I got out of bed and quickly showered before I packed my bag. Before I did anything, I needed to speak to Marco.
“Hey, sweetie, you heading off already?” Mom asked, catching me with my bag in the hallway.
“Yeah, I was just going to pack the car and come say goodbye. Something came up, and I need to head back.”
She gave me a knowing smile and walked to the kitchen. When I returned from putting my bag in the car, there was already a big travel mug filled with coffee, a box with cake, and a sandwich waiting for me.
“You’re an angel, Mom.”
“And you’re a little devil. I thought I’d have you another day.” She pouted.
“I know, Mom. Four more months, and I’ll move back, and then you’ll be sick of me. I promise.”
She tsked. “I will never. I love having my boys close to me. Although I will say this, Troy. You go wherever you need to go, okay?”
“Okay, Mom.”
“I’m serious. If your happiness is in a different state or even a different country, that’s all that matters.”
I hugged her tight because I didn’t know what to say. She’d always been perceptive, but did she know more than she was letting on?
“I’ll see you soon, Mom.”
Before I drove off, I grabbed my phone to send a couple of important messages.
TROY
Hi, Sergei. I have to head to campus earlier and don’t want Alexi to cut his time with his parents short on my account. Can you help?
His reply was almost instant.
SERGEI
We’ll take care of it, don’t worry. We can fly him out.
The next message took a lot more care to draft, but everything I typed came out wrong.
I pressed the voice message button and started recording. “Hey, Alexi. Um…nothing I type sounds right, so I’m going to say this and hope you can hear the sincerity in my voice. I care about you more than you could possibly know. I want to talk to you. When my brother told me to check up on you, I refused, but then we kept running into each other. Everything that happened between us was real. Fuck, it was the most real thing I’ve ever had. You asked for no secrets, but I’m keeping one. A big one I can’t tell you right now. I’m driving back now. Before we can talk, I have to work a few things out. I hope you can forgive me for leaving you behind. Sergei will make sure you get back safely.” I laughed. “I guess I owe you another apologyfor that, huh? You’re more than capable of making your own arrangements. Anyway, I have to get on the road, but I’ll call you in a couple of days, okay?”
I stopped the recording, and before I could think about it too hard, I pressed send and then turned my phone to silent. I picked my usual driving playlist and hit the road.
It was early evening but dark when I pulled into my parking space. My mom’s coffee, cake, and sandwich had kept me going during the drive, but I was craving real food.
The question was, should I crash at Marco’s place and talk to him now? Or should I grab dinner from my favorite restaurant and ask Marco to meet me tomorrow?
“It’s a nice neighborhood you live in.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Rory leaning against the front door to my building.
“Rory. What…what are you doing here?”
“Did you know it’s a lot faster to fly here from Connecticut than drive?”
I put my code into the pad to open the door. Rory followed me to the elevator.
“I like driving,” I said.
“Not as fun on your own, is it?”
