51: Rough Day
AIDAN
‘We will be out of your hair by the time you return,‘ Tara said.
Did she not know that I wanted nothing more than for her and our daughter to be all tangled up in my hair with no way of getting loose?
‘If you ever will,‘ she said.
Fuck.
Her words played in my head on constant repeat as I drove back to the hotel, having canceled every other of my plans for the day. I couldn’t be productive in my state, so I just went back to my suite.
And yes, immediately I got to my room, the first place I headed was to the minibar to pour myself a glass of my thousand–year- old cognac. The strongest.
If the circumstances we were in were completely different and Tara had said those words to me, I would have been offended by it. But this? This was well deserved.
She deserved to know, and I was a douchebag for not having the guts to open up to her, but even if I wanted to, I couldn’t., It was just too much.
So what did I do? I drank with the intention of passing out so that when I woke up, I would forget, even if it would take a lot
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for a werewolf like me to get drunk.
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Things were so screwed, and I had no idea how we were going to come out of it in one piece.
In my half consciousness, I did not hear the door open or someone walk inside until they spoke.
Thankfully, it wasn’t any intruders, but rather, Jace.
Chuckling internally about the fact that he always chose the moments when I was pretty messed up to appear, I struggled to keep my eyes on him.
“Rough day?” He asked, and when I heard the sound of liquid sloshing, I realized that Jace had produced a glass of his own.
“You could say,” I responded as I watched him swallow the content of the glass in one go. I was glad that I wasn’t alone, so I threw the question back at him. “Tough day?”
Jace nodded, squeezing his lips to the bitter taste of the wine. “The worst.”
It was rare for Jace to admit that he was having a hard time, so whatever was bothering him had to be significant.
“Do you want to go first?” He asked, and I immediately understood his question.
Where would I even begin?
Giving him the short answer since my head was beginning to pound from sitting in the same position for too long and drinking shot after shot, I responded.
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“Tara doesn’t want me around Nadia anymore. Not around her too. And it’s all coming in flames because I have to get back to Attica pack. Too many fucking signatures and meetings need my attention, and my father is starting to act out.”
So much for the short answer because there was none.
Jace took his seat opposite me, considering his words for a minute.
“Why does she not want you around?”
“I hurt her,” I replied in one breath like it wasn’t already obvious.
Forcing myself to think back to that day, I cursed myself for the choices I made. It could have all been different if I had seen the bigger picture.
Without being asked, I recounted the scared look in Tara’s eyes as she told me that she was carrying our child, and how I stupidly chose the easy way out.
I was young, but she was too. Much younger, even.
“I blamed her for being unfaithful to me when I knew that Tara would have never done something like that. With a little digging, I could have found out that the baby was indeed mine, but I was so blinded by rage, ignorance, and fear, I pushed her aside and told her I never wanted to see her again.”
Turning to face Jace, I found an unreadable expression in his
eyes.
“That it?” He asked, almost like he was disappointed.
snapped. “What more were you expecting that I did, Jace?
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That I tied her down in a dungeon and waited for the pregnant young adult to die of starvation?”
“No,” Jace chipped in quickly. “It’s just that if you two were so in love that it resulted in a child that early, somehow she must know that you did not reject her just because. Even I can see that there were other reasons which you didn’t disclose.”
I nodded. “But knowing that I had reasons and knowing what those reasons were are two completely different things. She still carries the hurt from my betrayal, and I doubt she will ever forgive me.”
“Then tell her why. Tell her everything because that’s the way to start fixing all of your mess,” Jace said knowingly, not mincing his words.
That was Jace for you.
“If she knew everything, she may even hate me more.”
“Well, now you know the ways that it could go. How you move forward is completely up to you.”
“Thanks, Jace,” I said, meeting his eyes to show my sincerity.
Talking to Jace may not have solved everything, but at least it did something. I hadn’t even gulped down any wine in the last five minutes or so that he was here.
Remembering that Jace was having trouble too, I pushed mine to the back of my mind for a second.
“What’s up with you?” I asked.
“Ah.” Jace waved me away. “Hearing your problems just made
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me realize that mine is not that bad. Let’s focus on you instead, okay?”
“Are you sure? I’m here if you need someone to chat with. I may not be the best to give advices, seeing how shitty things are. with me now, but I’ll listen, J.”
Jace nodded, a smile lifting up his features.
“I’m sure. Maybe some other time.”
I nodded. “If you insist.”
After a bit of contemplative silence, Jace spoke again. “Speaking of which, you said ‘you had to go back to Attical pack?”
Studying Jace’s features made me realize that he didn’t like. where this was going if he was right.
He was.
Sorry, buddy, but one of us has to stay back.
So I nodded. “Yes.”
“And not us two?”
I almost laughed at the plea behind his tone, but I only shook my head instead.
“Vermont pack being my problem now was the price I had to pay for ridding Tara and Nadia of Coflin, so I need eyes here. You’ll stay behind till I’m back to figure out what’s next.”
Jace looked at me with discerning eyes, and he asked
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something that had been bugging my mind for a while now.
“Did you though? Rid them of Collin?”
