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“Right, so I’m letting you get back to your homework. And I’m going to delve into myamazingbook.”
I chuckle. “Talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
I’m still smiling as I end the call and go downstairs for something to eat. The only thing I know how to cook is pasta, so I’m making mac and cheese for dinner.
As I’m waiting for the water to boil, the front opens and Dad walks in. His graying brown hair is disheveled and he looks like he sat at a desk for hours.
“Hi,” I greet.
He looks up at me like he didn’t realize I’m standing here. “Hi.”
I nod to the box of pasta in my hand. “I’m making mac and cheese. Want me to make some for you?”
He looks at me as though he’s looking through me instead of at me. “No.” He walks off.
I squeeze the box. I get that he’s hurting. I don’t know what it’s like to lose a child, but I know what it’s like to lose a sibling. So why doesn’t he understand that we’re going through the same thing? Does he think I’m strong enough to not let the pain consume me like it consumes him?
I guess pretending I’m not standing here is his way of making it through the days. But what did I do wrong? It’s not like I’m the one who caused the helicopter to crash.
Sighing, I shake those thoughts away. If I let them circle around in my head, I’ll be buried alive just like my dad.
Chapter Eighteen
Willow
As I’m getting ready for school on Friday, my phone rings with a video call from my fake boyfriend. I glance down at my pajamas. If Colt was my real boyfriend, maybe I’d care about what I’m wearing and that my hair is a mess. Maybe. Probably not.
“Hey,” I say when his face pops up on my screen.
He smiles. “Good morning, Willow. How did you sleep?”
“Good. Did you call just to ask me that? I think you’re going beyond what a fake befriend should do.”
“Actually, I was wondering if you need a lift to school.”
“You want to drive me to school? Okay, thanks.”
“Great. See you soon.”
After I go downstairs, greet my family and eat breakfast, I grab my backpack and drop down on the stairs outside my house. No more than a few minutes pass before a car pulls up in front of the house. It’s silver and fancy, the kind of car any kid my age would dream of driving.
The driver’s door opens and Colt steps out, waving at me with a large smile. “Good morning,” he says as he walks up to me.
“Hey. Nice wheels.”
He looks at his car with pride. “Thanks. Picked it out myself.”
I forgot for a second that his family is well-off. But other than this car and the house, Colt doesn’t really show off his wealth. Like my family.
“You didn’t have to come all the way here. I could have come to the car.”
He wraps an arm around me. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t escort my lady to the car?”
I playfully roll my eyes at him. “How many girls have you tried that line on?”
His eyebrows knit. “Just one. You.”
