“He is your best friend, and it’s kind of shitty what you’re saying about him,” Lie says.
“We’re going home.”
Lie backs away until his back hits my chest. He shakes his head. “No,” he says, voice quiet. I’m sure it didn’t reach Nason over the chaos of fireworks.
I know that the anger I see in Nason is hiding a lot of other things. Betrayal. Hurt. Confusion. But it’s his anger that he hangs onto and fuels. We watch him turn and stomp away down the beach.
It’s only as he’s moving away from us that I see Miranda there, too. Great.
“Dad!” Lie calls.
For the first time in my life, I watch Nason ignore his son. No matter how many times Lie calls after him, Nason walks away.
This isn’t how it’s supposed to happen. Nason should be mad at me. He should not be taking it out on Lie. I close my eyes and wrap my arms around Lie. What have I done?
Chapter Twenty-Eight
LAIKEN
Things do not get betterover the next few days. I keep telling Lie to give Nason some time to process. He’s not wrong. We were lying to him. Lying by omission is still lying. That’s exactly what we were doing.
Yes, he knew we were both seeing someone in secret. But this was a big line we crossed, and we both know that. We chose to cross it anyway.
However, seeing how truly devastated Lie is because Nason won’t talk to him makes me angry. I would much rather take the entire brunt of Nason’s behavior than have Lie deal with it at all. They’ve never fought. Ever. So this is truly awful for Lie.
There are constant tears shining in his eyes every time he comes over.“Dad’s acting like I don’t exist.”
His words hurt my heart. I can only imagine how truly painful it is for Lie. I’ve never seen a father and son with such a special relationship as the one Nason and Lie share. Which is why this is pissing me off the longer Nason treats Lie like a ghost.
He doesn’t deserve that. Even if he disagrees with our decision, Lie doesn’t deserve to be treated the way Nason is treating him.
I can’t even enjoy holding Lie to me without hiding it. Without fear of someone seeing us through the window we’re standing in front of. Not when I know how incredibly upset he is right now. And I have no idea how to fix it except to let Nason take some time and sit with the facts.
Unsurprisingly, news has spread around the island andeveryoneknows. There are definitely those who disapprove for one of a few reasons. Namely, age or that he’s my best friend’s son. I point out that they can’t sit here and tout ‘love is love’ when it’s convenient for them and decide it doesn’t apply to others.
Fact of the matter is, Lie is a grown-ass adult, and Ididn’ttouch him or prey on him or fucking groom him—yes, all whispers I’ve heard. Those people don’t want the truth, though.
It’s difficult on Lie. Between being the subject of gossip and the way his father is treating him, he’s weighed down with stress.
“What do you need right now?” I ask, kissing his forehead.
Lie sighs. “Can we fast forward to when my dad isn’t so… upset?”
I’d love that. More than anything, I’d love that. It’s not like we can’t be respectful. We won’t, like, grope or anything in front of Nason and Miranda.
I sigh, holding him tightly to me. “Come on. I’ll walk you to Cash’s.”
He nods.
Lie is such a vibrant man. He always has been. It’s rare that he’s ever without a smile. It makes my heart ache to see him lose that shine. I can practically see the weight he’s carrying on his shoulders.
I keep him close as we walk down the road. I keep his hand in mine. Fortunately, no one seems to treat us any differently. Neighbors wave. We stop to chat twice on our way to Cash’s. The neighborhood feels and acts normal.
We both know that they’ll all be on the phone reporting that we were spotted walking hand-in-hand down the road together. They’ll comment on how sad Lie looks and how frustrated I appear. They’ll listen to the latest gossip about Nason’s attitude at work.
When someone gets together on Kala, it’s a hot topic for a few weeks, at minimum. Depending on how juicy the hookup is, it remains in whispers until something new comes along to pull the attention away. I’m not surprised that people are talking about this. Fuck, I’d be talking about it too if I were observing it.
As long as no one is making Lie feel worse than he already is, I don’t care. I’ll take all the negativity and happily put the assholes in their place. I don’t want Lie to have to deal with more than his father right now. That’s not something I can handle for him.
