About forty-five minutes. Waiting for my brother to pick me up.
A silly grin spreads over my face as the conversation continues. It’s nothing deep or special, but it’s nice, talking to him like this again. It’s only been a few hours since he left but the apartment already feels too quiet without him.
Wish I could hear his voice though.
As if reading my thoughts, the phone rings, Euan’s name flashing across the screen. Startled, I drop my phone onto my chest, then fumble with it as I try to pick it up before I miss the call. “Hello?”
There’s a short pause before Euan asks, “Are you out of breath?”
Embarrassed, I cover it up with an indignant, “No.”
He chuckles like he doesn’t believe me. “I just wanted to let you know I got home safe.”
“That’s good,” I murmur, sinking onto the bed. Without consciously planning to, I’ve balled his shirt up and clutched it to my chest, snuggling it like a stuffed animal. “How was your flight?” Immediately after asking, I realize we’ve already thoroughly covered that topic.
“Not bad. Thought of you while watching a movie, actually. It seemed like something you would love.”
“Oh yeah? What movie?”
“I’ve already forgotten the name. Some slasher film from the eighties.”
“Tell me the plot, maybe I’ve seen it.”
“A group of college kids getting murdered on an island. It starts with a weird jack-in-the-box jump scare.”
As he talks, I close my eyes and let his deep, mellow voice surround me. Pretend he’s lying on the bed with me. That we’re watching the movie together.
I miss him so much already.
Chapter Thirty-Four: Euan
The Thursday after I return, Mom invites Calder and I over for a family dinner. So far, I’ve avoided telling them about both the break-up and my temporary marriage, but I can’t keep the secret forever.
When I arrive, my parents are busy in the kitchen. Dad’s finishing up with the meat while Mom is transferring food to serving plates. They work together flawlessly, anticipating what utensils the other needs and where they’ll need to be next. Then Mom moves unexpectedly, crashing into Dad. He scoops her into his arms and twirls her around, turning the mistake into a dance. Her laughter fills the small space, overflowing into the rest of the house.
She finally spots me near the front entrance, and her smile somehow brightens. She calls out to me and extracts herself from Dad’s arms, bustling over to pull me into a tight hug. “How was your trip? I want to hear all about it!”
“It’s not that exciting,” I reply, hugging her back.
A loud snort from behind me warns me that Calder has arrived too. “Right, not exciting at all,” he says, low enough for only me to hear.
Mom releases me to pull him into a hug next.
“You mind setting the table?” Dad calls from the kitchen.
I latch onto the excuse, buying some time before the interrogation begins.
The brief respite doesn’t last long enough. As soon as we’ve all sat down at the table, Mom says. “So, you finally met Nick! What was he like? Did you have fun? Did you guys do any interesting sight-seeing?”
At least she chose the easiest place to start. “Actually, Nick and I broke up.”
Mom’s eyes widen and she slumps against the back of her chair. “Oh. I’m sorry, I didn’t think …”
My phone vibrates with an incoming text. Knowing who it is, my hand twitches toward my pocket, but I redirect it to pick up my fork instead. “It’s alright. Things just didn’t work out.”
“Happens all the time,” Dad says. “I dated dozens of girls before I met your mother.”
“You did not!” She smacks his arm playfully. “Stop exaggerating.”
