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“And if I promise to answer?”
Smiling, she nuzzles her nose with mine. “Um, I think the words were,fuck, Laney,” she groans, doing that imitation of my voice again that I find so fucking adorable.
Chuckling, I squeeze her ass again. “Okay fine, hit me with it, woman.”
She kisses me once before asking, “So if it wasn’t because of a girl, and you and your dad were already not talking, what happened during your last semester to make you flunk out?”
“Laney,” I groan, burying my face against the crook of her neck.
“What?”
“God,” I growl. “You really know how to make a guy work for it, don’t you?”
She slides off my body, turning my face to hers. “Tell me, Alex,” she says softly.
I let out a long exhale, rolling over so I’m half lying on top of her now. “It was a girl,” I start. “And it was also my dad.” She gives me a weird look at this, as though she doesn’t understand. Wishing to fuck we could just get to the good stuff again, I say, “After a string of girlfriends and shit, he finally decided to up and propose to one of them.”
“Oh shit,” she breathes out.
“Yeah,” I admit. “Called me just as my last semester started to let me know. They’re getting married next spring. So yeah, that happened.”
18
DELANEY
Ican hear the heartbreak in his voice as he tells me about his dad getting engaged. I can’t even imagine how he feels, especially after losing his mother and having a contentious relationship with his father. I’m sure this feels like a slap in the face to him. If his father couldn’t put everything he had into raising his only child, a child he created with the love of his life, why can he now suddenly find the space for someone new? It’s hurtful, even to me because I know how much Alex craves someone to love him unconditionally.
“Have you met her?” I ask, not because I’m going to tell him he should be accepting of it, but because he needs to realize that she isn’t the enemy.
“No, and I’m not sure I want to,” he says, his tone harsh and the anger radiates through the small space between us.
“I get that, but maybe she isn’t so bad. Maybe she could be a way to heal the relationship between you and your dad.” I sound a little hypocritical since the relationship I have with my parents is anything but functional right now.
“Do you think they know we’re missing?” Alex now asks, changing the subject and I get it, it’s a tough subject to talk about.
“Who? Our parents?” I ask, clarifying. I’m certain Zoey and Max and even Elissa know we’re missing. I even wonder if Ethan Morrison has come down from his elusive mansion in the mountains of Badger Creek.
“Yeah, our parents. I’m sure my dad doesn’t even give a shit. It’s probably better for him that I’m officially out of the picture.” He lets out a hard sigh, feeling sorry for himself, but I also worry he partially believes what he just said.
As much as my relationship with my parents is rough at best, I don’t think I’ve ever believed that they viewed me as a burden or hoped that something like this would happen to me. I’ve never been able to be honest with them or talk openly about things, but I do know they love me.
Alex doesn’t feel this way about his dad, and it breaks my heart. It also explains so much about his behavior. Falling in love or being loved aren’t something he understands so treating women the way he does makes it easy for him to just walk away. He never gets too attached so he never has to feel the heartbreak of losing someone he loves.
I understand where he’s coming from because I found myself hating the idea of finding a boyfriend only to have my heart broken too, but I know I don’t want to spend the rest of my life alone. Alex has shown me what it’s like to find someone who will do anything to protect me. I don’t want to lose that with him, and all I can hope is that he feels the same way about me too.
“Alex,” I say, resting my hand on his cheek. “You don’t really believe that about your dad, do you?”
“Sometimes, yeah,” he says, leaning into my touch. “I don’t know what it is about you, Delaney Hayes, but you make me vulnerable.” He laughs a little as if this is a joke, that what he said is supposed to hold some humor.
I know exactly what it is that’s making him feel this way, but both of us are too scared to admit it. We’re falling in love, or we’re already in love with each other. It’s making Alex realize everything he’s been missing and the honesty is pouring out of him. He’s grown comfortable with me and I have with him. I want him to tell me all his fears and what makes him happy and his plans for the future. I want to love him so much that he forgets that his heart has been broken for so long.
“I do think your dad knows you’re missing. I’m sure Max called him. I would guess he’s even in Tahoe, possibly searching for us too. He’s your dad, Alex.”
“How about your parents?”
“I would think they’re here too. My mom is probably worried sick. She used to get so mad at me when I stayed out past curfew with Zoey. She’d yell at me and then later my dad would tell me she was worried. Sometimes I don’t think they know how to communicate.”
“Yeah, I think that’s kinda how things are with my dad too. He doesn’t know how to talk to me about anything until I fuck something up.” Alex says.
