“I saw your Uncle Travis down at Miller’s the other day when I dropped my car off to have it serviced. He told me.” He pauses. “Why didn’t you tell me what was going on, Brix?”
“There’s nothing for me to say. Not to you, anyway.”
He winces, looking wounded as he glances down at the ground, nodding his head even though I know it’s more in acceptance than agreeance. I’ve upset him, and for a second, I consider asking him why it bothers him?
“Maybe that’s true. I lost the right to ask about her years ago, but I still care about your mother. You may not believe me, but I do.”
I force a chuckle, turning away from him to look for Ivy. She was supposed to be coming with me, but now she’s nowhere in sight.
“I’m proud of you, Brix.” I rear back, regarding him with furrowed brows. He must see the disbelief on my face, a look of guilt passing over his. “I may not have told you in a while, but it doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
“You have an interesting way of showing it.”
“I take a lot of blame for where things are now. Between me. With your mother. That’s on me. You’ve carried a lot of the weight of our divorce, and I’m sorry. I’m proud of the man you are, the man you’ve become. I couldn’t convince her to seek help, but she is now. She has you, and it’s because of you, she’s going to pull through this.”
I blink back the tears threatening to fill the brim of my eyes. He’s struck a chord.
“You’ve been there for her. You’ve welcomed Ivy. She told me how you helped her with her car. Thank you,” he says, his voice trailing off at the end.
I nod, rubbing the bridge of my nose. He takes a step toward me, pulling me into a hug.
The sound of the door closing behind us has us both taking a step back, turning toward the house. Ivy is standing there, eyes wide and staring between the two of us.
“Ivy, hello. It’s good to see you.”
“You, too, Jasper!” She looks to me, concern etching her face, searching mine for the answers she’s looking for. I mouth, “it’s okay,” to her, which helps in the moment.
“What are you up to?”
“Oh, I’m just going with Brix to check out his band practice.” Ivy hesitates, not sure if that’s the right answer, but it’s the safe one.
Remembering what he said just a moment ago about welcoming Ivy, I wonder if he’s trying to piece together all the many ways I’ve been there for Ivy since she moved to Carolina Beach.
If she has an itch, I’ve been there to help scratch it. Maybe not literally, but figuratively.
“Well, I will get out of here. You two have a good night.”
He walks backward to the car, opening the door as he climbs in. Motioning to Ivy to get in, she nods nervously, jogging to the door.
“What happened?” she asks incredulously. “You had me freaked out for a second. You looked upset.”
Her hair is curled, part of it pulled up with the rest down hanging over her shoulder in waves.
She must be wearing some sort of lipstick that makes her lips look shiny, which distracts me momentarily as I’m lost in thought of kissing her, wanting to taste her.
“Brix…” She waits. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine, I promise. Just shit with my mom. Let’s get out of here.”
“Okay.” She pauses, sounding more like a question. She ducks to check the rearview mirror. Seeing my father has pulled out and driven off, she slides across the bench seat closer to me, before buckling herself in.
It’s not until I back out and put the car in drive when I reach my hand down, resting it against her thigh, that the tension finally eases up.
She doesn’t press me as we make the trip across town over to Tysin’s house, which I’m thankful for. She knows when to push me and when to give me space. Right now, I just need time to digest our conversation.
“I think that’s Kyla’s car.” Ivy points to the car parked in Tysin’s drive.
Glancing at the cars parked along the street, I search for any sign of Madden or why Kyla may be here when he’s not around.