“Areyou sure you don’t want me to come with you?”My dad asked, his eyebrows furrowed.
I raised my eyebrows.“Absolutely not,” I told him.
I knew it was hard for him, being there in Jasper Springs.Even if he was dropping me off for the next chapter of my life: College.
Given everything that had happened, it was probably the last place he wanted to be.I got it.But while I’d been in my coma, I’d gotten my acceptance letter.
I took it as a sign.
But all I wanted for my eighteenth birthday was one thing.
To visit Miles.
He’d been out of the hospital for three months, and was finally mobile.
The accident we’d been in—a car crash—had claimed his right leg.
It was a long recovery for both of us, but it was so much worse for him.
I’d sustained no injuries, save for a few scratches.The doctors said it was a miracle, considering the car flipped and rolled twice before nearly crushing both of us.
But somehow, I walked away with scrapes and bruises, while he fought to learn to walk again.
We were both lucky to be alive.
“Okay, but you’ll call me if you need anything...”
“Dad.It’s a coffee shop.I think we’ll be okay,” I said with a smile.
I knew this hadn’t been easy for him, but if anything positive came out of my accident, it was that my dad stopped drinking.
I guess being threatened with the near death of your only kid would wake anyone up.
I hated that it took such a thing to wake him up, but I was glad that he did.
He was different after I came home.He kept looking up vegetarian recipes to make.He drove me everywhere, swearing up and down that I’d never have a car until I was forty.
I guess I couldn’t blame him, though, and if I was being honest, it was kind of...nice.
His concern made me feel loved, but it also made me feel a little claustrophobic.
I was eighteen, I couldn’t hide forever.I had a life to live.
“I will call you if I need you,” I told him.
He nodded.“Okay, pumpkin.”
He hadn’t called me that since before mom died.I loved it, and I hated it.
I grabbed the strap of my messenger bag with one hand while I opened the door with the other.
“Have fun,” he said, but I could see the worry behind his eyes.
“Thanks,” I said as I closed the door and headed into the cafe.
I looked around, taking in the sight of the place.It was small, sparsely populated.
There was a group of teenagers over in the corner, scrolling and laughing on their phones, a mother and her daughter sitting at a table by the window.
