Dad stays on the line, not asking, not interrupting.
I’m glad he doesn’t. I don’t know if I could continue once I start to think about all the unanswered questions.
“I—we chased them off, but then he puked out all that water and—and Sasha called nine-one-one. We’re in the hospital now—I mean, Olli and me, and everything’s fine, b-but he could’ve—and now the cops are asking us all these questions because he was drunk and—I just don’t know what to do.”
“You're okay? You're not hurt?”
“N-no, I'm fine.”
“Good. Your friend?”
“He…they've—the doctors took him for some tests. But he's…he's okay, I think?”
“That's good, Lind, he'll be okay, son.” There's more rustling on the other end, then soft steps. I picture Dad walking out of his room and down the hallway into the kitchen, where he would always sit and wait whenever my sisters or I had been out late.
“Let the doctors do their thing and go home. Or better, have someone pick you up. Don't say another word to those officers, alright? If they don't leave you alone, ask them if you need a lawyer. Should get them to back off.”
“Yeah, o-okay?”
“I mean it, Lind. Don't do their job for them by accidentally admitting to something. They can talk to you when you're rested.I will also talk to you when you're rested,”he adds, huffing heavily.
I feel like I'm once again falling into Lake Champlain, freezing cold water rushing over me, through me. He's going to hang up.
“I'm sorry,” I rush the words out, though they barely make it up my throat. “I shouldn't have said all those things, and I should've told you and Mom about becoming a vet, and I should've—I didn't want to disappoint you. I just—I couldn't—”
“Lind, shh, you'll give yourself a heart attack.”
“But I have to—”
“That's a face-to-face talk, son. You don't need to say anything that you can't tell me in, say, a couple of days?”
I blink rapidly, both to clear up my vision, which has gotten unreasonably blurry, and to process the words.
“I'd start driving right now, but your mother's already looking at me like I've lost my mind. And I have to call Pen to take over the farm. But as soon as that clears up, we can take a little trip to Bonham. Is that okay?”
“A…a little trip to…yeah! Yes, of course!”
“Good. See you soon, Lind. Don't forget to call your friends, son. Love you.”
The blinking hasn't helped, and tears roll down my cheeks. “Love you too, Dad. See you soon.” I wait, not wanting to be the one to hang up. I get to hear the deep breath my father takes, and then, faintly,“He's okay, Kells”before beeping takes over.
I don't even let the screen go dark before pulling up Sasha's contact.
Linden, August 14th
Despite the soft vibrations, I’ve dozed off with my head against the passenger side window. I only become aware of it when Sasha knocks against the glass from the other side, startling me awake.
“Sorry,” I mutter as I untangle myself from the seatbelt and nearly tumble out of her car.
“Don’t even worry about it. I’m fucking exhausted too.” Sasha yawns, stretching with both her arms reaching over her head. She taps them against the beam of the porch as she climbs up the steps.
They feel a meter high when I have to lift my feet up to climb them. And not just because I feel a sting of discomfort at the thought of who she was with at the beach.
“I mean, not just for falling asleep. I hope I didn’t interrupt you while you were with Mia. You…youarewith Mia now, right?” I add quickly when I realize I might be overstepping. Especially since I only know Mia from running into her in our bathroom when she was with Davenport—and Micah. I quickly suppress the surfacing memory.
“Are you asking me if I’m dating the cheerleader?”
“I’m sorry if that’s, uh…presumptuous?”
