71. Zane

71

ZANE

Daniel takes one step into the condo and immediately takes two steps back.

"It's worse than I thought." His eyes are wide as he pans from the living room covered in action figures, Legos, and unfinished puzzles, to the countertop littered with old pizza boxes and takeout containers.

I drag him through the door and slam it shut behind him. "I've gone a few days without tidying. If you're going to be an asshole about it, you can leave."

"I bet you'd like that."

"I would," I reply without an ounce of guilt. "I haven't been ignoring your calls because I'm dying for company."

Daniel holds up his hands in surrender. "You're lashing out. That's fine. Taylor told me to expect that. She's dealing with the same kind of emotional rollercoaster at her apartment, too."

I want to ask if he's talking about Mira. Is she staying with Taylor?

By the time I brought Aiden home from the hospital, Mira's room was cleared out and her keys were on the countertop. I stood in the doorway to the empty guest room for a full minute, expecting to blink and see the closet full of dresses and a stack of books on her nightstand.

But the room stayed empty.

So I pulled out my phone and texted Hanna. I'm looking for a new nanny. Send me the resumes you still have and post another ad.

She's forwarded me a few resumes, but no one is right for the job. So I've been home with Aiden all week.

"Mira is staying with Taylor," Daniel chimes in. "In case you were wondering."

"I wasn't."

I move into the kitchen to start clearing away all of the trash I should have taken care of days ago. But between fighting with Aiden to take his antibiotics twice a day and trying to navigate life without a second set of hands around to help, something had to give. That something was the inhabitability of the kitchen.

Daniel snorts, but doesn't call me out on the lie. "Where's Aiden?"

"Napping."

It's been almost a week since Mira left and Aiden is finally back to something resembling a regular schedule. The first few nights, he woke up every hour wondering where she was.

He's still asking me several times a day, but at least he's sleeping at night.

"Okay, cool," Daniel says. "That means I don't need to worry about any kid hears overhearing me when I ask, What in the fuck do you think you are doing? "

"I'm cleaning the kitchen." I pick up a plate of chicken nuggets and ketchup that Aiden didn't touch at lunch. I thought it was a rule that kids loved frozen chicken nuggets, but my kid must be the exception.

"That's not what I mean and you fucking know it, man!" Daniel lunges across the counter and swats the plate out of my hand. It crashes against the cabinet and splatters ketchup everywhere.

"Okay, that was more dramatic than I planned," he admits with a wince. "But I was talking about what you're doing with Mira. Or, I guess, what you're not doing with Mira. Why did you kick her out?"

I rip a paper towel from the roll and hold it out to Daniel with a scowl.

He wards it away like it's possessed. "I'm only cleaning it up if you answer my questions."

"You're going to clean it up before I break the only good leg you have left," I grit out.

"Threatening to hobble your already-hobbled friend is a step further than lashing out." He snatches the paper towel from my hand and awkwardly bends down to clean the cabinet. "But I know you're hurting, so I forgive you."

"I'm not hurting, goddammit. I fired my nanny and am looking for a new one. It happens."

Daniel whips around. "You fired her?"

"Don't act like Taylor hasn't told you everything."

"Oh, Taylor would love to tell me everything, but Mira hasn't told her anything," he drawls. "Mira just showed up at Taylor's door with all of her stuff a week ago, bawling her eyes out. Taylor hasn't been able to get anything useful out of her since."

A sympathy pang burns in my chest. I swallow it down.

Daniel tosses the ketchup-y napkins in the trash can and faces me, arms crossed. "So? What happened?"

"She took Aiden to the emergency room without telling me."

Daniel blinks. "Riiiight. And…?"

" And she should have told me! She should have figured out how to get in touch with me. Aiden was there for hours before I found out."

He was unconscious the entire time. When he finally woke up, he couldn't even remember how he'd gotten there.

"What are you talking about, Z? You're mad at her for… making sure your son was healthy?"

I'm mad at her for taking up so much space in my brain.

I'm mad at her for keeping pieces of herself tucked away where I can't reach them.

I shake the thoughts loose. "When you say it like that, it sounds—I should have been the one there with him. I'm his parent, not her. She should have tried harder to get me on the phone."

"She called me," Daniel blurts.

I frown. "What?"

"She called me," he repeats. "Mira was trying to figure out where you were and wanted to know if I could find you. I was on the other side of town, so I told her to call Hanna."

"But I saw Hanna that afternoon. When Jace and I were walking to the locker room, she was waiting in the hallway. She didn't give me any messages."

Daniel raises his hands. "Look, I don't know everything. But what I do know is that Mira tried to get in touch with you. When she couldn't, she made sure your son was taken care of. Considering I'm fucking my boss's daughter, I don't think I'm a Human Resources expert, but that doesn't seem like a fireable offense to me."

Something must have happened. Hanna must not have gotten the message. Or there was a misunderstanding.

Some puzzle pieces aren't clicking together.

But in the end, it doesn't even matter: Mira was right. I wasn't mad at her about Aiden or anything that happened that day.

I was tired of feeling like my son— and my heart—was in the hands of someone I barely knew. Especially when just the tiny scraps of herself she was willing to share were enough to already have me hooked.

What would've happened to me if I'd gotten all of her?

"It's complicated," I say finally.

Daniel sighs. "Love always is."