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)
That makes me sad. Really freaking sad. Like the burning in the eyeballs all over again kind of sad, but at least the tears can cleanse the shampoo residue out.
I miss my mom. Yes, I’m mad at her, and I hate her for leaving. I hate that she abandoned my dad and me and never looked back. But I miss her.
It would be nice to have a mom to talk to right now. To talk things out with. How many times did I wish for that over the years? For both my mom and Apollo?
Maybe he wished for the same thing.
Even if he was the one who left, maybe he wished he never had. Maybe he wished himself back in bumfuck nowhere, going nowhere, or that I was overseas with him. Maybe. I don’t know. Probably not. No doubt he missed his mom, but he probably had a full enough life over there that he didn’t need his childhood best friend. Former best friend. We have pretty little in common now. We probably would have grown apart as teenagers anyway.
“I’m still here.”
His voice gives me full-body goosebumps, followed by a full-body shiver, followed by full-body heat. His tone is so full of…longing? It’s deep and husky, whatever it is. Maybe that’s just his regular voice. It could be that he swallowed too much pool water pulling our dads out, or he’s getting a summer cold. Perhaps I have shampoo in my ears, too, and it’s making me hear things. Or it’s going to my brain and making me imagine things.
“Why?” I snap. It’s easier to be snappy than to be vulnerable. I’m feeling way too much right now, and it’s not cool.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry about your boots. I can buy you another pair.”
“I don’t need another pair,” I bite back.
“Patience?”
I’m quickly running out of it, that’s for sure. “Can you just go make sure our dads haven’t killed each other in some creative manner down there?”
A heartbeat of silence, then he mumbles, “Sure. Yes, I’ll do that.”
This time, his footsteps leaving are unmistakable. I brush the tears out of my eyes and give my wrecked boots a glance that makes a fresh set of tears pool up. There’s probably very little shampoo left in there now. I swipe at my eyes and get my determined face on. This bathroom is so freaking perfectly perfect that the mirror isn’t even steamed up after the shower, and the vent fan is silent. I don’t remember turning it on. It’s probably an automatic thing. A smart fan for a smart shower for a smart house.
I don’t have time to be sad. Not when both our dads are here, and my job as a peacemaker and friendship fixer and…bro matchmaker has just begun.
No. Not just my job.
Our job.
Apollo is fully in this with me too.
CHAPTER 9
Apollo
I decide what’s best for our dads is a team-building exercise. I got the idea when Patience threatened to put them out in the woods and make them navigate back to the house on their own so they learn teamwork, trust, and reliance on each other.
Trust-building exercises are garbage. Literally, no one in the history of the world has liked them, even if they’re on good terms with each other. I remember doing them in school. Garbage. College. Hot garbage. At work after. More garbage.
For the sakes of both our dads, I spend a few hours in the middle of the night rearranging the fridge and cupboards until they make no sense.
Over breakfast, when Patience is silent, and so are our dads—because they keep glaring unholy hellish glares at each other—I make my announcement.
“While Patience and I tackle the garden outside, which really needs some work because I was gone to Dedind for three weeks and the weeds are taking over since my housesitter wasn’t much for pulling, plucking, or caretaking outside, I really need you guys to work together to clean up the fridge and cupboards. They’re a real mess too.”
Gerry and my dad give each other another round of glares. They’re hostility incarnate. They know what this is about, but I’m not sure either of them has the strength to protest after what Patience said yesterday. They both saw how hurt she was. They’ve realized this feud is doing more than just damaging each other. There are other people getting caught in the crossfire too.
“Alright,” Gerry grumps. “Fine. I’ll tackle the fridge. He can do the cupboards.”
I was afraid this would happen, so I planned ahead. Patience looks out the window. “I’d really like it if you could both do the fridge together. It needs to be taken apart and cleaned out too. Things need to be thrown out. It’s going to be more than a one-person job. We’re going to pick some stuff from the garden, and I’m hoping to make a rhubarb crisp. I don’t know where anything is right now, so if you could find the stuff we need and set it aside from the cupboards, that would be great.”