Back to You

Lauren laughed softly, remembering their tumultuous relationship. “Yes.”

“Holy shit. Je

“You’d probably think so, yes.”

He smirked. “So is that who you were with last weekend?”

Lauren bit her lip, the corners of her mouth going up. “No, I was out with a friend.”

Michael looked at her for a second before he nodded. “Ah,” he said in understanding. “Well…did you have a good time?” There was a forced casualness to his tone now, like he knew it was the appropriate question to ask, even though he had no desire to hear the answer.

She looked down, a tiny smile on her lips as she thought back to the previous weekend. “Yeah, I did. It was…nice,” she said, her smile growing a bit more pronounced.

She felt Michael shift beside her. “Did you meet this guy at school?”

This time, Lauren pressed her lips together, but they twisted up in spite of her attempt. “No, he was my do and turned to look at her.ck you toctor. My chiropractor, actually.”

There was a beat of silence before she heard a grunted, “Hmmph.”

She turned her head toward him. “What?” she asked, trying not to sound defensive.

He looked at her, his expression derisive. “Must be a good guy.”

She shifted toward him fully now, folding her arms as her brow knitted together. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh come on,” he said, his expression matching his condescending tone. “Aren’t there rules against that kind of thing? Aren’t there lines doctors aren’t supposed to cross with their patients? I don’t know. The kind of guy that would take advantage of something like that just doesn’t earn himself any points in my book.”

Lauren could feel the need to justify herself—to justify Adam—swelling in her chest, battling with the overwhelming desire to tell him to mind his own business. She felt her teeth come together, and she took a steadying breath, trying to keep herself calm. Was he really going to have the audacity to sit there and question Adam’s morality? After what he’d done to her?

“I’m sorry, do you even know him?” she snapped. “And I’m pretty sure it’s not your book he needs to be earning himself points in anyway.” Despite her best efforts, the bitterness was dripping from her tone.

Michael was looking at the water bottle as he rolled it slowly in his hands, his expression unreadable.

“And what about you?” she asked, turning roughly back toward the TV. “Still dating the wi

For a minute, there was nothing but the quiet murmur of the television between them, and Lauren thought he might not answer her. But then he spoke, his voice so soft that she almost had to strain to hear it.

“No. I don’t date anymore.”

Instantly Lauren felt the anger drain from her body at his tone. She hated that his vulnerability still had that effect on her. She inhaled slowly and blew her breath out in a huff, ridding herself of the last bit of animosity she had been feeling toward him. Wasn’t she supposed to be over those feelings anyway? Hadn’t she promised Je

“Yeah, I guess you don’t have the time, huh,” she said softly.

“No, I could make the time if I wanted to. But…I won’t do that to her.”

Lauren turned toward him. “To who?”

“Her,” he said, motioning behind him to Erin. “I’m not go

He looked down, pulling his brow together, and Lauren watched his shoulders rise before he lifted his eyes back to hers. “I would never allow someone into this house unless I knew they were worthy of her.”

Lauren’s breath caught in her throat. There was no mistaking the meaning behind his words, behind the look in his eyes. There was no ignoring the fact that she was in his home right now, caring for his daughter. Lauren stared at him, unmoving, and as her breathing finally picked back up, so did her heart rate.

She knew at that moment that coming to Michael’s house was a bad idea. Between Erin’s earlier comment, the photo album, and now this, she could feel emotions brewing inside her that were supposed to be long gone.he corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. , le

It suddenly felt like there was a magnet in her chest, like some unseen force was pulling her toward him. Lauren pressed her hands into the carpet, trying to stop the imperceptible forward motion of her body.

What did her body even want her to do? Hug him? Kiss him? Rest her head on his shoulder in comfortable silence, the way she had so many times before?

His gaze was implacable, and as much as she tried, as much as she knew she needed to, she couldn’t look away from him.

Her heart leapt into her throat when finally, he moved toward her. It was the tiniest movement, but she noticed it nonetheless.

“Lauren,” he said, his voice gentle, and suddenly it was like someone dumped a bucket of water over her head. She jerked back slightly, her eyes widening.

“I think she’s asleep,” she said, looking everywhere but him as she fumbled to stand up. “I…I, um…should probably go.”

She stood quickly, her movements uncoordinated, and he moved back to his original position, his eyes on the floor.

“Yeah, you should go,” he said, ru

Lauren hurried into the kitchen and grabbed her purse, concentrating on slowing her breath. She needed to get the hell out of there. Quickly.

No sooner than she had her purse in her hands, she heard the soft cry. “I don’t feel good. I need the bucket!”

Lauren rushed back to the living room just in time to see Michael jump up and grab the bucket. He held it in front of Erin as she retched over it, missing the bucket slightly and getting some on Michael’s hands and the floor.

She put her purse down and turned toward the kitchen, gathering some paper towels and wetting some. By the time she came back into the living room, it was over, and Michael was speaking in soft, reassuring tones to Erin as she laid back down on the couch.

Lauren knelt beside him, using the wet paper towels to wipe his hands, and he glanced over at her. “Thank you,” he said softly, and she nodded, looking away from him to start wiping the floor.

Once everything was cleaned, Lauren went into the kitchen to dispose of the dirtied towels while Michael went to the bathroom to wash out the pail. When they both returned, Erin was sitting up on the couch. She looked exhausted, but marginally better. “I’m thirsty,” she said, her tiny voice raspy, and Michael looked over at Lauren.

“Pedialyte?” he asked, and Lauren nodded.

She walked with him into the kitchen, grabbing a cup while he took the bottle out of the bag and read the directions on the back.

“Put that in the fridge after you open it,” Lauren said. “And only a little at a time, or it will just come right back up.”

He nodded, screwing the cap off and pouring about an inch into the cup that Lauren held out. As she brought it out to Erin, she heard the sounds of him putting the bottle in the fridge.

“Here you go sweetheart,” Lauren said, sitting on the couch beside her. “Little sips, okay?”

Erin nodded, holding the cup in two shaky hands as she brought it to her lips, taking bird-like sips, and Lauren ran her hand soothingly over Erin’s hair.