Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69910 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69910 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“I’m fine. I’m freaking fine. I just…need a minute.” With that, she walks inside and slams the door.
I think we’re all here having a—well, shit, this is all my fault—moment.
“I’m going to talk to her,” Gerry finally says.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” my dad advises.
I don’t think it is either, at least not yet, but I don’t get a chance to say anything because Gerry turns an evil eye on my dad. “What would you know about raising a daughter? What would you even know about raising your own child? You sent him across the world and never wanted him back.”
I’m setting a record for the number of times I’ve gasped this morning, and here goes another.
“Excuse me?” Dad puffs out his chest.
This isn’t good. This seriously isn’t good.
I put a hand on his shoulder. “Gerry, I’m not trying to take sides or start a fight, but respectfully, that’s not true. It was hard on my dad to have me so far away. He sacrificed a lot to make it possible for me to achieve everything I wanted to do in my life and more. We missed each other a lot. He didn’t just send me there and forget me. He worked tirelessly to make it happen. He worked hard here to send me the money I needed because scholarships don’t cover everything. Even from over here, he was always my biggest fan and biggest supporter. And Dad, you don’t need to respond to that. Gerry is worried about Patience, and it’s coming out as anger. I think we just need to give her some time before we talk to her. And please, for the love of god, if you both could just set aside your differences for a few hours, we’d both be eternally grateful.”
Gerry just looks worried, and it ages him ten years on the spot. “I’m sorry, Apollo. You’re right.” He won’t apologize to my dad. There’s no way. “I’ve been rude, I’ve been a terrible guest, and I’ve hurt my daughter with this nonsense.”
My dad stays stubbornly silent, but at least he’s not hurling anything back or agreeing with Gerry in that sassy, snarky way that is just turning insults around or giving backhanded compliments or whatever it might be called.
“I’ll go to my room and grab a book,” my dad says. “Just come find me when you’re ready.”
“I’m going to the pool.” There’s absolutely no way in hell I’m going to try and disturb Patience’s peace for a good while yet. Her dad should talk to her first. It’s his right. He’s her parent, while I have zero right to her time. She owes me nothing.
But still. I still find myself wanting to give her the surprise or at least tell her that the house is hers. It’s not the right time, though. She’d be pissed, and she wouldn’t want it. Instead, she’d probably take her dad and leave. And I wouldn’t stop her. She’s free to make up her own mind. This was never about holding her hostage. It really was just about trying to give her a better life.
It was me trying to win her back. As a friend. In the most imbecilic of ways. This whole thing was wrong. I’ve been so focused on our dads that I couldn’t see how wrong it was, which makes what I’ve done worse than any feud or insult.
I’ll wait until she’s cooled down, and then I’ll tell her everything. I’m not leaving again, at least not unless she wants me to. If she wants anything more to do with me, I’m not going to make the same mistake I did before. I’ll still be her friend.
I’ll always be here for her if she wants me to be.
But I don’t think she does.
I don’t think I’m going to be able to convince her that she should want me to be.
I’d like nothing more in the world than to be able to do that, and okay, quantified by our dads getting along and all the usual stuff people would change about the world if they could change just one thing.
Fuck.
CHAPTER 12
Patience
We all stay in our separate corners of the house for most of the day. No one leaves. I haven’t talked to my dad yet, so I don’t know what the fight with John was about this morning. I’m not sure I want to know.
I expect to find Apollo outside when I go looking for him before dinner. No one has started anything yet, and I’m getting hungry. I imagine everyone is. I don’t want to sit in my room and work on dolls anymore. I don’t want to read a book I can’t focus on. And I don’t want to sit and think about all the things I might never be able to fix. There are some things I can fix.