Page 39 of Louder Than Words

Clothes are tossed everywhere.

And then realization washes over me, and numbness spreads through me like static.

What if Trevor never brought them back? What if he decided to just…keepthem? Keep them from me, knowing damn well there’s nothing I can do about it until after Thanksgiving.

Would he do that?

“Hey, what’s going on?”

I turn quickly, finding Ana standing by the door. Her eyes sweep across the room until they land on me, and she steps further into the room.

“They’re… do you think?” I can’t even get the entire sentence out.

The room starts to spin as hot tears roll down my cheeks. I don’t even bother waiting for Ana to put two and two together, I just throw myself down the stairs, feet thundering with each step.

I nearly slip on the rug as I tear around the corner and into the kitchen until my hands catch on the sliding door.

Then I finally hear them, and it’s like the air rushes back into my lungs all at once.

Sliding the doors open, the sound of the girls running and laughing fills my ears. I don’t think I’ve ever been more thankful for anything in my entire life.

I stand there silently, watching the girls dart through the backyard with my mother in tow, trying to keep up. Then Lydia spots me standing in the doorway.

“Mama!” she shrieks, already running toward me.

Charlotte perks up immediately, following her sister until they both crash into my legs.

I bend down and scoop them up in the biggest hugs I can manage.

“Hi, Momma! Where’s Jax?” Charlotte beams up at me, proudly showing off the new gap where her tooth used to be.

I smile, gently holding her chin. “Oh, baby, he’s—”

But every thought dies on my tongue as I catch movement out of the corner of my eye.

Trevor’s coming up the stairs to the deck landing, hands shoved in his pockets, eyes fixed on me.

I tense, forcing my gaze back to Charlotte and lowering my voice. “Jax said he’ll call you tonight.”

“Yay!” she says, clapping and jumping wildly. She grabs Lydia’s hand and tugs hard. “Come on! Let’s go play.”

Mom stands on the grass, just a few feet away, hands planted firmly on her hips. She narrows her eyes, glancing between me and the back of Trevor’s thick head.

“Can you two play nice?” she asks, her voice serious.

Trevor chuckles, eyes never leaving mine, and I feel ice run down my spine. Then he nods. “We’ll be fine.”

The moment Mom turns away and chases the girls off, my eyes pin on Trevor.

I fold my arms across my chest. “So. What are you doing here?”

He tilts his head, the sun catching his curly blonde hair. “Funny you should ask. I was just wondering why youweren’t. Had Marissa drop me off so we could talk. Clearly that was a waste of thought.” He pauses, scanning over my face before something clicks. Then he smirks, shaking his head. “Let me guess. You thought I wasn’t gonna bring them back.”

I swallow hard, trying to steady myself before forcing out, “What did you want to talk about?”

I watch him as his eyes slowly rake over me and I feel almostviolated. From head to toe, his gaze burns every inch of my skin. But then his attention stops on my neck, and if I thought my skin was burning before? It’s damn near on fire now.

Fucking hell.