Page 103 of Wild About You
“The difference is that we feel your presence even when you’re not here.”
“Is that really enough?”
“I love you, Tyler. That includes all the things that make up who you are, your insane hockey schedule, and the fact you’re basically raising your younger sister. So, yes, it’s enough. You’re enough.” I pour every bit of emotion I can into the words, but if they soothe him, I can’t tell.
He doesn’t say anything back, but he wraps himself around me, like he seems to be doing more and more lately. Like I’m the anchor holding him steady.
34
AIN’T THAT THE TRUTH
TYLER
The Madison campus is nice.Really nice. I never had aspirations to go to college, but even I can admit this place would have been cool.
We get a tour from a college senior named Maddie who is so bubbly and enthusiastic I’m afraid she’s going to scare off Ev, but my sister matches her excitement as we see dorms and class buildings. I barely recognize her, but it’s good to see her like this. It’s the third campus we’ve seen this week, and the one she seems the most in to.
At the end of the tour, she and Maddie follow each other on Instagram, and then Everly and I head off to explore on our own.
“Do you want to grab something to eat?” she asks.
“Nah. Unless you do.”
She stops on the sidewalk in front of me. “What is up with you? You barely said a word the entire tour.”
“Nothing. I’m good.” I point to the bookstore up ahead. “Let’s stop in there.”
“You just passed up food. Something is clearly wrong.”
Chuckling, I hold open the door for Everly to walk in ahead of me. “I’m all right, just sick of cafeterias and fast food.”
What I wouldn’t give for some of Piper’s pasta right now.
As if her mind is on her too, Everly asks, “How come Piper didn’t come with us?”
“She had to work.”
“Did you even ask her to come?”
I hold the door open for Everly to walk in ahead of me. “No, because she has to work. She can’t just take off every time one of us needs something from her.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “You broke up with her, didn’t you? Or she broke up with you.”
“What? No. Where is all this coming from?”
“Things have been so weird lately. I can feel it. You guys both seem so serious and stressed. You don’t laugh or go out anywhere together. Did you have a fight or something?”
“No, nothing like that. We’re both just busy, Ev.”
She nods. We circle around the large bookstore. She picks out a T-shirt and I grab an extra one for Piper. She hasn’t mentioned coming to Madison for grad school again, but when I get back, I’m going to tell her I think she should go.
When I was eighteen, I knew that she deserved more, and I couldn’t give it to her, so I walked away. Four years later, and I still want to give her more than I seem capable of right now. I want to be able to give her so much more than the stolen moments between everything else.
I pay for our stuff, and we step back outside. “Is there anything else you want to see?”
“No.”
“You’re sure?”
