The Thousand Words We Spoke (A Novella)

Chapter Sixteen

"Hey." Adam's voice came out scratchy from lack of use that day and he let out a cough to strengthen it. "I wasn't sure if you'd come."

Mia turned to look at him, prying her eyes away from the living room she hadn't seen in years. "Do you need me?" She didn't know why she asked him that question, but now that it was out there, Mia wanted to know the answer to it.

Adam scratched at his stubble, then crossed his arms, giving her another one of those forever looks. "Yes."

"Then I'm here," she told him in a soft voice. "I know things are broken between us, Adam, but we're still family and when you need me, I'll be here, just as I expect you to be there if I need you."

Adam took a step toward her, then paused. "Would you tell me if you needed me?"

"Probably not," Mia admitted with a shrug, "but you didn't tell me and I still knew you needed me."

Adam continued to walk toward her, then passed her toward the fancy crystal liquor bottles. "I deleted your number from my phone. It was the only way to stop myself from calling you after you left."

Just as she hadn't thought about the words she spoke before, her mouth opened without thinking yet again. "It didn't stop you from seeing me two years ago though, did it? How long were you in Mesa, Adam?"

The bottle stood still in the air for a solid ten seconds before he began pouring. "About a week. I was there on business and would love to know how in the hell you know that considering I didn't tell anyone about going."

This wasn't the time to tell him, but either way, Adam needed to know. "I was on a trip with my boyfriend when I got the call about your dad. He's here with me, at the house. Saw your photo on my wall and told me he contacted you about a book cover and you flew down for a meeting."

Adam downed the glass, then poured another. "I take it your boyfriend is Holden Crawford."

"He is," Mia confirmed.

"I remember when I first saw that name on an email and thought it was the most fucking pretentious name I'd ever heard in my life. You two serious?" Adam shook his head at his own words and let out a small, shaky laugh. "Of course you are. You wouldn't take him home to the funeral for the father of the man you were in love with unless you were serious about him."

"He insisted on coming," Mia defended. She didn't realize just how much this would dig the knife into his pain, and regretted her decision to allow Holden to come with her. "We're taking things slow."

Adam downed the second drink, then slammed the glass on the table, keeping his eyes on the glass. "How slow are you taking it, Mia? Has he been inside of you yet? Are you thinking about moving in together? Does he lay next to you every night and wake up to you every morning?"

There was a sharpness to his voice that caused Mia to take a step back. "Adam, you just lost your dad-"

"You think I don't fucking know that, Mia?" Adam asked in that same sharp tone, his voice filling the air of the silent house as his eyes landed on hers. "Yes, I just lost my dad. Now I'm asking you to tell me if I've lost you, too. I'm asking if another man has everything I should have." Where the words before came out as more of a scream, the next came out almost as a whisper. "And I'm asking because right now I'm already in a world of fucking pain and would prefer if you poured salt on an open wound instead of waiting to open up a fresh one."

This all would have been so much easier if she'd come home at another time in love and ready to take the next big leap in a relationship. But despite all her efforts, Adam was still her home.