Page 31 of Final Goodbye
I wasn’t in the mood for this family dinner anymore.?
I splashed some cold water on my face, hoping to shed the thoughts of Paige staying or leaving town. I didn’t know why it was getting to me as much as it was, but I found myself in a funk.?
When I came back out to the dining room, I noticed one less guest at the table.?“Where did Myles go?” I asked.
“He finished his dinner and excused himself. Said a friend texted him and needed a ride somewhere,” my dad explained like it was no big deal.
“You excused him and let him drive after he’s clearly had too many drinks?” What the fuck? I loved my parents, but they really were oblivious.
“He said he only had two beers, honey, and he ate all his dinner to help soak it up. Plus, his friend lives just down the road.” They always seemed to make excuses for him.
Myles had me easily annoyed tonight and I didn’t want the irritation to grow into something bigger if I stayed here and hung around. I took this as my opportunity to head out as well.I didn’t want to continue to sit at the dinner table and fake it for my parents.
“I’m gonna head out then too. I have to wake up early.” That seemed to be my go-to excuse lately, but at least it wasn’t a total lie this time around.
Giving my mom a quick kiss on the cheek and my dad a pat on the shoulder, I made my way out.?
I wasn’t sure how my parents turned a blind eye to Myles and his drinking. Just because he lived at home didn’t give him an excuse to do stupid shit. He was hiding his drinking, and they ignored it.?
He had a rough few years in high school, partying too hard and drinking and driving when he knew better. Just because it's a small town didn’t mean you couldn’t get into trouble. But he lived life on the edge in that way. The sheriff's department may be small and understaffed, but that didn’t justify getting behind the wheel impaired. We lived in the mountains. The roads were unlit and windy, and plenty of wildlife came out at night. It was like asking for an accident to happen if you weren’t paying attention.
My parents chalked it up to him being a dumb high school kid. They thought he got his shit together when he started working for the family business, but I knew better.?
I saw him sneaking drinks at work. He was the reason we went toPeaksafter work all the time. When I realized he was going to drink anyway, I at least offered to drive him around so he wouldn’t get himself killed. Or be in a situation where he killed someone else and have to live with the guilt and consequences like the person out there that killed Paige’s father is currently living with. So instead, I picked him up for work and dropped him off at home most days. I hated myself for enabling him and knew that needed to change. He needed to learn from his mistakes, and I wasn’t helping.
Shaking the thought of Myles doing something stupid out of my head, I took a walk down to the creek. Snow was in the forecast for later this week, which meant my creek was going to officially freeze over.
Might as well take one last cold plunge to wash these feelings away.
I didn’t knowwhat to do with myself. I’d been attempting to busy myself as much as possible since I came back. Between working extra shifts at the bar and everything leading up to my dad’s funeral, I didn’t know what it was like to have time on my hands. So, you could say it felt a bit unfamiliar to have time to fill.
Sophie gave me the last couple days off, and after helping my mom clean up around the house yesterday, I didn’t know what else to do.
When I found myself pulling up to Declan’s home by Cherry Creek, I suddenly got nervous. How would he react to seeing me after our conversation the other day? How would he feel about me just dropping by with no notice or a heads up? Fuck, what if he had someone over??
I caught myself feeling entirely too insecure, but then I considered the time he dropped by my house unannounced, and we ended up sharing a six pack. Maybe that would be something we could repeat.?
Might as well knock on the door and see what could come of it. I had no idea what I would say when he answered the door, but I’d most likely figure it out in the moment and wing it.
“Go with the flow, Paige,” I whispered under my breath as I brought my fist up to the front door and gave it three hard knocks.
Checking out my surroundings, I noticed his truck was in the driveway and the porch light was on, but he wasn’t answering.Did I knock hard enough?
Maybe his TV had been on too loud, or he was in the shower and didn’t hear me knock.?
Ringing the doorbell this time, I waited but continued to stand there in silence when there had been no answer.
Unsure of what to do now, I made my way toward the patio built down by the creek. I know he liked to spend a lot of time down there, so maybe he was relaxing where we were the other night.?
Last time I made my way down this path, I had his help. He was the one guiding the way in the dark, holding my hand all the way down. I took out my flashlight on my phone and followed the trail ahead. The string lights over the patio gave off a warm glow that bounced off the water in the creek. It helped provide just enough light as I got further down.
Looking toward the patio, I didn’t see him.?
He wasn’t down here either. He must have been in the shower back at the house.
Just as I was tempted to turn around and give up, I heard a splash. What the fuck? Was he in the water? Was it an animal? Getting slightly freaked out, I put my phone back in my pocket. I didn’t want to be spotted if it was a deer or other wildlife running across the water. Like an idiot, I hid behind a tree.
Not like the tree would protect me, anyway.
