“Hey,” I said, studying him as I walked closer. “You okay?”

  He pointed toward the house without a word, like he was shellshocked.

  “Is Nick here?” I wanted to be prepared for a confrontation if necessary.

  He shook his head and I felt relieved. “Mom’s in there. You need to go talk to her.”

  I walked into the house feeling like a trespasser. I rarely went inside these days, partly because I knew Nick didn’t want me there and partly because the place had bad energy. The dread I felt walking inside this time was worse than normal. There was something in the air that wasn’t right.

  “Mom?” I called. “Where are you?”

  I didn’t hear anything. The house was a small ranch that my mom kept as tidy and cute as she could, but it was still sorely in need of routine maintenance. It broke my heart that Rafe was growing up here. I searched room to room until I heard sniffling coming from the bathroom.

  My mom was leaning close to the mirror clutching a bottle of foundation. Her back was to me so I could only see her reflection in the mirror. Hey eyes were red-ringed, which wasn’t exactly new, but I froze when I realized what she was doing.

  “He hit you?” I gasped when I saw the bright red splotch across her cheek that she was trying to cover.

  She sniffled and bowed her head, so I rushed over to hug her, enraged and heartbroken at the same time. She clung to me.

  “When did it happen? Did Rafe see? Where is Nick now? I’ll kill the bastard!”

  She didn’t answer right away, hiccup-breathing against my shoulder.

  “He didn’t mean to,” she finally whispered.

  I pulled away from her in shock. “Mom … are you kidding me?”

  Now that we were facing one another, I could see the full extent of the injury. Her cheek was bright red, and there was a small cut next to her eye. I could only imagine how bad it was going to look once the bruising set in.

  “We were arguing, and he tried to gesture about something and he …”

  “Smacked you,” I finished for her. “That doesn’t look like an accident, it looks like a direct hit.”

  She turned to the mirror and her eyes welled. “I don’t know now.”

  I was furious, but she seemed so rattled that I realized I had to stay even keel in order to help her work through what had happened. If I acted as crazy as I felt she’d shut down. I leaned against the bathroom door. “What were you fighting about?”

  She laughed through her tears. “Dinner, as usual. He was upset I was behind schedule because I was working on some real estate stuff.”

  “How cliché,” I muttered. “Are you sure it was just about dinner?”

  I had a feeling Nick didn’t like the idea of my mom working. He probably knew what it could lead to.

  She held onto the edge of the sink and stared at her hands. “I mean, he gets home from work and he’s hungry right away. So I guess I’m partly to blame.”

  “Mom!” I felt sick about the way he’d beaten her spirit down, conditioning her to expect such horrible treatment. “No, you’re not to blame. The man could pick up a pot and make his own damn dinner if he’s so hungry, or go get take-out. You’re not his housemaid!”

  I watched her processing what I’d said, gripping the sink like she was afraid to let go. She looked seconds from breaking down again.

  “Where was Rafe when it happened?”

  Her shoulders started shaking as her head bowed lower. “Standing in the doorway,” she whispered.

  As much as I wanted to explode at the news, I needed to keep myself together for her sake. But the fact that Rafe had witnessed this escalation of abuse made me want to scream.

  “He … he …”

  “What happened, Mom?” I felt nervous energy kicking up inside of me at what she’d left out.

  “He went after Nick, trying to defend me.”

  “They fought?” I screeched in shock.

  She finally turned to look at me, shaking her head. “Rafe charged him and Nick ducked out of the way, then he left. I think Nick was almost … embarrassed by what he’d done, you know? He felt bad about it.”

  I was shaking my head before she even finished. “Doesn’t matter. He did it, which means he could do it again.”

  “But he texted me and said he was sorry.”

  I let out a long sigh. “Mom, I know there’s nothing that I can say or do to make you see how unhealthy this relationship is.” Goodness knew, I’d tried—over and over again throughout the years. “But I want you to think about what Rafe is learning growing up in this dynamic. And now, this.” I gestured to her face. “It’s escalating.”

