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“Yes." I don't even hesitate, the emotions refusing to stay hidden anymore. "She means everything. I love her. And that's all you need to know about it."
My mother sighs. “Well, now I’ll definitely have to meet her.”
“You’ll meet her when she’s ready to meet you,” I say. “I don’t want you to scare her off.”
“But… I want to know if she's good enough for you.”
“You mean rich?”
“No, and I keep telling you I'm not a snob, damn it."
"Mom, don’t deny it. It's tiring playing this dance. I know you want some billionaire's daughter but I can’t give you that. I can’t sacrifice myself to give you that.”
My mother is quiet for a few seconds and her expression almost crumples into itself. It might have if not for the botox. If I didn't know better, I would have thought she was hurt.
"Rowenna, leave the boy alone.” My father’s voice comes from behind me. I turn to see him emerge from the kitchen, looking older and more haggard than he has in a long time.
"What are you doing here?” I ask.
"I asked him to come." My mother walks forward. “Your father and I have something to say."
“Let me talk to him alone," my father says.
I look between the two of them. trying to figure out what's happening. "You guys aren't about to tell me you're getting back together, right?"
They're both quiet which confirms my suspicions.
"Fuck." I rub my hand over my face. "Seriously?"
My mother takes that as her cue to exit toward the kitchen, brushing her hand over my arm as she does.
My dad shakes his head. There is silence between the two of us before he finally speaks.
“Look, I know you don’t want to see me and I don’t blame you. What I did to your mother was unforgivable and the worst mistake of my life." His face goes through a series of emotions, but honesty shines through. "But your mother and my relationship was very complicated. That's part of why I was so hard on you growing up. And I apologize for it."
Too little too late.
"I don't care about your relationship," I tell him truthfully. "Just leave me out of the drama this time."
My father opens his mouth to say something, then thinks better of it and simply nods shortly. I can see the sadness in his eyes, and while I feel for him, it would be impossible to establish a relationship with him this far in the game.
"And I don't know who this girl is," he continues surprisingly, "but I can tell you love her very much. And if there's one thing I've learned, it's that if you love a woman, you have to show her. Fight for her."
It's strange. My father is the last person I expected to get relationship advice from, particularly advice that is so pertinent to my situation. I'm tempted to ask if he's been spying on me. But instead, I admit, “It's not that easy.”
"It isn't," he admits, but then his eyes shine with pride. "But my son’s a fighter. He's the best at it, actually. Now fight for her."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ava
Anxietytearsthroughmeas I sit on the couch waiting for him. He said that he would be coming over later, but I don’t know when later is. I’ll wait the entire night if I have to, because I need to explain it to him, to apologize.
I don’t want to lose him. Not like this.
I love him. I finally admit it to myself. I love him.
Luckily, Mimi stayed asleep through most of the commotion and I’m praying she stays that way when Maddox comes over so we can hash it out once and for all. As luck would have it, my daughter is a pretty deep sleeper.
