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JAY
What do you think?
I couldn’t help but smile as I looked over the text from Dream. It was a picture taken in a very nice townhome, a two-bedroom place where she was planning on moving with Clarissa. The shot was over a big, open living room, the sun pouring into the empty space, the ocean visible off in the distance through the tall, rectangular windows.
Another text followed. Twelve-hundred square feet, two floors, and it’s even got an awesome rooftop that’ll be perfect for the Christmas party. And you can see in the picture that it’s right by the beach.
The place looked great. We’d been chatting over the last day since we’d seen one another. Evidently, she and her mother had a conversation where they’d patched things up a bit between them, her mother insisting that she help her with a new place now that she was going to be staying back in Charmed Bay long-term. No daughter of hers would be sleeping on a couch, had been her words according to Dream.
Looks amazing. But the real question is – do you have to sleep on a couch? I grinned as I sent the text, knowing already that the answer was a likely “no.”
The reply came a few moments later as I was filling up my coffee mug in my kitchen. It was a shot of a big bedroom with its own private balcony.
Does that answer your question?This was followed with a tongue-sticking-out emoji.
I let my eyes linger on the picture of the bedroom, imagining what it’d be like to have her alone in that room underneath the covers of some big, comfy bed. Maybe even up against the wall. Or even on the balcony with no one watching but the sea.
Well, what do you think?
I shook my head, snapping back into the moment.
Looks amazing. Can’t wait to see what you do with the place.
There was no doubt another question coming, one that she hadn’t asked yet. I decided to beat her to the punch and answer it in advance.
And yes, I’ll help you move. Don’t even worry about it.
The response was immediate. Hahaha! I was going to ask, but you know. There’s one thing about that. We’re prob going to be signing the lease today, but the only good day to do the moving in for the big stuff is on the 22nd. We can get all the small things, so it’d only be the furniture and beds. I figure with you all helping we could have it done in a few hours. Then we can party a couple days later!
There was no thinking about it – I was ready to help. The date was the twenty-second, so that gave them a solid day to get the rest of the stuff. Moving during the holidays came with some extra challenges - and deadlines - but my brothers and I were more than willing to help.
You know we’ll help. I’ll check with the guys, but I seriously doubt they’ll say no. And let us know if you need help with any of the other stuff. We can carry more than just couches, you know.
I know, but I don’t want to wring too much out of you guys. And thanks so much. You three are the best.
Happy to do it.
I had a big smile on my face when the conversation was over. I wanted the best for Dream, for her to hit the ground running with this new life of hers, to go after the success and happiness that she seemed destined for and certainly deserved.
Sure, there was still the matter of that prick Adam being in town. But if he knew what was good for him, he’d give Dream a wide berth. Because if I caught even the slightest whiff of him giving her any trouble…
Just the thought of Adam doing anything to make her upset was enough to make my hand clench into a diamond-hard fist. I pushed it out of my head as best I could, not wanting to get myself pissed over something that hadn’t yet happened. Still, I was on guard.
And there was something more that I’d been thinking about, something I couldn’t shake – the conversation we’d had about her mom had made me so badly want to talk to Dad. Just the idea was enough to make my stomach tighten. I hated that he still made me feel this way, that even as an adult I was scared to tell him about how what he’d done to me still stuck.
I sipped my coffee and stared off into space, wondering what it would be like to look my father in the eye and give him a piece of my mind. The scary part? The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. Something about bringing it up with Dream had turned my relationship with Dad from a distant thought that floated in the periphery of my mind to something concrete, a problem that I could deal with.
And most importantly, a problem I could solve.
I shook my head as I continued to sip my coffee. Was today going to be the day that I spoke to him? After all, Dad lived less than twenty minutes from my place. It’d take nothing more than a quick drive.
By the time I was done with my coffee I’d made my decision.
I was going to do it.
I picked up my phone, my heart thudding. I pulled up my text conversation with Dad, seeing that the last time I’d talked to him had been over four months ago, a quick exchange about when my leave was over.
I typed.
