“We have plans tomorrow, actually.”
“Oh?” Bella asks, clearly not fooled. We don’t do much on Mondays.
“Yeah, it’s going to be busy at the store, and after…I have stuff to do.” My shoulders practically touch my ears as I tense. “Sorry,” I whisper.
“No need.” Holden closes the space between us and pauses at the door. “Call me if there’s anything I can do, okay?”
I nod, though the lump in my throat is almost too much to bear. “Bye, Holden.”
He flinches, the tiny movement enough for me to realize why. I’ve never said goodbye to him before. I never do, because I hate goodbyes, but now, it feels necessary. He needs to know there’s a shift. He needs to know I need time.
But I can’t tell him I don’t love him. That’s not the truth. I just need space. I need to know that no matter what happens, my girls will be okay. Our lives have become so intertwined, and I need to hit the brakes—for everyone’s sake.
“Goodbye,” he says, voice quiet and defeated.
50
MY WHOLE UNIVERSE
Someone To Stay by Vancouver Sleep Clinic
Holden
You’d thinksomeone who barely slept last night would be up bright and early this morning, ready to meet the woman he’s fighting for at her bookstore like he said he would. Instead, I’m running late, because when I finally closed my eyes, I succumbed to my dreams—all of which were filled with Natalie.
Memories with Natalie flashed behind my eyelids as I closed them gently. Hopes with them too, of what a future would look like, and then, it morphed into a nightmare. A nightmare in which she tells me I’m not enough for her, that I was just a rebound. One in which I lost all three of them, and I could barely breathe. How did I go from living alone in my home and being fine in solitude to waking up gasping for air at the thought of losing all of them?
How did this happen?
I rush to the store to see how I can help, but I run into Jerry instead. “Oh, hey.”
“Hi, son.”
“How are things going over there?” I gesture with my chin to the store, but he shakes his head, my heart dropping to my feet. “What happened?”
“It’s worse than we thought, but it’s salvageable. The good news is, her insurance approved everything, and the team we’re working with all agreed to go with insurance. She already paid the deductible, and the repairs are underway.”
Then why does he look somber? “Then what’s the problem?”
He shrugs. “I’m not sure. I’m not her friend or someone she trusts, so she said nothing. She just started crying when I told her the store had to be closed for two to three weeks. Her flooring needs replacement, and so does her ceiling. And that’s after we’re able to dry everything. There were some electrical mishaps too.”
Three weeks? In the grand scheme of things, that’s nothing, but for a business that relies on people shopping every day, this can be devastating.
“Three weeks might be too long for her to go without income,” I tell him, understanding flashing across his face.
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I have money if she needs it,” he says, surprising me.
“From where?”
“I was a partner at work when everything went to shit. When I came back, they bought me out, but my portion was significant. I worked with a financial advisor, and we set some money aside in an investment account. Let’s just say it has grown a lot. And that’s not taking into consideration the other investments I’ve made.”
“What are you saying, Dad?”
“I’ve got money, that’s all. If she needs money for whatever, I’m happy to help.”
