43. Chapter Forty-One

Chapter Forty-One

Tatum

I find a duffel bag in Devon’s closet, and as quickly as possible, I shove all sorts of stuff in it. The last thing I want is to be caught in here by her brother. He was pissed when I left the party, and this would set him off more. Now is not the time for him to find out I’m sleeping with his sister.

I have no idea what head space he’s in after finding out he has a kid and she’s been right under his nose for three years. Add that to his sister being mad at him? He can’t be doing well.

But it’s his fault. He shouldn’t have lied to Devon. She has every right to be mad at him and at Summer for what they did. I can’t worry about Dane right now, though. As much as I should check on him because he’s my friend, Devon needs me too. All I want to do is get to her. Which is why I agreed to stay at my house—the last place on the planet I want to be.

The duffel is stuffed full when I leave her room. If there’s something she doesn’t have that she needs, I’ll buy it for her. I can’t waste time handpicking items .

When I reach my car, Dane still isn’t here. I’m not sure if he stayed at the party with Summer or if he took off too. I’m sure he’ll call me at some point to let me know what’s going on. Or because he needs to talk. Or maybe he’ll bury himself in work. You never know with him.

By the time I get to my house, Devon is already there, waiting in her car. She gets out when I do, and I drop the bag at my feet to pull her into my arms. I keep her there until she makes the move to pull away.

“Thank you for this.”

I kiss her gently. “Anything for you—always.”

She gives me a tired smile. I pick up the bag, put my arm around her, and steer us toward the front door.

“Want to order takeout and watch movies?” I ask once we’re inside.

“I will never say no to that.”

We head up to my room, and I put her bag by my closet doors. When I turn, I find her looking around the room curiously.

“I don’t remember the last time I was in here,” I admit. Could be months. Could be years.

“Looks the same as I remember it.”

“It’s probably exactly the same.”

Which is really fucking sad.

She sits on the edge of the bed, her attention on me.

“Do you hate being here because it reminds you of your dad?” she asks.

I shove my hands in my pockets. “I hate being here because it reminds me of my shitty childhood. Everything here is cold. It has no meaning. There are memories at your house. Life. Makes me feel a little better, I guess.”

She smirks. “So, you’re not as cold-hearted as you make the world believe?”

I smile, moving to sit beside her. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

Huffing out a humorless laugh, she asks, “Have you talked to Dane?”

I shake my head. “I’m sure he’ll call. I won’t answer if you don’t want me to.”

“You should. He needs a friend right now, and I can’t be there for him. Not yet.”

I take her hand, linking our fingers together.

“I don’t think he meant to hurt you. You know that, right?”

“I’m pretty sure lies aren’t meant to hurt anyone, but they always do.” Ain’t that the truth. She gestures to her bag with her hand. “Did you pack me comfy clothes?”

“Not a clue what I tossed in there. If you want something comfortable, I can give you mine.”

“Yes, please.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

I find a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt in my dresser that I give her. As she changes, I pull out a pair for myself and change too. After that, we head downstairs to the kitchen. I pull the stack of takeout menus from the drawer and hand them to Devon as I get us each a bottle of water. The house isn’t stocked with food, but I make sure there is always water in the fridge for when the cleaning service comes weekly. If they didn’t come, I’d likely have animals taking up residence here.

Devon hands me a menu. “How did I know?” I say with a smirk .

I knew she’d pick pizza.

“Who wouldn’t pick pizza?”

“Many people, actually.”

“Well, they’re all crazy.”

“I’ll order this on one condition,” I say, holding the menu up.

“What’s that?”

I pull her to me, burying my face in her neck. “I get you for dessert.”

She giggles, and it’s the sweetest sound. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

An hour later, we’re sitting on the floor in the TV room, our backs to the couch, the TV on, and the pizza box between us.

Devon chose White Chicks because it’s one of her favorite comedy movies. It has her laughing less than ten minutes in. I watch the movie, but I find myself watching her more. I hate being here, but she’s happy and content and that’s all I care about.

When we’re finished eating—half the pizza gone—I bring it to the kitchen. When I get back, Devon is lying on the couch. I lift her feet and sit, resting them on my lap. Her legs are smooth, and she sighs happily when I massage her muscles.

My phone rings, causing us both to look at it.

“It’s Dane,” I say.

“Can you put it on speaker?”

I nod, answering the call and putting it on speaker before I say anything. Devon pauses the movie.

“Hey,” I finally say.

“What. The. Fuck.”

“You’re telling me. ”

“I don’t even know what to say about any of this.”

“I wish I had advice for you, but I have no experience with hidden kids.”

I glance at Devon. She’s staring up at the ceiling, but I can see she’s intent on listening.

“Did she say why she didn’t tell you until now?” I ask when Dane doesn’t say anything.

“No. We didn’t talk. I’m stressed the fuck out. Not only over all that, but Dev is pissed at me. I have no idea where she is.”

I glance at her again, this time putting my hand on her knee. She gives a slight shake of her head, telling me not to say where she is.

“I’m sure she’s just trying to process all this.”

“Same, bro.”

“So, what now?”

“I need to talk to Summer when I get my head clear. I need to talk to Devon.”

“Have you called her?”

“Only a million times,” he huffs.

“She probably needs time.”

“I knew I should have told her when it happened, but Summer freaked out and thought Devon wouldn’t talk to her anymore, so I agreed not to say anything. I feel like shit over it because I’ve never kept anything from my sister.”

“Make sure you tell her that when you talk to her.”

“I plan to.” He sighs heavily, muttering under his breath. “A fucking kid? A kid, Tate. What the fuck?”

I nod absently. “That’s a big deal, Dane. What do you want to do? ”

“I want to raise my kid, obviously. Had she told me this from the beginning, I would have done the right thing. She didn’t give me the chance.”

“I commend you for that. Raising a kid and dealing with your father’s business won’t be easy.”

“I don’t care about easy. My father was always there for me, and I’ll do the same for my kid. Whatever it takes.”

Devon’s lips turn up into a little smile. I give her knee a squeeze.

“Give Summer and Devon a couple of days to calm down. Once everyone has their heads on straight, I’m sure it’ll all be figured out.”

“Yeah, I know. Where are you, anyway?”

“Working. There was an issue at one of the resorts I’m trying to handle.”

“And you tell me I work too much.” He huffs out a laugh. “It’s early as shit, but I need to sleep. I can’t handle all this. Talk to you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, of course.”

I end the call, putting my phone on the end table and looking at Devon. I wait to see if she’s going to say something.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from my brother, but I’m mad at him for keeping it from me.”

“And you have every right to be mad at him, but I think you should talk to him.”

She nods, shifting to her side and reaching for the remote. “I will. Eventually. Tomorrow or the day after. I don’t know. I need to figure this out in my head first.”

“You can stay here as long as you need. ”

She glances at me. “You’ll stay with me?”

I don’t want to stay here, but if she’s here…

“Of course I will.” I run my hand up and down her leg. She smiles softly and puts the movie back on.