His brow furrows, but he doesn’t bite. Just shakes his head, already turning back to his monitor. “Keep up the good work.”
I wait another beat, willing him to open up. To address what I feel is the elephant in the room every time I’m around him now. But he doesn’t know that I know about my sister.
I can’t believe he still hasn’t told me, and he doesn’t make any effort to try now either.
I stand, throat tight. “Okay, I’ll get back to it.”
He’s already immersed in whatever is on his screen. I leave his office more frustrated than ever, with the need to understand why he’s keeping her from me.
My phone buzzes in my pocket on the way back to my office.
I’m here! Thrilled to be on the same time zone as you and to see you SOON. Bummed that I can’t pick you up and take you to Windy Harbor with me.
I’m so excited you’re here. I’ll be leaving here at three. Looks like the Airbnb is about 2 hours from here.
I’ll try to get to you as soon as I can.
Take your time. I feel bad taking you away from your family.
I really wish you could meet everybody.
Me too.
He’s saying that more and more, and I feel bad that it can’t happen. I want to meet them too, and I wish that things were different.
But you haven’t even known him very long, I remind myself. We’ve spent more time talking than I have with any other person, family members included, but the majority of our time together has been long-distance. The days we’ve been together in person have been intense and have probably moved things along much faster than a relationship with someone in the same town would have. Yes, we’ve had sexy times on the phone, unbelievably sexy times, but more than that, the distance has forced us to actually talk and get to know each other.
Still, it hasn’t been long enough to turn my dad’s world upside down, and I don’t know if it ever will be. Because I may not always know where I stand with my dad, but I have no doubt where he stands on the Whitmans.
He will never accept this.
I work until three and then change into something more comfortable before I hit the road. Chloe is with my mom and Aunt Ginny tonight. This whole getaway began with my mom asking if they could take Chloe to Rochester for the night. One of Mom’s and Aunt Ginny’s childhood friends is visiting her family there, and Mom really wanted to see her but knew I’d be working today, so she’d have Chloe. I said sure, even though I didn’t love the thought of being away from Chloe. Mom said maybe I could catch up on some sleep since I’ve seemed so tiredlately.
She doesn’t know that I’m on the phone until the wee hours of the morning with Dylan.
Anyway, when Dylan mentioned he was coming home this weekend, he was disappointed that he wouldn’t see Chloe. But then he got the bright idea for me to come stay in Windy Harbor tonight. I’m not sure how much he’ll really be able to get away, but the thought of him sleeping next to me later makes it all worth it.
I make the drive, not realizing that my sound is still off, and when I arrive at my Airbnb, I see that I’ve missed several calls from Dylan.
I check the time of the last call, and it was an hour ago. He’s probably eating dinner right now. I probably have time for a nap before he’s able to get away.
Sorry, I didn’t see that you’d called until now. I’m in Windy Harbor! The house is so cute. Tiny, but a great view of the water.
Hiiii. You’re so close. This is torture! I want to see you right now.
I know. Same. But we knew the time would be limited. I’ll be excited to see you whenever you get here.
There’s going to be a big broomball tournament tonight. I think you should sneak over there. All kinds of people will be there—locals and tourists. I mapped it, and you’re within walking distance. Come on, say yes. I can’t wait to see you.
He sends a picture of himself with begging hands, and I grin as I run my thumb over his face.
He’s been more subdued than usual lately, his normal easy smile overshadowed with a sadness in his eyes that he finally explained one night late on FaceTime. This is the time of year when his mom died. It was toward the end of January, while his siblings were still home from college on their winter breaks. They were having a game night, and his mom went out to pick up some food and got in a car accident.
Don’t you think that would make it harder? To see each other from a distance and not be able to talk?
It’d be better than not seeing you at all.
Ugh. True. Okay. I’ll drive by, and if it looks like I can get away with being there and not standing out, I’ll stop.
