Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 61532 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61532 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 308(@200wpm)___ 246(@250wpm)___ 205(@300wpm)
“I’m going to repeat and say you’ve fucked her into a coma. Good luck, buddy.” He slaps my back and walks to his own car.
Fuck! What am I meant to do with her now?
Olympia’s in my bed, asleep. I turn away from her because if she wakes up and sees me staring, she might freak more than she already will. It’s been a few hours since we got back, and I’ve only managed to sleep a bit. She, on the other hand, still hasn’t damn well moved. The sun’s now shining through my curtains, and I can see Charles starting to stir in his cot. I throw the blanket over her that she threw off and get up out of the bed to retrieve him. He smiles his perfect baby smile when he sees me, and I instantly forget I haven’t had much sleep to function and that my life is fucked up right now apart from this beautiful little bundle in my arms.
“Is she okay?” my father asks as he sits at the counter with his coffee and newspaper.
“I think so.”
He looks toward my room and nods while standing. “I’ll take a shower then, you need anything?”
I shake my head as he walks off. As he does, she opens the door of my bedroom with her eyes wide as she peers around the place until they stop on me. She walks out, her arms crossed over her chest as she makes her way to us.
“He’s so beautiful.” Olympia’s hand reaches down, and she touches the top of his head.
“He is, isn’t he,” I say confirming but still watching her closely as she stands up straight and gazes down at me.
“Sorry about last night. I wasn’t really… well, I don’t know… Thanks, anyway.” She goes to turn, but I can still see the faraway look in her eyes.
“Olympia, hold Charles, will you?”
Her eyebrows raise. “Really?”
I nod, and she takes him from me. She peeps down at him and automatically starts singing to him. I walk away when she sits with him in her arms and watch from the kitchen instead. I make us a simple breakfast, and when I walk back out, she’s quiet, just staring at him.
“Eat, I’m sure you’re hungry.”
“What happened to his mother, Darby?” She looks up. “She’s never here. From what I understand you have him all the time.”
“I do, he’s my son.”
She nods. “So, what happened?”
“She’s dead.”
Shock is written all over her face—she didn’t expect that answer.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”
“It’s fine, really.”
“Did you love her?” she asks after a moment of silence.
“No, I did not. But I do appreciate now what she gave me.”
“Charles,” she says with a smile. “I would too, he’s truly a beautiful gift.”
“He is,” I say as I watch her. I take him from her arms and carry him to his cot. When I come back out, she’s gone, and her plate of food sits uneaten.
“I like her,” my father says surprising me as I turn around. His arms are crossed over his chest, and he’s dressed in boots and jeans.
“You’re not the only one.”
“Oh, I know. Falcon raves about her,” my father says, making me laugh with his eye roll. “He still hasn’t changed much, has he?”
“Well, he isn’t sleeping with every woman these days, so that’s a major change,” I say.
“True, true…” he pauses, checking the plate of food.
“Are you going to let her walk away like that?” I look behind me to the door that’s now shut.
“Yes. Yes, I am.” Then I walk past him, straight to my room which now smells of her, and instantly I’m hard.
18
Olympia
Barren’s sitting on my steps when I get back. He rises to his full height and brushes off as he stands. “You’ve been gone all night.”
“What does it matter?”
“It matters, Olympia. I was worried.”
“Well, you don’t have to be.”
“Come home with me, please?”
“No, I don’t want to.” I walk past him to go inside, and he grips my arm.
“Just for the day then. Come back… just for the day. You don’t work tonight, right?” I shake my head. “Please, Father isn’t well. You need to come back.”
I pull my arm free from his grasp. “What’s wrong with him? Or is this simply a ploy to get me back there?”
“It’s not. You need to come back.”
“I need to pack a bag then.”
Barren follows me upstairs and doesn’t say a word until we reach my apartment. “Where were you last night?”
“You don’t get to know every detail about my life, Barren.”
“You were with him, weren’t you? Does he know?”
I spin around and slap his face. “You shut up. Right. Fucking. Now.” My finger is pointing at him while my breathing is heavy. He nods his head and stays quiet until I walk away, packing a bag and coming back out to see him standing there with his hands in his pockets.