“All right then.” He lifted his chin. “Just give me a day and then you can out me to the press, whatever.”
I blinked at him. Once. Twice. “I’m not going to out you, Bodhi. You’re going to out yourself.”
“Not yet, I’m not. I just really need this time. Please understand.”
“Who could you possibly want to find that is worth this?”
His gaze dropped to the floor. “My mother.”
The word fell from his lips, almost hesitant. Like he wasn’t used to saying it. During our game of true confessions, he’d hinted that she was deceased.
“But…”
Guilty eyes found mine. “Up until three months ago, I thought she was dead, and then I received a letter. From her. I haven’t told anyone about this, Breeze. Not even my father.”
“Why?”
“Because if it is really her, he’s the one who created the lie. And he’ll stop at nothing to keep us apart. The fire… it gives me the opportunity to connect with her without being followed. Nobody knows where I am. I’m finally free… at least for a day or two.”
Willing away the headache brewing behind my eyes, I kneaded my temple. “This is seriously crazy, Bodhi. How are you going to explain where you’ve been when you magically resurrect yourself? Have you thought of that?”
“I’ll just say I lost everything in the fire, which is true, and that I couldn’t call. Hell, this is California—I’ll just tell them I was meditating through the trauma. I’ll keep you out of this, I promise. All you have to do is look away.”
“Look away?”
I slumped in the cushions. Maybe I’d been wrong. Maybe there was no connection. I was just a safe place for him to hide.
“So that’s it then?” I asked thickly. “You’re just going to up and leave?”
No doubt Bodhi picked up on the disappointed tone of my voice. I knew it was stupid of me to want more, especially when he had big things like a reunion with his undead mother to worry about. But I did. I’d grown attached to him over the course of the time he was hiding out in my granny flat, and I wasn’t sure if could just look away anymore.
Bodhi pulled me to my feet. Banding his arms around my waist, he nuzzled my neck. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I’m trying to make this easier on you… and not put you in a bad spot. But hear me, Breeze, I’m going in search of my mother with or without your cooperation.”
Backing out of his hold, I searched his face, finding steely determination. Nothing I could say would persuade him to clear his name off the missing list.
“Where is she?” I asked, “Do you even have an address?”
“Yes. I hired a private investigator. She lives in East Palo Alto which is—”
“South of San Francisco, I know. I’m from the area.”
“If you just let me get out of Ventura County, I give you my word, I’ll stop somewhere along the way and call my father. I won’t let him worry more than a day, I swear.”
I could feel him wearing me down. And really he didn’t need my approval. Bodhi had lived the first twenty-four of his years, months, days, and minutes without me. In the scheme of things, I was only a blip on his radar. Why was he trying to sell me on this in the first place? What did he care what I thought?
The fact of the matter was if Bodhi was determined to do this thing, it wasn’t my place to stop him. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t negotiate a better agreement for myself.
“I’ll go along with your plan on one condition.”
Bodhi hesitated for a good ten seconds. “Okay, what?”
“Take me with you.”
“What? Why?”
“First, I want out of here. Fire is surrounding us, and I don’t feel safe after what happened last night. And second, I can’t stay here with the pets. I’m not going to be able to hide them much longer and when my landlord sees or hears them, she’s going to freak. I messaged the family while you were in the shower and they’re trying to get a flight home but realistically they aren’t moving back in for a while, even if their house is still standing. I’ve got to come up with somewhere to go. My parents live in the Bay Area and they love pets. If you drop me off there, I can get my mom or stepdad to drive me back next week.”
“Or you could take them to a shelter and let the family deal with it when they come back.”
