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“Maybe they won’t. I’m adding, ‘Can we talk first thing tomorrow?’ That would be way better, don’t you think?”
“For you, totally. You could do with some time to wrap your head around everything that’s happened today.” When I see she’s chewing her nail, I reach over to lower her hand. “Why don’t you close your eyes for a while and try to rest. Today was a lot.”
And when I look over a few minutes later, I see her eyes are shut and I can hear the steady rhythm of her breath. Girl is done passed out. I roll down my window so the breeze can keep me alert, and I drive, alone with my thoughts.
And her phone’s GPS is on the money, because it’s one-twenty-eight when I turn into Sarah’s long-ass driveway, making it exactly one-thirty when I cut the engine outside her house.
“Sarah, we’re here.”
She rouses from a deep sleep, then her eyes blink open in surprise when she sees where we are. “I’m home.”
“Yep.”
She stretches, making the shirt she’s wearing ride up. My first thought is:Will I ever get to see that again?Which makes me an ass because I should be more concerned about her emotional well being at the moment. But the future has been on my mind these past few hours, and I’ve come to the obvious conclusion that there’s not much I can do except let her know I’m in if she wants me.
“Can I call you tomorrow?”
“No,” she looks at me, so serious that I can feel the bottom falling out. “I want you to come over for lunch and hang out.”
“Here?”
“Yeah,” she looks at me like I’m an imbecile. “You don’t have to work until seven, right?”
“I should get in there by six.”
“Perfect.” She reaches for the door handle but turns back to me. “If we’re going to do this, they’re going to have to deal with it. And Liam,” there’s a plea in her eyes, “you have to give a little, too. There’s no me without them, just like I’m going to tell my parents there’s no me without you.” She leans over and gives me one soft kiss. “See you tomorrow.”
I nod, letting her know I’m on board because those words sound so good coming from her.
There’s no me without you.
Chapter Thirty-Six
SARAH
Time to face the music.
After stretching for a solid five minutes, I hop into the shower so I can face them with a clear head. I’m going to need coffee for this also. I’m officially stalling when I start thinking about Tatiana, the person I can thank for my morning coffee addiction.
Walking into the kitchen, I’m nervous. I’m not afraid they’ll be mad at me or anything, but I am afraid that by going to see Grace, I’ve gone ahead and fractured something between us that I won’t be able to repair.
My mother is at the coffee machine with her back turned to me. “Just gimme a second. I heard you in the shower so I started the coffee.”
“Mom,” the word comes out choked. I walk up behind her and hug her around the waist. She’s shaking with sobs the same way I am, and when she turns to embrace me, I get a glimpse of the swollen eyes that tell me she’s shed at least as many tears as I have these past few days.
“I love you, Sarah, so much.”
“I love you, too.”
“Come,” she tells me, leading me to the couch, coffee forgotten. And when we sit, I realize everything about my mother seems different. She’s dressed in terrycloth sweats, her hair is piled into a messy topknot and her face is a mess from crying, but it’s not that. She sounds different. There’s no bright smile, no overly chipper greeting—she’s not trying so hard.
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
I nod, still incapable of speech. I wipe my nose on my sleeve and take a breath that comes out in one long, shaky exhale. “I found the picture of her a couple of months ago. I tried to ask you, but—”
She lowers her head. “It was that day you were looking through your baby album. I was afraid that day. I thought maybe you knew.”
“So then why?”
