37 Times She Chose Him, The Last Time I Let Him Go Chapter 07

37 Times She Chose Him, The Last Time I Let Him Go Chapter 07

Three days after moving, Grant showed up at the house with a box.

He pushed it toward me the moment I opened the door.

“Tessa’s books, clothes, and her night-light. I brought everything.”

I looked through it and didn’t let him inside.

“Thanks.”

That single word made his face tighten. “Is this how we talk to each other now?”

“What else should I say, Mr. Holloway?”

His eyes stayed on me. “I told Natalie to stop contacting me.”

“That’s your business.”

“You used to care.”

“I used to.”

From inside, Tessa’s voice drifted out along with my mother’s. Grant leaned instinctively.

“How is she?”

“The follow-up was good.”

“Can I see her?”

“I asked her. She said no.”

Grant ran his thumb along the edge of the cardboard box, his voice rough. “I bought her a new recital costume. The teacher said there’s another performance next month. I’ll be there.”

“No need. She dropped out.”

Grant’s head snapped up.

That dance. Tessa had practiced for three months. She used to count the days until her father would sit in the front row.

Now she wouldn’t even dance.

For the first time, Grant seemed to understand he hadn’t just missed one performance.

“Let me talk to her teacher. She loves dancing.”

“She doesn’t love dancing anymore.”

I paused. “She’s just afraid of looking into the audience and seeing one chair empty again.”

Inside, a glass hit the floor.

I turned.

Tessa saw Grant through the door, and her face went white.

“Mom, I didn’t close the door on him. I didn’t take anything.”

Grant crouched. “Sweetheart, I’m not angry.”

Tessa hid behind my mother. “Go be with Leo. I don’t want you.”

His eyes reddened. “I’ll only be with you from now on.”

“What if Leo cries?”

Grant opened his mouth. Nothing came out.

Tessa waited for his answer.

He finally managed, “He has his own mother.”

“He always had his mother. You still left me.”

She shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”

My mother picked her up and carried her back inside.

Grant stayed crouched there, motionless.

I dragged the box in. “The divorce papers. Answer by tomorrow.”

He stood. “I won’t sign.”

“Then I’ll file.”

“You want Tessa to grow up in a broken home?”

I laughed, and it wasn’t a happy sound. “She’s been living in one for years. Fevers—I handled them. Recitals—I went. Nightmares—I soothed her. You just showed up for dinner sometimes.”

Grant’s face drained of color.

His phone rang. Natalie’s name lit up the screen.

He rejected it. She called again.

The third time, he answered in front of me, his voice ice.

“I said don’t call me.”

But Leo’s sharp cry cut through from the other end. “Grant! Mom fainted! Please come!”

Grant went still.

I didn’t rush him. Didn’t stop him.

Ten seconds passed. Then he grabbed his keys and ran for the elevator.

The doors slid shut, and he threw one quick look at me.

“I’ll take her to the hospital and come right back.”

The elevator numbers dropped.

The new kite he’d brought still leaned against my door.