David’s chest collapsed in on itself. He hugged the pillow tighter, cried harder.
He hadn’t been fair, either. He shouldn’t have said what he did to Farzan. He knew that wound ran deep. Knew it would hurt. He couldn’t believe himself.
David hadn’t expected their first fight as a couple—their first real fight—to be their only one. To be their last. But what could he do, if Farzan wouldn’t even try?
His phone buzzed against his hip. He didn’t want to talk to anyone, but shit, what if it was Farzan?
The phone got caught against the couch cushions as David fought to get it out of his pocket. But it wasn’t Farzan.
It was his mom.
“Hey, Momma,” he said, trying to keep his voice even, but he could tell it was throaty. “What’s up?”
“Hey, baby,” his mom said. “Did you make it home all right?”
“Yeah, I’m here now.” David tried his best to sniff quietly. But his mom had to have heard it. “Just got in.”
“Is Farzan with you?” she asked.
David went quiet. He couldn’t stop crying.
“Oh, baby. What’s wrong?”
David’s mom joined him on the couch, two cups of chamomile in her hands. She passed one to David as she settled, adjusting the other, not-cried-on, decorative pillow behind her back.
David inhaled the steam slowly; his sinuses were clogged from crying, though the tears had finally abated—for now.
“Thanks,” he said. His throat still felt like sandpaper. “You didn’t have to come all this way.”
“I know.” Kathleen played with one of David’s twists.
“I really love him, Momma.”
“I can tell. I’ve never seen you smile the way you do with him.”
“Then why…” David swallowed.
He didn’t know how to say all the things he was feeling.
He wanted to stay here, but what would his mom think? She’d worked hard all her life, supported David as he built a future. What would she say if he threw it all away to stay home?
What would she say if she knew it was Farzan that made him want to stay, not her? Or at least, not just her. David didn’t even know anymore. It was all tangled up: Farzan, Aspire, his mom and dad, Jeri and Kyra, even the goofballs he’d met at kickball. A life he hadn’t let himself live, until Farzan had gotten under his skin.
What would his mom say if she knew a man had upended his future?
“He loves you, too,” his mom said, when his voice failed him. “Loves you more than he loves himself, it sounds like.”
“I know that’s right,” David muttered. That was the problem, wasn’t it? Farzan didn’t think much of himself. And David had only twisted that knife when they fought. “I don’t know what to do, Momma.”
“I don’t either,” she said with a sigh. “But I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too.” David hugged his mom with his chamomile-free hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” she said. “I’m gonna miss you when you move again.”
David squeezed his mom tighter.
He didn’t know what to do about Farzan, and he didn’t know what to do about Rhett, either. Maybe it would be better if he did go. Got a fresh start, somewhere that wasn’t full of heartache. His dream of making a life with Farzan had come crashing down; maybe he needed to let it go. Stick with the plan. Get his master somm and move to LA.