  “But why? Why now?” Her bottom lip quivered.

  “Because you’re taking charge of your own damn life and working. And because Rafe is growing up and he doesn’t want to see his father screaming at his mom all the time. Or hitting her.”

  The tears were rolling down her cheeks now. She reached up to wipe them away with the back of her hand and flinched when she hit the tender spot on her cheek.

  “What do you want to do?” I asked softly.

  I watched her process everything. She leaned close to the mirror to examine the mark on her cheek and her face crumpled. She glanced at me in the reflection.

  “I want to leave,” she whispered.

  Relief flooded through me, but I needed to get granular with her.

  “For now or for good?”

  She took a deep breath. “For good.”

  We reached for each other and hugged again, my mom mourning what she was about to lose and me celebrating the achievement. It wasn’t going to be easy for her, but anything was better than where she was now.

  “Let’s get you and Rafe packed.”

  Her eyebrows knitted. “Wait … right now? We should go now?”

  I held in my exasperation. “Yes. If we don’t Nick will come back and sweet talk you, and make you forget that he just hit you in the face. You have to make a clean break immediately. You can stay at my place.”

  “Honey, no, it’s so small. Where will we sleep?”

  “It’s not forever,” I insisted. “Just until you figure out your next step. You and I can share my bed and Rafe can sleep on the couch. It’ll be fun, like a sleepover.”

  She frowned. “I don’t want to put you out.”

  I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the bathroom. “Stop. Get packing.”

  She headed for her bedroom, and I walked out to tell Rafe.

  “Fucked up, right?” he said when I joined him on the step. “I wanted to kill him for hurting Mom. I almost did.”

  “I heard you stood up for her. I’m proud of you for being so brave. But you shouldn’t have to do that, Rafe.”

  He scoffed. “Someone has to.”

  I clasped his shoulder. “Not anymore. You’re both coming with me. She’s leaving him.”

  I’d expected him to whoop when he heard the news, but Rafe just stared out at the street. “Huh. Wow.”

  “Are you happy?”

  He picked at the dirt under his nails. “Yeah. But where are we going?”

  “You’re going to stay with me for a little while. I hope you don’t mind couch springs poking your back all night.”

  The hint of a smile. “I can sleep standing up. I’ll be fine.”

  I laughed. How was this person my little brother? It was as if he’d grown again, this time not physically but emotionally.

  “You need to pack your stuff. Take enough for a few weeks, just in case.”

  He nodded.

  “I got worried when you didn’t pick up my calls,” he said, staring at the street. “I almost did something stupid.”

  “Oh yeah? What was that?”

  He turned to look me in the eye. “I almost called Theo.”

  His expression and the tone of his voice made my stomach bottom out. “Oh?”

  “Yeah. He helped me last time so I figured …” he trailed off and shrugged. “But then I remembered that you guys broke up.” He paused. “Dumb idea, if you ask me.”

  I stiffened, feeling a little defensive. Rafe was my brother—wasn’t he supposed to be on my side? “Theo and I are in different places in our lives. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

  Saying the words and knowing I was carrying his baby almost made me break down, but I needed to be strong for my family. And I didn’t want to get into it with Rafe because he was nosy as hell and didn’t have a filter.

  “I don’t know, he seemed pretty into you. Like, it was sort of gross.”

  It was my turn to shrug.

  “What would’ve happened if I’d called him? Would he have been a dick to me because he’s mad at you?”

  “Absolutely not,” I said quickly, knowing it was true. “He would’ve come and gotten you both out of here. Taken care of you. That’s how he is, no matter how he feels about me.”

  “I really liked him,” Rafe said. “He was easy to talk to.”

  The tears came out of nowhere, surprising both me and Rafe.

  “Hey,” he said, leaning closer so he could rub my back. “What’s wrong?”

  I wiped the tears away quickly. “I’m just a little sad, that’s all. Breakups are hard.”

