Titus: Book Two of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Fifty-Six

Anna looked at her phone, ignoring the movie that played on the television and willing Titus to call back. She'd done the same last night, after she'd called Titus to see how he'd been doing. He hadn't answered then, either, leaving her where she was now. Staring at a slim piece of technology that was more silent than ever and lying to her friend about there being nothing wrong.

Sam let out a loud laugh then, giggling uncontrollably at something that Ron Burgundy had just said in his debut Anchorman. Anna's lips didn't even twitch; instead, she just felt the deep frown that hadn't left her face since yesterday, when Titus had walked out that door. The frown wouldn't be here, she knew, if the man would have at least called back. He always called back. Even when he didn't want to talk, he called back. But he hadn't, and Anna felt sick.

She felt sick, and she felt tired, and she hated it. She hated herself for not being able to trust Titus, for continuously comparing him to Hunter even though she knew that her husband was a man worthy of her trust – or at least, she thought she'd known. Now, now with these bullshit excuses and un-returned calls, Anna wasn't so sure. She didn't want to think it, but the suspicion just wouldn't go away.

She'd grown since the time Hunter had cheated on her, that was for sure. Ever since that asshole of a man had dumped her on her ass with a baby in her stomach, Anna'd changed into a woman who knew what she wanted. A woman who could be decisive in the people she trusted and the people she didn't. She had known that Titus was one whom she could depend on when times were tough, but now, she was at a loss.

The only thing keeping her from falling into an abyss that she knew awaited her was her friend. Anna'd called her last night, a little after ten at night. Sam had come right away, not even asking any questions until she'd arrived, a carton of chocolate ice cream in hand.

Her friend had asked what was wrong. Anna had lied, saying that she just missed seeing Sam every day. She knew that the sharp woman saw through it, but Sam hadn't said anything about it and had instead focused her attention on little Ella who had been abnormally quiet last night.

Usually, her baby woke up every four hours or so, at least two times a night, and then stayed up for most of the day. Even when she'd started coughing on her formula this morning, Ella'd stayed quiet, none of her usual crying coming out. It was as if she could feel exactly what Anna felt – as if she knew her daddy was absent and something was wrong.

Now her baby just slept, cuddled up in Anna's arms with her pacifier in plump, drooling lips. Cradling Ella closer to her hurting chest, she planted a kiss on her two-month-old's forehead before clearing her throat and directing her attention to the movie. She looked just in time to see Brick impale a man with a trident.

“Ha,” she said drily, not even a fake laugh coming through her lips.

“I thought you liked this movie.”

Anna didn't just like it; she loved it. As a devoted Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, and Paul Rudd fan, she'd made it her goal ten years ago to see the movie. The only thing that kept her from laughing at it now was the fact that Titus had been the one to take her to it. She'd been seventeen, and he'd been twenty-two. Both of them just a brother and sister back them.

“I like it,” she said after a few minutes. “Why else would I own it?”

Sam narrowed her eyes at her, but still said, “Okay.”

“Okay.” Anna nodded and fidgeted at her spot on the couch.

Her foot came in contact with the very same tub of chocolate ice cream Sam'd brought over last night, the plastic carton not chilling her skin. Anna wasn't surprised. After all her crying last night that she'd blamed on the hormones, she'd devoured that carton as if it were her last meal. The eggs she'd had for breakfast this morning contradicted her “last meal” splurge, but Anna didn't care. With the way things were going, Titus wouldn't be back any time soon.