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We hadn’t, and I was well aware of that. I was happy for that. Both my parents had been tiptoeing around the issue, and fuck if I’d bring it up. There was already enough bullshit.
There was already enough pain.
“Charlie’s truth needed to come out,” I said, and I didn’t regret what I’d done. I may have regretted the fallout, and the way I’d gone about it, but I didn’t regret it. “I’m sorry, but…”
“I’m not talking about that, Dorian.”
My eyebrow arched, and he folded his hand over his face.
“I’m talking about the fact that my son is in pain,” he said, my heart jolting. “He is, and he won’t talk to me. He won’t talk to his mother. He’d rather do stuff like this, stuff with his friends instead of trusting me or his mother.”
I said nothing, my throat constricting. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry,” he stated, my eyes twitching. He nodded. “Because you’re so much like me. So, so much, son.”
But that wasn’t a bad thing. That was a great thing. I admired my father so much. “I didn’t want to hurt you and Mom. Especially if I was wrong about more going on that night. That night with Charlie?”
I’d only had a feeling, and why cause unnecessary pain if I didn’t know? It was the same reason I was keeping shit from them now. For all I knew, this shit with my grandfather… it could be nothing. He could just be trying to scare me.
I hoped he was only trying to scare me.
“And we don’t want you hurting.” Dad’s hand folded on my shoulder. “So just talk to us next time. Vent to us.” His lips tightened. “That stuff with the video shouldn’t have happened. You should have trusted me and your mother if you believed something more was going on.” He sighed. “You should have trusted me.”
I did trust him, and he was right.
I was so much like him. I was, and because I was, I couldn’t do what he said. I had to protect him too, him and Mom.
I have to know the truth.
I nodded because I had to in that moment, hating lying to my dad. He’d go to the ends of the earth for me.
“If you boys leave, don’t go far,” he said. He left, but I only stood in the kitchen for a few moments. After feeding Chestnut (we’d brought her with us), I looked around the cabin for my friends.
I ended up finding Wells and Thatcher in the dining room still. They had the rags they’d used to wipe down the table folded. Sitting in two of the dining room chairs, they had their thumbs dashing across their phones.
They stopped when I came in, my thoughts still turning from the conversation with my dad. Wells frowned. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied, outlining my mouth. I would talk to my dad. I would, but only if and when I thought it was necessary. I wasn’t quite sure yet as I approached my friends. I gazed around. “Where’s Wolf?”
“Smoking.” This came from Thatcher. He sat up. “Said he needed to think. Went outside after we finished in here.”
I wished I was out there with him, a strong blunt needed to calm me down right now.
Wells said he texted him to come inside, and while we waited, Thatcher got his laptop out. He booted it up. “Where’s your dad?”
“He, the dads, and LJ all went to the shops. They’re meeting up with our moms, Billie, and Bow for a movie.”
Thatcher tapped some keys. “That gives us some solid hours, then.”
My gaze directed to my buddy at the door, Wolf sauntering in. He had a beanie on over his hair, one he pulled off when he came into the room.
I gave him my hand. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He pulled me in, real quiet at dinner. We’d all been, and I was surprised none of our parents had called us out. We’d definitely exchanged looks between us. We had shit to talk about, but no opportunity.
At least until now, the cabin quiet. I tapped Wolf’s fist. “You were smoking?”
“Yeah, just needed to get out of my head.” He angled his gaze around. “Where are the dads?”
