AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What are you saying, son? That your relationship with Everly—”
“Wasn’t real.”
Mom waved a hand at me. “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course, it was real.”
“I asked her to move in with me, to pretend to be my girlfriend. I know it was a stupid thing to do. Risky even. But I’d do anything to get Wren. It’s not an excuse. Especially not with how I treated her.”
Mom’s voice lowered to a dangerous level. “Explain this to me. Because from where I’m standing, it was real. You can’t fake these kinds of feelings.”
“Somewhere along the way, it felt real. Lines were blurred.” My parents didn’t need the sordid details. “I love her. But I don’t know if anything would have happened between us if I hadn’t forced the issue.” Maybe she’d feel differently now that she had her own space.
“Are you sure that’s what happened? Because you two have been in love with each other your whole lives. If you had to concoct some crazy story about needing a fake relationship to finally see what you mean to each other, I don’t know—” Mom broke off, her voice shaking with emotion.
“I don’t know anything anymore. Just that Wren is gone. And Everly is too.”
Dad stood, slapping his thigh. “You fucked shit up royally.”
“Language,” Mom snapped.
Dad rarely swore, and never in front of Mom, so it was a testament to how upset he was. “I want my granddaughter back.”
“I’m working on it, Dad.”
“And I want Everly back. I love that girl. And I’m so angry that you hurt her. How could you say something like that to her? However you started out doesn’t matter; you mean something to each other.”
I met their gaze. “I love her. She’s my everything.”
“Then start acting like it,” Mom said, frustration making her cheeks pink.
I’d asked her to marry me. I said the words she needed to hear. I built her a dream library. I supported her in starting her own business. Did one ill-advised comment erase everything else?
“You want to go through life on your own?” Dad asked.
“No.” This sucked. Sure, I had my parents, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted Everly here, her reassuring words wrapping around me like a comforting blanket. I needed her.
Mom threw up her hands in frustration. “What are you going to do about it? Because I’m not seeing anything from where I’m standing.”
“You need to get your head out of your ass,” Dad added.
“What am I supposed to do?” I felt like I was walking a tightrope with Wren on one side and Everly on the other. Almost like I couldn’t have both or have it all. I don’t know. It was mixed up in my head.
“Fix it,” Mom said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Fix it how? I can’t take back what I said.”
“You start with an apology, and then you continue to grovel from there,” Mom said reasonably.
“I’d go bigger, though. This requires something more,” Dad said thoughtfully.
Like some grand gesture. But I’d already built her a library. What else did she need?
My phone buzzed with a notification from my email. It was a message from Jackson. The emergency motion was attached to the email, but the message said he’d file it first thing in the morning, and I needed to be prepared for a hearing that day.
“Jackson’s saying there will be a hearing tomorrow if a judge is available.”
“Because it’s an emergency?” Mom asked.
“That’s right. I’m not—I wasn’t prepared for this to happen so soon. I’m—”
