Not So Loved (West Coast Campus Series Book 2)

Chapter 14

Rhys

"Yes."

She whispers the word so quietly I can barely hear her but I do.

My mind is racing, my body shaking as I glance at Nova, who looks so fragile and scared right now, the first time she's let her emotions show through since we bumped into each other at the bar.

More like her fist connected with many parts of my body but still.

My hand actually shakes as I reach for her, pulling her as close as I fucking, her body molding into mine like puzzle pieces that've been separated for ages.

I touch her hair, her shoulders. Everywhere I fucking can.

I trace the shape of her delicate lips with the tip of my finger, working my way to trace her button nose I adore so much. She hesitates, but eventually her eyes flutter close so I can trace those too.

"Maeve." I croak, pushing my face into the crook of her neck, breathing her in.

"I-I thought he kicked you out. You lived with me and then with your aunt. I visited you everyday while you lived there." I stammer, trying to think back.

She smiles but it's sad, her face filled with anguish.

"But then you left. And my mom got pregnant with Liam. That was the first time I saw Dad hit her. When she announced to us she was expecting."

She falls quiet, clearly playing that day back in her head.

I hate that I can't do anything to take those memories away.

"And then? What happened next?" I'm desperate. So fucking desperate for her to open up to me.

She yawns, relaxing even farther into me, her fingers playing with the hairs at my neck.

"I became the adult of the house after that. I dropped out of school, took on four or five jobs so I could provide for the baby because my parents definitely weren't doing it."

My fingers dig into her but I kiss her nose to refocus.

"I forced Mom to go to all her appointments. To take the vitamins. She didn't want the baby and Dad didn't want it either. Dad left two days before Liam was born."

She swallows, her fingers curling into the back of my shirt before continuing.

"I had just gotten home after working over eighteen hours straight and I hear my mom screaming. It was this deathly scream that I never went to hear again." She pales.

"I run into her bedroom and she's lying on her back, clutching her stomach and she tells me that the baby is coming. At the time, we couldn't afford a landline and Dad had smashed my phone that I worked so hard for the day he left so I couldn't call the paramedics."

My stomach churns, knowing what's coming next. I curse.

"So I delivered Liam. I delivered my brother. I got him cleaned off and placed him in the bassinet, ready to drive them to the hospital but when I came back to check on Mom, there was so much blood. So much. So she died. She died because she hemorrhaged and I had no knowledge." Her fingers tremble.

"It's not your fault, Maeve. Please don't ever blame yourself for that." I say.

"The worst part is that was the day Dad decided to finally come home. He barged into the bedroom, saw Mom and, well, you can guess the rest."

I blanch but she keeps talking.

"He was so drunk that he didn't even realize that Liam had been born. I took him and moved in with Ava at the apartment, and I raised him here. I had to name my own brother. I took guardianship over him as soon as I was eighteen, which wasn't very hard. They took one glance at Dad's arrest reports and drinking habits that they give me the papers a month later."

She shrugs, eyes glancing down the hall to her room where Liam is currently.

I curse myself for having to leave at a time like that.

When she truly needed me the most.

When she went through living hell and back and I wasn't there to go through it with the her.

My heart drops to my stomach.

"Nova..." Somehow the words make it past my parched throat.

Maeve clears her throat, then again, using her hands to push against my chest to sit up, clearly uncomfortable with how much she's shared.

I can see purple smudges beneath her eyes and the lines of exhaustion surrounding her mouth.

She opens her mouth to say something, but after a beat, closes it and stands up, wiping imaginary lint off her clothes.

I rest my elbows on my knees as I watch her process whatever she needs to process, probably concerned she spilled too much with me.

Her lips turn into a fine line, surveying my face and looking away when she realizes she was staring.

"Rhys, I-" Her words quiver but she's interrupted by an impatient Liam, who now glares at me from the hall, Thomas the Train pajamas in his hand.

His little brows snap together at the sight of Maeve and I, both of us looking like we got hit by a fucking semi.

He stares at me for a beat more before he shuffles to Maeve, his bottom lip wobbling.

"Mavey, I'm sorry. I don't hate you. I love you. Please don't hate me." He sobs, his head falling back. He throws his fists in the air, searching for her.

Maeve looks like she's about to cry herself but she halls him up into her arms, his head immediately finding her shoulder, his legs and arms wrapping around her like a Koala.

"I could never hate you, Liam. I love you so much." She whispers and he gives her a tired smile before going totally limp in her arms.

She starts moving side to side, bouncing up and down slightly. She whispers things in his ear that eventually has him snoring away.

A ghost of a smile touches her lips. "It's almost an hour past our bedtime. I uh-you're welcome to stay here for the night."

I'm blown away by her offer, so I'm quick to accept. "Yes. If that's okay?" I sound desperate but I try to play it off cool.

She laughs quietly, more of my Nova shining through.

"Ava will be home soon but she won't mind. I'll get you some blankets for the couch."

She's hesitant, looking anywhere but me.

There's still a chance she could find it in herself to love me again, I realize.

After I've changed into an extra set of sweats I found in my duffel, I lock the front door, making sure everything's off in the kitchen before heading down the hall.

I knock on her bedroom before pushing it open when she gives me the all clear.

Nova's lying on her back, her hair tangled in a bun on her head. Liam, who you can barely see under the comforter, is lying completely on top of her, his head directly on her chest with his hand wrapped around one of her fingers that lays outside of all the blankets.

I smile at the sight. "Does he always sleep like that?"

She grunts. "Yep. He says I make him feel safe, warm when he sleeps like this. But it's a damn pain on my boobs."

I blow out a breath, my hand tightening on the handle. "That's a big responsibility."

A shrug. "Well, I want to be the person my parents never were. I want to give him the absolute best I can."

I nod, smiling at how much she's matured since I left.

It's not like she got a choice though, either. She was forced to drop out of high school to raise a newborn. A newborn who would be in the foster system without her.

My stomach clenches at the thought of that system.

I stare a moment longer, taking her features in, how breathtaking she looks before I mumble my goodnight, heading to the couch where I toss and turn all night, knowing Maeve is just down the hall and she's not in my arms.

Soon, I think.

Soon I'll be able to hold her again and then I'll finally be complete.