That why Maddy is pulling up outside? Did Huck tell you to go?” His tone took on a hard edge. Like he was angry.
“He didn’t have to,” I replied. “And he shouldn’t have to.”
Gage took a step into the room. “What the fuck does that mean?”
I would not cry. I would not cry.
“It means that I heard you and Levi last night. I know about Huck and where he was.” I shrugged. “He’s had enough. You saw me the other night. I’m messed up, and that won’t ever go away. The things …” I stopped. There was no point in telling Gage this. “I’ve just got a lot of twisted shit in my head. Huck saw it, and he doesn’t want to hurt me.”
Gage ran a hand over his head. “Trinity, I swear to you, that is not what last night was. Something else is going on with him. It’s not you.”
The front doorbell rang, and I wanted to hug Gage. This was goodbye. I wished Levi were down here too. But it was time to go. Prolonging it would make it worse.
“Goodbye, Gage,” I said with a teary smile, then walked to the front door.
I heard his footsteps behind me, and I knew he was going to stop me. Maddy, however, was here, and she had said she understood. I opened the door, feeling as if my heart was going to shatter when I walked away from here.
Her gaze met mine, and she gave me a sad smile. “You sure?” she asked.
I nodded.
“Okay then.”
I stepped outside, but Gage was at the door, keeping me from closing it.
“You talked to Blaise before you came over here?” he asked, looking past me to Maddy.
She raised her eyebrows at his question. “I’m sorry, Gage, but when did I start answering to you?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “If anyone knows what’s going on with Huck, it’s Blaise. I’m just asking if he knows Trinity is leaving.”
“He does. I don’t keep things from my husband. Besides, he tracks my every move. Remember?” she replied with an annoyed frown.
Gage muttered a curse. “Okay then.” Then, his gaze shifted back to me. “But you’re wrong. I swear to you that Huck hasn’t changed his mind about you because of that night. If anything, he’s only gotten more possessive and protective. When he finds out you’re gone, he’s going to lose his shit.”
I didn’t respond because arguing with him would do neither of us any good. I wanted to be gone by the time Huck came home. Seeing him would be more than I could take.
“Let’s go,” Maddy said to me.
I started down the steps, passing her as I walked down to her silver SUV.
“Where’s she gonna go? We don’t even know if it’s fucking safe for her,” Gage called out.
“To the only other people I know who can keep her safe,” she replied.
I hadn’t discussed that with her. I had planned on having her take me to a cheap hotel.
“Oh, fucking hell,” Gage replied.
I didn’t wait for him to say more. I got in the car and closed the door. In all the times I had been alone, not once had I felt as completely lost as I did right now.
