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I walk around him and drop onto the bed. “Why are you packing?”
“I’m leaving.” His voice comes out flat.
My brows tug together. “Did something come up in Chicago?”
“No.”
Something about the tension in his body and the way he avoids eye contact has my heart racing in my chest. “Okay…” I tuck my legs underneath me. “How long are you going to be gone for?”
He pauses his erratic packing. “I’m not coming back.”
My laugh quickly fades at the pinched expression on his face.
I rise onto my knees so we can be eye level with each other. “What’s going on? Did something happen at dinner with your grandpa?”
His fist tightens around a shirt. “I can’t do this anymore.”
“You can’t dowhatanymore?”
His gaze slides from his suitcase to my face. “Us.”
My chest feels like a lightning bolt split it in half. “What?” The broken whisper barely makes it past my lips.
God. It’s the same speech my dad gave my mom the day he abandoned our family. Except instead of watching my father pack his bags, it’s Cal.
I shake my head.
No. Cal isn’t your father. He would never abandon you like that, especially after he promised to love you forever.
“We should have never gotten together,” he says softly.
My eyes burn as if I kept them open while submerged in salt water. “What did you just say?”
“You and I… It was stupid of me to think we would be a good match.”
I suck in a breath. He grabs a bottle of vodka off the nightstand and chugs until the clear liquid dribbles down his chin. My stomach churns at his drinking, but I ignore the acid crawling up my throat.
He is suffering,I rationalize.
This is only temporary while he copes with the end of his career,I repeat the excuse for the millionth time this summer.
I cradle his head between my hands, ignoring the way they tremble against his cheeks. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do.”
My fingers press into the sides of his face. “Just talk to me and tell me what’s happening.”
His red eyes dart away. “I don’t have anything else to say.”
“I thought you were…happy.”
“No, Alana. I washigh.” His upper lip curls.
I rear back. “What?”
That’s not possible. Cal knows how I feel about drugs. I’ve had the same negative stance on them ever since my sister overdosed the first time.
“How else do you think I made it through this miserable summer recovering from my injury while my team was out celebrating their big championship?”
