I know this tour is important, but the idea of sitting somewhere quiet sounds like heaven. “Maybe just for a second,” I admit.
He steers me toward a bench nearby, away from the crowd but close enough to still hear the guide if I want to. I sink down and let out a shaky breath.
“You're allowed to feel overwhelmed," Dominic says, sitting beside me. “It's a big school.”
“I just thought l’d feel more…ready,” I admit, barely above a whisper.
I’ve dreamed of going to school here my whole life—of moving to the city and making a life for myself. The last thing I expected was to feel like maybe I’m not cut out for my own dreams.
“Feeling ready doesn't mean you're not allowed to be scared,” he says. “If it wasn’t scary, then it wouldn’t be a change. It doesn’t mean you can’t handle it.”
I blink back tears that catch me off guard since I rarely let myself get so emotional, especially in public. I hate how much I'm leaning on him, how dependent on him I am. But in this moment, I don't care.
“I don't know if I can do this without you,” I whisper.
Dominic's face softens, and he reaches for my hand, lacing his fingers with mine. “You can,” he says confidently. “It’s only a few hours distance and we’ll see each other on the weekends.”
I wish his words had the calming effect I know he intended, instead they have the opposite. We’ll be hours apart, and I’m barely surviving minutes.
I can’t do it.
CHAPTER 24
Elyse
FIVE-COURSE-MEAL
PRESENT
“Elyse, you don’t have to do this,” my mom protests as I clean the living room of my childhood home.
She’s lying on the couch, looking at me like she’s contemplating ripping the hand-held vacuum out of my hands, if only to demonstrate I’m not doing it correctly.
“Well, you fired the cleaners I hired to help you out, so now I’m handling it.” I can’t help the annoyance in my voice. She’s not supposed to lift more than ten pounds for six weeks, which means she really can’t do much. To be nice, and help her out, I hired cleaners to come weekly for the next three months. They came one day, and she promptly let them go because they used chemicals she didn’t like. Which is valid, I get it, but maybe communicate before straight up firing them, and then trying to take on the cleaning as if nothing has happened.
My dad’s birthday celebration is today, and all of our family birthdays are at my parents’ house. I tried to convince them that we should do this one at the winery since we dolarger events there, but they both said no, that it wasn’t homey enough.
My mom sighs and rolls her eyes, clearly not thrilled about being sidelined. “I just don’t like feeling useless.”
“You’re not useless.” I give her a reassuring smile. “But you need to rest and let me take care of things. We don’t want you overdoing it today.”
She sighs again, but nods in agreement. “I know, I know. I just hate being a burden.”
“You’re not a burden. And I’m not saying this to guilt you, but I need you to be healthy for the long haul. And besides, you’ve already done so much for us over the years. It’s our turn to take care of you.”
She studies me for a moment, her eyes softening. “You’re right. Thank you, sweetie. I appreciate you doing this.”
“Of course,” I reply, slightly out of breath. My townhouse takes me an hour to clean, tops. I’m not used to taking on as big of a space as this one on my own. “Now, why don’t you go relax and let me finish up in here?”
Standing, she gives my shoulder a squeeze before heading to her bedroom.
Before I can get lost in my task, the doorbell rings and rings and rings. I groan internally.Who’s here this early?When I open the door, Shane is standing with his arms full of bags, using his hip to continue to ring the bell.
“Walk slower than a sloth, why don’t you,” he mumbles, stomping past me. “These bags are heavy as fuck.”
“Hello to you, too. How’s your day? Mine’s great, I’ve only been cleaning for over an hour. By myself.” I tell him through a clenched jaw as I follow him into the kitchen.
He sets the bags on the marble kitchen island with a groan. “I thought you hired cleaners. We all pitched in.”
