Oh my God.
My pulse pounds at different points in my body, my breath turning shallow as thoughts skitter around my brain.Dad isgetting married. I don’t have anywhere to live. I don’t have a job. And I’m graduating in May.
The panic must be obvious on my face, because my dad’s chest puffs out, eyebrows cinching in defensiveness mixed with a dash of indignation.
“I don’t need your permission, Avery.” His voice turns to sandpaper, covering up the softness of his hurt feelings.
“Dad,” I begin, my tone kind but firm as I step into territory that is familiar for us. “This is a big surprise, so you should expect us to feel surprised. A lot of emotions happening here,” I gesture from me to Camryn. “It doesn’t mean we aren’t happy for you and Lara.”
He nods, mollified. Lara’s gaze darts from me to my dad. She’s taking in the exchange, cataloging the volley and understanding the dynamics.
“Right, hon. Sorry, I should’ve known that. Guess I just really want you to be happy your old man has finally found someone to spend his life with.”
I don’t bother pointing out he already found someone to spend his life with, and her life was cut short. Or that if he’d remarried while I was still a kid, maybe I could’ve spent more time being one. Instead, I look at my sister and say, “We are, right Cam?”
She nods slowly. “We sure are. In fact…” Her eyes light up. I can see it now, this idea she’s getting. “We should throw you an engagement party. Avery can bring her boyfriend.”
I close my eyes and shake my head. Stirring the pot is Camryn’s favorite pastime.
“I guess now I get to be on the receiving end of the surprise,” my dad comments, eyebrows lifted. “Since when do you have a boyfriend?”
My mouth opens to answer, but Camryn is there first, delivering another one-two punch. “Since he rescued her fromher house as it burned down last weekend.” Cam reaches over the arm of the couch, hand disappearing from sight. When she straightens, there’s a newspaper in her grasp. Tossing it on the table, she announces, “Extra extra, read all about it.”
My dad takes one look at the front page, using the photo itself to tell him the story. His jaw slackens, and he swallows. Hard. “This is you? Being rescued?”
Horror. That’s what I hear in his voice.
“I was waiting to tell you in person. I knew you’d be home soon, and I thought it was better to learn something like this about your child when you’re face-to-face with them.”
Lara’s hand is at her mouth as she skims the article. Her eyes are wide. “Avery, I’m so sorry you had to go through this. It must have been terrifying for you.”
“I’ve never been so scared in my life.” In my mind I see Gabriel, opening the door to my bedroom and striding inside. The memory has shifted, changed by what I’ve learned since. I know the face beneath the mask. The body beneath the heavy clothing. The lip bite and the expressive eyebrows and the emotions that go into the job.
It alters the memory, casting a warmth to it where there should be nothing but terror and trauma. My hindsight has become rose-colored.
My dad has twenty questions. I answer them as best as I can, but there are some, like what Sabrina’s parents are doing about the house and insurance, for which I don’t have a response.
“Where are you staying?” he asks.
I point to Cam, who will be on the receiving end of some grief later. “Her bed.”
Guilt flits across his face. It crosses my mind to needle him a little, remind him I can’t make a bed out of a weight bench, but I leave it be.
Dad threads his arm around Lara’s shoulders. “Sounds like it’s going to be a full house,” he tells her.
I guess that means she’s moving in here.
“Fine by me,” she says brightly. “It’ll give me a chance to get to know the girls.”
The girls. Maybe one day I won’t mind being called that, but for right now the motherly way she says it irritates me.
“Speaking of kids—” My dad twists his wrist to check his watch, the action pulling Lara in closer to him. He takes the opportunity to kiss her temple. “We’d better get going. Lara’s boys are expecting her.”
“The question is…” Camryn points at our dad and moves her finger in a circle. “Are they expecting you?”
Lara’s lips twist, worry filtering into her eyes.
“We’re surprising everybody today,” Dad says, standing. He offers a hand to Lara, helping her upright.
