Wicked Things We Crave

Chapter Twenty-Six

"She's here? In town?" Astrid sat as she leaned against the wall.

Jonah just sat back, his hands clasped together in front of him, and remained quiet. The last time he'd spoken to Rachel was the day she skipped town. They all knew it was coming. Jonah could see that shit coming from a mile away. There'd been signs leading up to it for a good six months. 

Scott blew off every single one of them. Said she was just in a tough place. But the signs were about as obvious as a fog horn to Jonah.

When she said she was leaving him, it was the second time he'd seen his best friend cry, the first being when he held baby Astrid right after she was born. Jonah just stood in the background, remaining quiet just as he was doing now. 

The day she left, Rachel shot him one last look before stepping into her car and driving off to start a new life. It was a 'take care of him look', because Rachel really did love that man with all heart. So much so that there seemed to be no room for Astrid in there. 

"You don't have to see her if you don't want to." Scott's words forced Jonah back into the present, and he lifted his head to take a long look at Astrid. 

How long he'd zoned out, Jonah didn't know, but her expression had remained the same. Her lips were still in a straight line, her brown eyes looking in a daze. She still had her arms wrapped around her, and if Scott wasn't there, he'd take over the job in a second. 

"Jonah?"

He knew what she was asking in the way she spoke his name. Jonah cleared his throat before shaking his head. "It's no secret that I don't like the woman, but she gave birth to you, so at least she did one thing right. If you want to see her, I'll go with you or let you go it alone. If you don't, I'll make it so she's out of town by the morning."

Jonah wasn't sure what he'd do to make that happen, but he'd find a way. Even if he only got Rachel as far as the next town over, at least Astrid wouldn't have to risk an unwanted encounter. 

Frankly, he was worried for Scott as much as he was for Astrid. Scott hadn't truly ever moved on from his wife. He'd dated a little throughout the years, but nothing ever came of it. That woman, despite breaking his heart and being the biggest disappointment he'd ever experienced, was the love of his life. 

Their love had been intense from the start. They went from zero to sixty in no time at all, much like Jonah and Astrid, and everyone thought it would fizzle out by the end of summer. That hadn't happened. Instead, things only heated up for the two, both deciding to go to local community college rather than the universities they'd planned on attending. They were hot and heavy for two years before they found out she was pregnant. 

Now here they were, over twenty years later, Scott's heart never having fully mended from that loss, and Astrid never having had her mother's love to lose. Rachel came for a divorce to remarry, but Jonah wondered if seeing him again would bring back all those old familiar feelings, try to wiggle her way back in, only to remember he was no less a father now than he was then. 

"No one can make this decision for you, honey," Jonah said, breaking the silence in the room, "and neither option is wrong. You do what's right for you, and we'll both support it." Hopefully avoiding killing one another in the process. 

The knife wound in Scott's back was still fresh, and while Jonah was hoping to mend that bridge, even it was just a silent understanding or cordial conversations, being forced to band together over something like this could backfire. Scott needed time, and this situation wasn't exactly allowing for that. Still, hopefully they'd remain on common ground on this one.

Astrid paced for a minute, her steps tired and slow compared the excitement she was showing an hour earlier. Once she stopped, a heavy breath filled the room as she looked downward at the floor. "I'm going to sleep on it, I think. I don't want to chase her out of town and end up regretting it, but I don't want to agree to anything if I'm not ready."

Jonah gave her a quick nod before he stood from the couch. Before he could respond, she walked out of the room, her movements wobbly.

When he heard a door close in the distance, Jonah prepared for the next conversation. Scott already knew what the two planned on the future, but now the plan was in motion, and Jonah knew that hiding any more from his former friend would only add to the mountain of complications. "We found a house today."

It was a full blown minute of excruciating silence before Scott spoke up. "Where at?"

"Gleason. Only a forty-five minute drive from here. I've got a buddy from high school who owns a shop not far from there who's looking for help."

Scott let out a quiet chuckle, then wiped at his face. "Jesus, you two are really going through with this, aren't you?"

The two of them weren't an easy thing to understand. Shit, Jonah himself was still struggling to grasp the turn of events. Never in all his life had he ever wanted anyone even a fraction of the way he wanted her, and never in a million lifetimes could he imagine ever loving any thing or any one in the way he loved her. "Astrid's my whole world, Scott. Always has been and always will be. I know you still hate me, and maybe always will, but I can't walk away. I should have, so many goddamn times." Jonah sucked in a breath and turned to look Scott right in the eye. "I'm forty-two years old. I can't keep on living half a life, not when I've got someone next to me that can make it whole."