Page 113 of The Echo of Forever

This man had infused me into every part of his life, even in places I hadn’t been yet.

I touched the butterfly pendant still hanging around my neck and sighed, shaking off how far behind him I was in this marriage to wash yesterday off my body. Afterward, I brushed my teeth, did skincare, and then bypassed the products on the counter to rummage through his in the closet. I wanted to drown myself in Vanilla, anything that’d make him feel close to me when he wasn’t.

And as if he’d known I’d go looking for it, the bottle of EOS vanilla body oil and Le Lebo cologne called Bergamote 22 were waiting for me.

His scent enveloped me as I applied the oil to my skin, inhaling deeply while letting it settle into my pores. I sprayed his cologne on my wrists, behind my ears, and right at the center of my chest before slipping into a pair of maroon leggings and a sports bra to match.

My hair was a different monster to tackle, and with my headache quickly becoming a migraine, I decided to leave wild and free.

“You hungry?” Demetrius asked as I entered the kitchen.

He was shirtless, standing in front of the stove, basketball shorts hanging low on his waist.

On the counter were two of my favorites to have for breakfast, turkey bacon and pineapples.

This morning, I lightly snooped while he slept, finding this place bigger than expected for being on an enclosed piece of property with other homes surrounding it. The ceilings were high, front windows tall and wide as if to mirror the ones in his apartment.

I could tell he didn’t live here full-time and probably never had, but it was fully furnished and decorated, probably cleaned by someone living on the compound.

“Starving,” I admitted, sliding into a stool at the island. “But my head hurts and sometimes I can’t eat no matter how much I want to.”

Demetrius glanced over his shoulder, dark eyes assessing me quickly before he went back to what he’d been doing. Eventually, he set a plate in front of me with scrambled eggs straight from the pan, bacon, and pineapples, plus a separate bowl for cheese grits.

“Try to eat a little for me, baby. Solei is picking up the prescription Alyssa wrote for you and bringing it over in a little while. Will you take them?”

I shrugged, not wanting to lie. “Maybe.”

He didn’t react or respond, just pointed to the plate while making one for himself.

We ate in silence and then he left the kitchen to shower and get dressed, reminding me that the car was in the driveway and handing me the keys before doing so.

I opened the front door once I was alone, something I hadn’t done while he was asleep. Part of me hadn’t wanted to expose myself to what was on the other side of it yet, but there was no backing out for me.

The compound was alive when I stepped out on the wrap-around deck. Kids were running up and down the block, screaming and laughing at the top of their lungs.

A few stopped as I walked to my car and waved before taking off in a fit of giggles that made me smile.

They were safe here. Free to be kids, something I never got to experience.

“Who are you?” A raspy voice asked, just as I grabbed both of my phones and shut the passenger side door.

The lanky teenager was standing at the end of the driveway with a basketball perched on his hip and a gym bag hanging from his other hand.

“Forever,” I replied, moving closer. “And you?”

He tipped his head, and it reminded me of Demetrius a little, especially his obsidian eyes.

“Forever is an odd name. I’m Tristian. My cousin let you stay in his house?”

I smiled.

Nosy little nigga is definitely a Cannon.

“Something like that…” I tucked both phones in the band of my leggings and pointed to the basketball. “What position?”

He looked at it, then back at me.

“I play the two.”