“Yeah?”
“Sometimes it just takes people a little time to see what’s looking right at them.”
He looks up, his eyes meeting mine with a flash of something raw and vulnerable. Then it's gone, replaced by that wall he's built. “Goodnight, Tiff.”
I head to my room and set my bag down. My body is aching. My hands are shaking, and I feel this sense of dread sitting on the top of my chest. I don’t think they’ve stopped since the diner, and maybe the exhaustion is getting to me.
When I’m at my desk, I lift my laptop to find the sparkly pink envelope with the fancy writing.
I walk over to my bed and lie down on the mattress, toying with the envelope as I do.
Jamie’s handwriting stares up at me.
He’s missing, except he isn’t.
He’s here, and I’m apparently the only one who knows it.
Is that because he’s here for me?
I continue to study the envelope as though something new could’ve happened to it while it sat under my laptop.
Should I read it?
Yes. Of course I should. He’s here for a reason.
Will I read it?
Not yet, because I don’t think I’m ready to handle whatever this means.
I stuff the envelope in my bedside drawer and close it, resting my palm on the wood until my breathing evens out.
I’ll read it… eventually.
Chapter 7
I’m nobody.
At least that’s how I feel walking across the St. Michael’s campus. Students shoulder past me without a glance while I glare at the map on my phone, trying to figure out where the hell the admissions office is. That’s task number one for the day, at least.
Task number two: Keep my father from noticing which trust fund I’ve raided.
Task number three: Keep him from figuring out where I am once he does.
I’m transferring.
Last night, while stuck in my crappy hotel room watching reruns ofThe Baseball Bachelor,I finally snapped. I’m not hereto watch some idiot who plays for the Carolina Catfish choose between three women who look exactly the same.
I’m here to take ownership of my life. I’m here for Ella. For Tiff, even if she doesn’t want me to be there.
I refuse to be a deadbeat dad or hide behind excuses that are always made for me.
I’m a father now, and I need to start acting like it.
That’s why I clicked the button last night.
I initiated the transfer to St. Michael’s, and now this meeting will make it official.
Is it reckless? Maybe.