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“That wasn’t your fault.”
“I know, but I still feel guilty that he missed out on stuff. How did you know that she left? Did Sean tell you?”
“No, it was on the news. Back when they were talking about your dad.”
“I didn’t think you watched the news.”
“I don’t, but my aunt does, and when I heard your name, I paid attention. I can’t believe that happened. You must’ve been so scared.”
“I was more embarrassed than scared. I never should’ve believed him.”
“You were just a kid, and he’s your dad. It makes sense you’d believe what he said.”
“Not after Dean warned me about him. He told me over and over not to trust Dad, but I didn’t listen. And look what happened.”
“At least you got away.” Tara looks back at the shirt and holds the needle over it. “Is this too close?”
I take her hand and move the needle where it should go. “Start it here. You want to be so close you’re almost overlapping the last stitch. And if you do, that’s fine.”
I let go of her hand, trying to ignore how good it feels to touch her and feel her in my arms, her back against my chest. Being here with her it almost feels like we’re dating. Like we’re just spending the afternoon together, hanging out without feeling the need to go anywhere. It’s so easy to be around her. I don’thave to hide who I am or pretend to be someone else. She knows about my past and I know about hers, and we don’t judge each other for it.
“When your mom left,” Tara says, “did you think she’d come back?”
“Yeah, definitely. She’d left before, so I assumed it’d be like all the other times. Then a month went by and I started to get worried.”
“I was the same way when my mom left. But she hadn’t left before so after a day, I got worried. My aunt wouldn’t tell me anything. I don’t think she knew if Mom would be back either. She kept calling her and she wouldn’t answer. Then after a few weeks, my aunt cleaned out the house my mom had been renting and threw out all her stuff. That’s when I knew she wasn’t coming back.”
“Have you heard from her? Since she left?”
“No. My aunt tried to track her down but couldn’t find her. For all we know, she’s dead. Or maybe she got herself into trouble and moved to a different country to avoid being arrested. Who knows? I try not to think about it.”
“My mom came back. She showed up a few months after Dean and I moved to Texas.”
“And what happened?”
“She tried to get me to live with her. She was with one of her loser boyfriends. They were living in his trailer. Just like with Dad, Dean warned me about her. He told me not to trust her, but I did. I fell for her story about wanting me back in her life. I can’t believe I was that stupid.”
“You weren’t. You just wanted your mom and wanted to believe that she’d changed. I would’ve believed her too.” Tara pauses as she makes another stitch. “We have a lot in common, Jake.”
“Yeah, we do. You’re one of the few people I can talk to about this. That’s one of the reasons I like spending time with you. I don’t feel like you’re judging me because of my family or where I came from.”
“Does that mean you’ll come back?”
“Here?”
“Yeah.” She keeps making stitches, going a little faster now. “I know you’re busy with school, but if you ever want to come over and just hang out like this, you can.”
“Like this week?” I joke.
She laughs. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
I’m confused. She wants me to come over, but still wants to be Troy’s girlfriend? That doesn’t make sense. If she’s dating Troy, she should be with him, not me.
She finishes her last stitch. “Okay, now what?”
“Let me make sure you’re done.” I tug on the fabric, making sure the seam doesn’t have any openings. “It’s good. Just tie a knot at the end, and then I usually run the needle through the fabric to make sure it doesn’t come undone before I cut the thread.”
I watch as she does it, then take the shirt from her and set it down.