  Especially when you think you might be in love with the person you’re not sure you can trust.

  36

  THEO

  “This is a bad idea,” I said to my mom, stopping just inside the apartment building. “I’m going to wait for you in the car.”

  She spun around to face me wearing her take-no-shit expression. “Are you crazy? You drove all the way out here. You’re coming.”

  Then she had the nerve to snap her fingers at me.

  Renee had reached out to my mom with the news that she’d just left Nick, and the next thing I knew I’d been roped into driving my mom to hand deliver flowers and sympathy. Mom had claimed that she wanted me to go because she needed a new eyeglasses prescription and she didn’t trust herself to drive in heavy traffic, but once I pulled the details from her I realized that it was also a trap.

  Because Renee and Rafe were bunking with Max.

  At first, I got excited at the thought of seeing her. I missed her like crazy. And I’d worked out exactly what I needed to say to her. But then I realized that trying to squeeze in such an important conversation on the heels of her mom leaving her stepfather, and surrounded by her family in her apartment, was a terrible idea.

  “Nope, sorry Mom, it’s too weird. We’re broken up.”

  She stopped, muttering to herself like she was mentally auditioning which motherly beat-down to give me in order to get me to change my mind.

  “I’m serious,” I said, nodding toward the elevator. “You go, I’ll wait. Take your time.”

  She stood for a few seconds longer, the bouquet of sunflowers clutched in her arms like a pageant winner. “Fine, but I’m not happy about it.”

  I turned to head outside when the ding of the elevator and my mom’s cheerful greeting froze me in my tracks.

  “Max! Hi there, sweetheart! Look, Theo, it’s Max.”

  I had no choice but to turn around. I steeled my heart for whatever expression Max would be wearing at seeing me.

  She looked confused … and happy. And breathtaking. Damn it I missed her.

  “Elena, thank you so much for coming,” Max said, pulling my mom into a hug. She glanced at me over my mom’s shoulder as they embraced and smiled at me.

  Okay, score one for mom. Maybe coming along was a good idea after all.

  “Have you guys seen a pizza delivery guy?” she asked when they pulled apart. “Rafe is dying of hunger upstairs.”

  “I haven’t,” my mom answered. “Why don’t you two wait down here for it and I’ll go up to see Renee?”

  She practically ran to the elevator and smashed the call button, then gave me a know-it-all smile as the doors closed on her.

  Leaving us alone in the lobby.

  “Hi Theo,” Max said softly.

  “Hi Max,” I shuffled my feet like I was a teenager picking up a girl for a first date. “I hope you don’t mind me being here. My mom didn’t want to drive so—”

  “I don’t mind,” she interrupted.

  We were six feet away from each other, and it was all I could do to keep from grabbing her and pulling her close. How I wanted to breathe in her delicious Max scent.

  “You look amazing,” I said. “You’re glowing.”

  She blushed adorably. “I think I’m finally through the worst of the sour stomach. I’m feeling so much better lately.”

  I glanced at her midsection, but it looked as flat as ever.

  “Listen, I was hoping we could talk,” I said. “Would that be okay?”

  She nodded, frowning. “Yeah, I have some things I want to say too.”

  Her expression turned troubled, and my heart dropped. Maybe I’d misread everything?

  A car with the world’s noisiest muffler pulled up in front of the building.

  “Finally, there he is,” Max said, pointing out the windows.

  She ran outside to grab the pizza leaving me to consider all of the different ways everything could go wrong. Or right. At least by the end of it I’d know where I stood.

  “Hungry?” she asked, walking in with two pizza boxes. “Rafe might let you have a single slice.”

  I chuckled. “I’ll only eat if he allows it. I’ve seen firsthand how much food that kid can put away.”

  The elevator doors opened, and Max breezed past me. “Let’s go. Come join the insanity.”

  I swallowed my concerns and followed her, doing everything I could to avoid staring. Pregnancy definitely agreed with her. She looked pretty in a way I’d never seen before, like everything about her was more lush.

