Page 14 of Everything After (Everything Trilogy)

LILY

The tight knot in my stomach remained for hours after Alfie left. I’d also turned to deep breathing to keep my nausea in check.

When Andy told me that he’d gone back to Sienna’s, the shock from that news brought a sharp pain to my chest, leaving a dull ache in its wake.

“You need to calm down,” I told myself aloud as I sat at my dressing room mirror, brushing my wild curly hair.

I looked gaunt and my bloodshot, swollen eyelids were a sad, outward reflection of how I felt inside.

The nausea had ramped up a notch, adding to my gaunt appearance.

Was Alfie’s leaving really an impulsive reaction, or had he manufactured that argument as an excuse to go back to see Sienna?

When I saw him at the airport, I’d felt complete again. The five long weeks we’d been apart really had seemed much longer. From the moment we’d reconnected, we had both expressed how much we’d missed each other.

Hell, Alfie had been passionate, attentive and loving when he’d stared adoringly into my eyes the second he’d climbed into that cart at the airport. So, surely me wishing Crakt Soundzz might have waited until we could have taken the time out together shouldn’t have been an unreasonable request.

Alfie: We’ll talk when I get home.

“Argh,” I grunted, frustrated that he didn’t immediately call me once he’d learned that I knew where he’d gone.

Is he with her now? Has he told her I’ve messaged him or that we’d argued?

Standing, I grabbed the bottle of my luxury, vanilla body lotion and lathered it all over my body.

I wasn’t below groveling for Alfie. Once the moisturizer had fully absorbed, I rifled through my outfits and pulled out a ruby-red, silk jumpsuit that clung to every curve.

It was the one piece of clothing that made me feel confident and sexy, and it was also a favorite of Alfie’s on me.

I checked myself out in the full-length mirror while I straightened the jumpsuit in place and figured if Sienna was a contender for Alfie’s attention, she’d better think again.

Leaving my hair loose, just how Alfie liked it, I turned left and right to take in my appearance again. Satisfied I’d done my best to look good for him, I felt calm for the first time since he’d left.

“I’m back,” Alfie announced in an emotionless tone as he opened the bedroom door.

I had already known this because I’d heard the speedboat pull in at our jetty.

“No apology that you upped and left? Am I just supposed to accept that you ran out instead of finishing our earlier conversation?” I could have kicked myself that my temper had gone from nought to a hundred the moment I set eyes on him again.

“I thought you wanted to talk,” he replied, brushing off my barbed comment and eyeing my outfit. A long look of appreciation momentarily softened his gaze before it hardened again.

“I do,” I muttered while I tried to control my temper again. “And I thought we were, but then you took off.”

“I left before I said something I’d regret later,” he remarked deadpan.

“If it’s what’s in your heart, then I’d like you to tell me,” I argued. “If you need to run away from an honest thought instead of talking frankly, then you’re not the man I married.”

“Alright, you asked for it. I’m tired of coming second best in your life,” he ground out. “Everything revolves around your band.”

My jaw dropped at his admission. “My band?” I screeched an octave higher than my usual tone. “You have the gall to throw such an accusation at me?”

“Yes, your band,” he snapped. “Do you know how many times the Crakt Soundzz schedule has been adjusted in order for me to steal some time with you?”

“No, I don’t,” I admitted. “Are you trying to tell me a band of your status has altered their tours to fit around mine?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Drew, Andy and Des have been incredible all these years. And now that Drew needs me to return that favor, you’re being selfish by making my time off about you.”

A pang of guilt hit me square in the chest. “I’m disappointed that’s all,” I said, quieter now.

“Lily, your reaction made it sound as if I’d had some secret, ulterior motive to the timing of this. I should have guessed you’d find a reason to fight about it.”

“It wasn’t a fight,” I insisted, frowning.

“A challenge then. You know, you can do what you want, but I’m looking forward to my time away from my band. I’ve even contacted the college and offered some workshops with a music student or two, to give something back.”

“It would appear you’ve been planning a lot these days,” I snapped, feeling hurt by his blunt attitude toward me.

“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you if that remark is about Sienna. Ever since I told you I went to see her you’ve had this fucking bee in your bonnet about that girl. It’s completely misplaced,” he ground out in a tone he usually reserved for others.

“It’s no secret that I have a spot of jealousy where she’s concerned,” I confessed. “You are aware of this, yet of all the places you could have gone tonight, when you felt the need to run away, you went to her.”

Alfie shook his head and cast me a dark glare. “You think I’m that petty? Sometimes I wonder if you know me at all. If you must know, I called Andy but he’s out of town, I couldn’t hit up Drew because they were having their neighbors for dinner this evening, and Des had gone to New York.”

“So the next closest person was Sienna?” I asked in disbelief.

“No, I went back there because I met Poppy today. Kara’s Poppy. I found out Kara and Poppy are back in Florida and they’re staying with Sienna for now.”

I stared at him speechless, the fight in me instantly gone because finding Kara had been the last thing I’d expected him to say. I’d met her previously and there had been times over the years when he’d wondered aloud how they’d faired since he’d helped them get away from her drug dealing partner.

“How are they?” I asked, concerned and intrigued.

“Good.” He sighed. “I only went back to see Sienna because I had questions. She hadn’t mentioned that Kara and Poppy were staying with her. It was only that Poppy recognized me and told me who she was.”

“Aren’t they taking a risk coming back?” I asked, sitting slowly on our bed.

“The threat toward her has gone. The ex-boyfriend and his henchmen are no longer alive. I want to help them. Kara’s working on cruise liners out of Fort Lauderdale. Sienna said she’s saving for a place of her own. I’d like to do that for them… for Gary,” he said, correcting himself.

Despite our argument my heart instantly melted that he still felt it was his duty to help Gary’s girlfriend. “You’re a good man.”

“Funny, you didn’t think that five minutes ago when you were accusing me of something without having the whole picture,” he ground out.

I swallowed hard when I saw the dark look in Alfie’s eyes.

It was the glare he cast whenever someone had crossed him, and this time, I was on the receiving end of it.

His comment reminded me of my initial accusations of him playing the field when I’d seen him on the college campus with Kara all those years ago.

Back then, I’d jumped to conclusions about his involvement with her and other women I’d seen him with, when all he’d been doing was trying to fund their safety.

It appeared that I hadn’t learned from that as I’d reacted the same now.

I stood, walked over to the mirror and turned away to hide the hurt and shame on my face. As I stared at my reflection, I wondered how we’d gotten so off course from the loving couple we were, to where we were now.