It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover

Josh can’t see us from the dining room, so I give Lily a quick kiss. I doubt
he can hear us from where he is, but I whisper anyway. “What happened?”
She sighs with her entire body and leans against the couch, facing me. “He
showed up to get Emmy, and I wasn’t expecting him. He saw our
wineglasses. My clothes. He put two and two together, and he had the exact
reaction I was afraid he would have.”
“What reaction was that?”
“He got angry. But he left before it got too bad.”
Too bad? What does that even mean? “Does he know it was me who was
there?”
Lily nods. “That’s practically the first thing he asked. He got angry, and I
asked him to leave. And he did… but…”
She stops talking, and for the first time, I notice her hand is trembling.
God, I hate him so much. I pull her to me so that her cheek is pressed against
my chest and I hold her. “What did he do that scared you, Lily?”
Her palm is pressed right over my heart. She whispers, “He pushed me
against the door, and he got close to my face, and I thought he was going to
hit me or… I don’t know. He didn’t, though.” She must feel my heart
hammering twice as fast against my chest now, because she lifts her head and
looks at me. “I’m fine, Atlas. I promise. Nothing happened after that; it’s just
been a long time since I’ve seen him that angry.”
“He pushed you against the door. That’s not nothing.”
Her eyes flick away, and she lays her head back on my chest. “I know. I
know. I just don’t know what to do about it. I don’t know what to do about
Emmy. I was actually getting close to letting him have an overnight with her,
and now I don’t even want him to have unsupervised visits.”
“He doesn’t deserve unsupervised visits. You need to take him back to
court.”
Lily sighs, and I can tell this is probably the part of her life that causes her
the most stress. I can’t imagine what it must be like for her to watch him
drive off with her little girl in his car, knowing what he’s capable of. I’m glad
she came here today. I know it’s important to her that she waited to bring
Emmy around me, but she made the right decision. Ryle might show back up
to apologize and get Emmy, and he’ll find her at all her usual places.
He won’t find her here. Besides, Lily and I know this thing that’s been
brewing between us is absolutely a long-term situation. She doesn’t have to