  “How’s your mom holding up?” I asked. It felt so strange to make small talk when all I wanted to do was get to the real conversation.

  “Shockingly good,” Max answered. “I think it’s too new for her to fully comprehend what it all means, but overall she’s doing great. Nick has called her like a dozen times, and she hasn’t answered.”

  “I can’t believe he hit her,” I said, my anger starting to roil again at the thought.

  “I can.”

  I clenched my fists, wishing I’d given into my animal instincts the last time I’d seen the man. Violence didn’t solve anything, but in this instance it would’ve felt damn good.

  The elevator dinged and we walked down the hall to Max’s apartment.

  “Someone is going to be happy to see you,” she said as she pushed against the door and walked inside. “Hey Rafe, look who I found in the lobby.”

  I spotted him across the room on his phone, doing his best to ignore his mom and Renee having a very intense conversation in the kitchenette.

  He glanced up. “Theo, no way! What’s up?”

  “Hey. Your sister said you’d share your pizza with me. Is that true?”

  “Maybe,” he teased. “Give me first dibs and you can finish what I don’t.”

  He skulked over and snagged three slices then went back to the couch.

  “Plate,” Max yelled at him, causing him to roll his eyes and walk back for one of the paper plates she’d put out.

  “Hi Theo, thank you for driving your mom over,” Renee said, walking over to hug me. “This is exactly what I need right now.”

  I tried not to stare at the palm-sized mark on her cheek. “Happy to help, and I’m glad to be here for you as well.” I glanced around Max’s apartment. “So you guys are going to camp out here?”

  She nodded. “Yes, Max is being so wonderful. But it’s cramped. We can’t stay underfoot here for too long, it’s not fair to her.”

  “Or me,” Rafe shouted. “I’m the one sleeping on the couch.”

  They were both right. I remembered how I was at thirteen. The last thing I wanted was to lose the privacy of my own room.

  “I have an idea …” I began, barely thinking it all the way through before I started speaking. “Renee, how do you feel about the Design District?”

  “Very fancy,” she answered. “It’s a beautiful area.”

  “It is,” I nodded. “Which is why I bought Mom a fully furnished condo there. That she’s never lived in.”

  “It’s too much for one person,” Mom protested. “I don’t need three bedrooms and four bathrooms! I told him not to, but he bought it anyway.”

  I pretended to scowl at her. “Yes, why would anyone want more space? Anyway, my current renter is on assignment in France for six months. I was going to sublet it while he’s away, but I never got around to it. He won’t be back for four more months. Renee, would you both want to stay there until you figure out what’s next?”

  “Oh, Theo,” she sputtered, looking around with a shocked expression. “That’s so kind of you. I wish I could, but I’m sure that any fair price for the sublet would be out of my reach.”

  “No, Renee, that’s not what I meant. I want you and Rafe to stay there as my guests. No charge.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “We couldn’t!”

  “Yes we could,” Rafe yelled from the couch with his mouth full.

  We all laughed. I could feel Max’s eyes resting on me but my focus had to be on Renee as I navigated the negotiation.

  “You’d actually be doing me a favor,” I continued. “I’m paying a property manager to check on it a few times per month. If you and Rafe move in, I won’t have to.”

  “Say yes, Renee,” my mom prodded. “Max’s place is lovely, but it’s just not suited for three busy people.”

  Renee looked around the room then at me with her eyes shining with tears. “That would mean the world to me. To us. Thank you. It’ll give me a chance to really focus on my work.”

  “Yeah, and speaking of that,” I said. “Max told me you just got your real estate license. Are you practicing yet?”

  She shook her head, frowning. I knew who was to blame for it.

  “Well, I happen to know of a wonderful boutique agency that just had an agent retire. I met the owner a long time ago down at my favorite restaurant on the docks, and we share a meal whenever we’re there at the same time. I could set up a meeting with him at the Salty Pelican if you like.”