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“I can’t believe this.”
My mom sat beside me, placing her arm around my back. “We’ll get through this…as a family. And you’ll get to see the world. Just think, we can ski in the Alps, vacation in Madrid… You’ve always wanted to see the world, son—”
“Not like this.”
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”
“You guys keep saying that…”
“Because it’s true. You’ll see.”
We sat in silence, my eyes still shut tight as I attempted to push the world away from the wheels spinning out in my brain.
Clearing my throat, I asked, “When do we leave?”
“Your father leaves tomorrow…” she hesitated, not finishing her sentence.
“And us?”
“Our flight’s next week.”
My head shot up, and I glared at her, feeling rage explode inside of me. “What? Are you kidding me?”
“Your dad’s company arranged the flights. I had no choice. We’ll be shipping most of our stuff in the next few days.”
“I can’t believe this! How long have you known?”
“We didn’t want to say anything until we knew for sure—until things were definite.”
My jaw ticked. “Mom. How long?”
“A few weeks. But they made it official this morning.”
“I can’t—” my voice cracked.
“Wyatt, I’m sorry. But I promise…we’ll make the best of it, okay? I swear to you. It’s going to be an adventure. One not many people your age get to have.”
“Whatever,” I muttered. “If you’re thinking I’m going to thank you for this amazing opportunity, then you don’t know me at all.”
I didn’t want to hear my mother’s promises; I didn’t want to hear her apologies. I only wanted Tilly. A tear rolled down my cheek as I thought about having to leave her—about the agony of telling her goodbye.
I wasn’t sure I could do it. I wasn’t sure I could say the words—to crush her the way my parents had just crushed me.
She was everything to me. She was my world.
And my world was imploding.
Like a zombie, I walked down the hall to my bedroom just as the phone rang.
“If that’s Tilly, I’m not here.”
“What?” my mom asked, sounding shocked. I never turned down a call from Tilly. Never. “But you—”
“Not. Here.”
Mom nodded and walked to the kitchen to answer the phone. I slammed my bedroom door behind me and turned on my stereo, cranking up the volume so high that my walls reverberated with the bass.
Less than an hour before, I was invincible. I was in love. I was happy. I was strong. But now? Now I was losing everything that mattered. Throwing myself on my bed, I stared up at the ceiling and tried to lose myself in the lyrics, to drown out my misery. But I couldn’t.
I was going to lose Tilly. And for that, I would never forgive my parents.
Not ever.
