Page 7 of Take My Love

“I’ll take off his boots,” Silas tells me, kneeling between Warren’s feet.

“Do you do this for him a lot?” I ask after watching him effortlessly remove Warren’s jeans and T-shirt.

“Sometimes…he’s not usually this out of it, though. Can you grab a blanket from the closet?” Silas points behind me.

He shoves a pillow under Warren’s head, covers him up, puts a trash can next to the bed and then sets his alarm so he’s not late for work.

“I’ll call in the mornin’ and check up on him,” Silas says before flipping off the lightswitch.

“I didn’t realize he was this bad.” I frown, wondering if he’ll ever get through this level of heartbreak.

Warren’s never been the blackout drunk type, but his drinking escalated after Maisie announced she was moving back to New York. Then got worse when she left.

“I overheard him drunk callin’ her last weekend. Left her a long voicemail and she never returned it,” Silas tells me.

“Oh, shit. Do you think they’re over for good?”

When we walk through the living room, there are empty beer cans and trash littered on the coffee table. Silas notices too, and together, we clean up.

“I dunno…” He shrugs. “Warren can’t live without her, that much is obvious, but he might have to.”

“Warren won’t give up. No matter how long it takes, he’ll fight for her.”

“You’re probably right,” he agrees. “He doesn’t know who heis without her. Even if she doesn’t come back, he’ll never move on.”

The thought makes me sad because as much as I want to find love and have a solid relationship, I don’t want to be that level of dependent. Though I can’t blame him since he’s loved her for the past eight years, the aftermath of being without her is destroying him.

Once the living room’s picked up, I move to the kitchen and load the dishwasher. Silas and I work in silence, but there’s an underlying current streaming between us that I try to ignore.

“I heard you and Kayden broke up,” Silas blurts. “You doin’ okay?”

My heart pounds at the sound of my ex’s name. Another guy who treated me so well in the beginning and then randomly hit me with the “I’m not looking for anything serious” conversation.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I avoid his gaze while lifting the trash bag and tying it up.

“He wasn’t good enough for you anyway.”

My eyes lift to his dark ones and my brows pinch. “You didn’t know him.”

His shoulder lifts lazily. “If he couldn’t see what a catch you are, he’s not good enough.”

“That’s rich comin’ from you,” I snap before I can stop myself.

“How so?” He straightens his spine, crossing his arms.

Is he being serious right now?

“Forget it.”

I shake open a clean trash bag before putting it in the bin, then grab the full one. Opening the door, I walk to the outside bin and throw it inside.

“Posey!” Silas shouts, and the trailer door slams shut behind him.

It’s nearly pitch black out, the only light coming from the moon reflecting off the mountains in the distance. But when Silas and I meet in the middle, every inch of his face is tense.

I cross my arms. “What now?”

“Explain what you meant.”