𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇 | Evansson¹

Chapter 19

Hello! It's been so long and here's chapter nineteen for you guys! Thank you for the support and patience! :))

]|I{•------» CHAPTER NINETEEN «------•}I|[

Several days had passed, and somehow, the things between them were getting so much better. Scarlett sighed as she checked her phone again. The car was already waiting outside, and she needed to leave soon. But instead of heading straight for the door, she lingered in the kitchen, watching Callie eat her breakfast.

"You're leaving now?" Callie asked, barely looking up from her plate.

Scarlett nodded, forcing a smile. "Yeah, just for a few days."

Callie only hummed in response, spearing a piece of pancake with her fork.

Scarlett wanted to sit down, but work was calling, like it always did. She stepped closer and pressed a kiss to Callie's cheek. "I'll call you, okay?"

This time, Callie did look up to her mother. "Okay."

Scarlett turned to Chris, who was leaning against the counter with a coffee cup in hand, watching them. "Thanks for handling things here," she said softly.

Chris shrugged. "You know I don't mind."

She gave him a grateful smile, and he followed her towards the door. "Scar?" He spoke again.

She turned back. There was something different in his voice-uncertain. "What are we doing?" he asked.

Scarlett frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

Chris exhaled, setting his coffee down. "This. Us. I mean, I'm here all the time now. With you. With Callie. Are we just gonna keep acting like we're only like this, or are we-" He hesitated, searching her face. "Or is this something more?" He was waiting for an answer, a real one.

Scarlett's heart thumped painfully in her chest. She hadn't let herself think about it too much, not when she was still trying to piece things back together with Callie- not when Chris had been her one constant.

"I..." She trailed off, gripping the strap of her bag. "We agreed to this." His jaw tensed, but he gave a small nod.

"I just-I don't want to mess this up," she admitted, her voice quiet.

Chris looked at her for a long moment before finally saying, "Me neither."

Scarlett swallowed, unsure of what else to say. An echoing silence hung between them. And right now, she didn't have time to figure it out. So, she forced another smile, lighter this time. "I should go. I'll see you two again in two days."

She hated it. She hated that conversation. She hated how he asked the very same question he did when he was drunk a few years ago.

It made her feel guilty.

It made her feel bad- it made her sad.

She wanted to try- to give it a chance but was scared of the consequences that would follow. She damn knew that Chris was willing to give it a go. Hell, if given a chance, he would give everything up just to make their family complete- just to make her say yes.

But, now maybe wasn't the right time to put themselves first. Maybe, someday, when things go as they planned, maybe by then, things would be different.

Perhaps she would allow him to take her heart fully.

♡