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Whistling to Moses, I called him to me and headed for the door of my bedroom. Once there, I hastily packed a bag. Shoving a couple of pairs of jeans, a change of workout clothes, some socks and my tennis shoes into a bag before yanking three random t-shirts off the stupid hangers that I now had to use since Delanie had come into my duplex and taken it over with all of her stuff.
Before, I hadn’t been too upset about it. I liked that she’d moved in. More importantly, I liked that she wasn’t scared to make herself at home.
Now, though? Well, now I resented that she hung up my clothes. I loved when I could just go through a basket and pull them out without first having to take it off a hanger and replace them into a certain spot that she liked.
Zipping the bag a little harder than I intended, I went to the bathroom, gathered my toiletries and my bottle of 3-in-1 shampoo, conditioner and body wash, and shoved everything into a zippered bag. Grabbing it and my duffle, I walked out the door of my bedroom, unsurprised to see Booth, Dillan, and Delanie still standing there. Two of the three still looking pissed.
The whispering stopped when I entered the room, and Booth’s eyes narrowed on my bag.
Delanie’s were blank, not giving away whether she was happy or sad to see my shit packed.
I didn’t have anywhere to go except my camper, so I’d leave, stay at our land and come back once we’d all cooled down. Unlike them, I didn’t want to say anything that I would regret.
Not sparing anyone a glance, I snatched the keys to my truck off the table and whistled to Moses to follow me.
It was only as I got outside that I saw Asa standing there, looking heartbroken.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Bourne,” he said, tears in his eyes.
I touched the top of his head. “Sorry for what, kiddo?”
“That I lied and said I was sick,” he said. “I won’t ever do it again.”
This kid. God, how I loved him.
I dropped down onto my haunches and pressed my lips to Asa’s forehead. “Don’t worry about it, buddy. You didn’t do anything that every adult in this world wishes they could do every once in a while. I promise. Everything will be okay.”
“I don’t want you to go,” he said, tears now spilling over.
“I’m not going far. I’ll still see you at dinner tomorrow, I think,” I informed him. “I might be a little late, though. We’ll see.”
Asa’s tears continued to fall.
“Give me a hug, buddy.”
Asa threw himself into my arms and I wrapped him up in me tight.
It was only when I heard the footfalls that I let him go.
“Gotta go now, bud,” I stood.
I looked behind me to see Dillan standing there.
I was glad.
I didn’t think I had the gumption to talk to my brother or Delanie.
Seriously, I knew better than to do that.
Taking one last look in the door of my open house, I stomped to my truck and didn’t look back.
It was only after waiting a couple of hours for an apology that didn’t come that I realized it wasn’t going to come.
I got a little bit drunk, too.
Oh, and did something incredibly stupid.Chapter 16
Washing your makeup off is bittersweet. Like, goodbye, fierce, awesome bitch. Hello, bitch that can now rub her eyes.
-Text from Delanie to Dillan
Delanie
I looked at Booth, wondering if what I’d just said to Bourne was the wrong thing to say.
I had a feeling that it was.
But I replayed the call from my father.
Do you know where your child is?
I hadn’t.
I’d immediately left my meeting.
I’d called the school first, and they’d told me that he wasn’t there.
I’d then called Bourne, and he hadn’t answered.
Then I’d walked inside and talked to Booth, who also started calling around, asking.
Then I’d called Dillan, then Nico and Georgia.
None of them had known where he was.
Those sixty minutes since my father’s call where I didn’t know where he was felt like a lifetime.
A police officer had been heading our way, and the dispatch chick had told us to gather a recent photo of him and meet him at our house.
We’d left the meeting with the lawyer hastily, right in the middle of something very important, and headed to Booth’s place where Dillan had met us, looking haggard from her emergency she’d had to attend to at work.
We’d tried Bourne again, only for it to go straight to voicemail.
Then the dispatcher had suggested that we put a ‘be on the lookout’ out on Asa, and she’d asked me what he’d worn to school that day. And I hadn’t been able to answer.
I couldn’t remember what he’d been wearing because I hadn’t taken him to school. Bourne had.
Bourne had also dressed him as well, allowing me to sleep in and be a bit lazy.
