Wilder is off to my left and Cash is somewhere behind us.
I don’t dare look at him.
Margot having cancer is horrible, but I don’t understand why Wilder didn’t just tell me.
Why was he going to wait until we got to California?
Then, it hits me.
He doesn’t want to turn around.
I rub a frustrated hand over my face. We’re all running from something.
Cash is running from his parents. I’m running from Isla. And Wilder is running from… I don’t think even he knows.
“Ingrid,” Wilder says quietly behind me.
His hand finds my shoulder and I close my eyes, annoyed.
We’re supposed to be bonding, checking items off the bucket list. We’re supposed to be enjoying a week break from reality. Supposed to be having fun.
I miss when things were easy with the three of us.
Or easier.
Now, everything is so complicated.
Wilder moves behind me, his hands slipping around my waist hesitantly.
I don’t push him away.
Maybe I should.
“I’m sorry, Ingrid,” he says in my ear.
My eyes open, and all I see in front of me is endless sky. Endless blue sky and fluffy white clouds.
Sometimes, I wonder if we’ve forced this too much. If we’ve asked Cash to do the impossible. To set aside how he feels to selfishly keep him in our lives.
It’s been an uphill battle.
And Wilder hiding his stepmother’s cancer is another hurdle.
Cash knew.He knew.
It just leaves me feeling left out even though I know that was never Wilder’s intention.
I feel like one of those clouds in the big, blue sky. Here today. Gone tomorrow. Easy to replace.
“Are you going to ignore me for the rest of the ride?” Wilder asks, his voice rough. “This is the longest aerial tram ride in the country,” he reminds me.
“We’re 10,000 feet above the Rio Grande Valley,” I say to him.
“I know,” Wilder replies instantly.
“And in two minutes, it’ll all be over.”
“We can ride it again,” he says.
