Page 36 of If I See You Again

David

A fter I got Malcolm to calm down a little, he sat and ate a little more before I was willing to let him take some more of his pain meds.

He didn’t want to take them at first, and I was thankful he wasn’t completely dependent on them.

We watched a little TV before he couldn’t do it anymore and gave in to the need for something to dull the aches.

He was asleep when I slipped from the bed, his tousled brown hair splayed against the pillow as I took my phone to the other side of the room to make a call.

If Malcolm was all in about quitting his job, I wanted to provide an opportunity for him.

Moving him back to North Carolina with me was out of the question.

He needed to be where he could be with his family. They’d been through enough.

The phone rang, and my fingers itched on my lap. My mouth ran dry when the call picked up.

“David?”

It wasn’t very often that I called my parents, but this was something they needed to hear from me, and I couldn’t task Audrey with it. If anything, I needed to talk her into moving out to Chicago as well to get away from some of the toxicity.

“Mother,” I answered.

She released a heavy sigh, and I wished I’d taken the phone call somewhere else because I didn’t want to wake Malcolm up if things got heated. They always tended to.

“There’s my son. I was starting to wonder if you died. You didn’t even bother to call for Thanksgiving. Did you ever stop to think how that would make your father and me feel?”

My temples were already beginning to throb, and I pinched my nose to release some of the pressure building. She worried about my lack of calls, given that she never called me either. I was always the one who had to reach out to people, or I would never hear from them.

“My apologies.” And like the coward I always was, I bent to her will and gave her exactly what she wanted. This phone call would be difficult enough without adding a fight to it.

“You better be sorry. You’d think we’d raised you better than this. It’s a wonder you’re still single. No one would want to put up with that. Same with your sister. You’re both so damn spoiled. Is that where we went wrong?”

The phone call was spiraling faster than I could figure out how to put it back together.

It would be easier to rip the Band-Aid off at this rate.

While Audrey knew I’d moved to Chicago, I hadn’t told my parents yet.

Now was that time, especially with my mother insinuating that I would always be single.

I had been single, but by my own choosing, which was a good thing because it meant I was ready when Malcolm stumbled into my life.

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I haven’t been home in a while. I moved to Chicago a couple of weeks ago.”

Silence filled the line for a moment.

“Why?”

One simple word. It was enough to send my heart into hyperdrive and a sweat to break out on my back.

My mother was intimidating on the best of days.

I’d been lucky enough to come from money, and it’d allowed me the freedom to start as many companies as I had, but it didn’t give my family the right to walk all over me.

“Because, despite you believing that I’m still single, I’m not.”

The way she laughed did something funny to my chest. Weren’t parents supposed to be loving and supportive? One sound was all it took for my mother to dismiss me effectively.

“You’re just trying to get me riled up again, David. I expect you to be at home this weekend for family dinner. Don’t disappoint me.”

“No.”

The word was out of my mouth, and I looked across the room to the man who was still sound asleep on the bed.

It’d taken me too long to stand up to my parents in my life, but it ended now.

I couldn’t allow it if I wanted to give everything to Malcolm.

He deserved all the best parts of me, and not the one who hid his shit-show of a personal life.

He needed love and smiles. Sweetness and caring.

“What do you mean by ‘ no ?’”

I rolled my eyes. “Exactly what I said. I’m not going to be there. I live in Chicago with Malcolm. There will be no more coming home for your whims. I’m going to move my entire business here if I need to.”

She scoffed. “You wouldn’t dare. Where would that leave me and your father?”

It wasn’t any of my concern where it left them. Sure, they’d raised me, but they’d done a shit job of being loving adults in my life. “At this rate, I don’t care. At some point, I need to start worrying about myself and my future. That starts now.”

Mom said nothing, and then I heard the click of a disconnected call. I knew she would be upset with me, but her not even acknowledging what I’d said and hanging up on me was the last thing I’d expected.

That only left the task of calling Audrey, but talking to my mother took a lot out of me.

Malcolm was none the wiser to the phone call I’d just made, still sleeping soundly across the room.

I set my phone on the arm of the chair and made my way across the room to him and slipped into the bed behind him. Things would still be there later.

A s the sun sank below the horizon, the sky became painted pink and orange, while I gathered my thoughts. I hadn’t intended to sleep for so long when I’d lain down with Malcolm, but we were still lying there, curled up on the bed together.

“You awake?”

I hummed as I looked up at the man who was smiling down at me. The swelling in his face had gone down a bit, but the bruising would take a while to go away. “I am, and what a wonderful thing to wake up to.” I nuzzled into his side, which caused him to squirm a little.

“Stop that. I need to pee, and you’re pinning me to the bed.”

My arms dropped from around Malcolm’s waist as he crawled from the bed. He still looked a little unsteady as he made his way to the bathroom.

Every fiber of my being wanted to shoot up and help him, but he needed his independence and to find his footing again, though I had my eye on him if anything happened.

Maybe it was a little weird that he left the bathroom door open, but he might have had the same thought process.

It would be easier to get to him if he ended up falling over.

Malcolm came back to the bed and sat on the edge, not quite getting in. “We should probably eat something again.”

I snorted a small laugh before sitting up and kissing the side of his head. He was so damn adorable, but also correct. We’d basically slept the day away, but he needed it for recovery, and I’d done it out of boredom.

There was a binder on the bedside table that had a menu for room service.

We’d already had food from the hotel once today, but Malcolm was in no shape to go out and about.

I pulled the menu out and opened it for both of us to read.

Every time I caught him looking at the prices, I’d nudge his shoulder and remind him not to worry about it.

Once we ordered our food, we sat back to relax.

Eventually, I’d have to tell him about the phone call I’d made while he was sleeping, but now was not the right time.