“That won’t be happening. She’s on bed rest at home in Heatherfell.”
“What!? What happened? Is she okay?”
Jay shrugs, staring into the empty cup in his hand.
“Christmas was stressful for her and the baby. She’s been in the hospital for a couple of days because her blood pressure shot up. They’re both fine, but the doctors told her to slow down.”
“Fuck,” I drag my hands down my face. “This is all my fault.”
“Let’s not talk about blame,” Jay says. “I’m at fault too, for letting things escalate like that. What matters now is being there for her and giving her the support she needs.”
I throw my hands in the air. “What do you want me to do? Just tell me the plan, I’m in.”
“I’m happy you say that because I want you to stay and be there for her until the baby’s born. Our daughter needs you.”
Our daughter.
He says it like she’s still mine too, and he hasn’t said it that way since the adoption. After that, she was his little girl.
But hearing it now… It’s like I’m waking up from a long, dull sleep, and suddenly the feral burn inside my chest is back and its fire is stronger than ever. She’s my daughter.Mine.
I fold my arms and tilt my head. “She needs me? She said that to you?”
“More or less. She got emotional when we talked about you leaving and said it felt like you were doing it again.”
A harsh truth that takes my breath away.
“Please, Tom,” he says, and there’s something in his voice I don’t think I’ve ever heard before; a plea.
“You can’t do this to her again. Not when she needs you the most.”
I shake my head, my heart doing somersaults in my chest. God, this is so fucking hard. But Jay’s right.
I wasn’t there for her first day of school. Birthdays. Graduations. Her first art show. Or when she’d opened her gallery and all those strangers congratulating her while I was nowhere to be found. I missed all the milestones.
But then there’s Yosh. I’m about to move to the island and start this new chapter of my life with him. This changes everything.
Fuck. I’ve failed my daughter before. I can’t do it again, even if it means we postpone our plans for a while. My blood comes first.
Yosh will understand that. I know he will.
Will he?
Chapter fifty-seven
Yosh
Ilied. My bags are already packed, but I needed to get Tom out of there, I needed Jay to leave.
Tom still has to pack his carry-on.
I’ll help. He’s going to forget something; I just know it.
Warm socks, he’ll need those. Planes either blast the AC like it’s the Arctic or turn into the Sahara. There’s never an in-between.
Socks, check. And a hoodie. Something comfortable. Here’s one from their 2010 tour.
Does he even wear his own merch? No. Not his style. He’s too… him for that.
