Page 19 of Plot Twist
“To be honest, my dad wasn’t really around either.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She’d heard as much from Poppy. “He’s kind of this larger-than-life person because, in a lot of ways, he feels more like a movie star than my dad. I’ve seen him talk more on-screen than to me directly.”
She wanted to reach over and grab his hand, but she didn’t. Sophie worked hard to keep her face neutral. She didn’t want to make Dash feel bad, and she didn’t judge him. She took in a deep breath and leaned back against the comfort of the chair. “I know it’s not the same thing, but I was raised by a single mom. She worked nonstop to make sure we had everything we needed. My sister was really the one who raised me. And I adored my mom—we spent a lot more time together once Nina could help her financially—but I do understand what it’s like to miss your parent. Especially now that mine’s gone.”
Sophie’s mom had passed away almost a decade ago, and while she’d grieved, she would never really recover from losing her.
“I’m sorry about your mom,” he said. And to her surprise, he reached over and squeezed her hand.
“Thank you” was all she could think to say. Her hand practically burned from the spot where he’d touched her.
“The thing about my dad is,” he said, “I didn’t know him. So I didn’t know what I was missing, really.”
A little corner of her heart broke off for Dash. Because she hadn’t known her dad at all either, but Sophie had had her mom. And as much as her mom had worked, she’d still tucked them in every night. She read them books, and when Sophie was old enough, they read romance novels together. And Sundays were their family time. She’d never been in Dash’s shoes, but when she looked over, he didn’t seem fazed.
“What was your relationship with your mom like?” he asked.
“My mom was the absolute biggest cheerleader I’ve ever had, and the first person who told me I could be a writer.” Sophie softly smiled, the way she always did when she thought of her mom. “She encouraged us to do what we loved, which is why not being able to write is kind of killing me.”
Dash let her words sit before he added more. “Don’t get me wrong, I had a really charmed childhood—going to sets, awards shows, meeting every celebrity you can think of. My life wasn’t bad,” he said. “But it’s hard for me to talk about my dad because he just...wasn’t there forme.”
“As you know, I’m an award-winning speechwriter.” She smirked, and he gave her an amused look back. “We’ll figure this out.” Her hand landed on the armrest, almost touching him, and then she pulled it back.
“So long as you can find a way to make something out of nothing.” He readjusted the sunglasses on his face, and his strong jaw flexed.
She really hoped, for Dash’s sake, that she could. She wanted nothing more than to deliver a speech that would impress not only his whole family but also him. When she looked out her window, she no longer saw the endless stretch of buildings that signaled Los Angeles. They were on the highway, with cars zipping past, but there were also endless stretches of green and billboards for upcoming fast-food stops. She took out her phone and pulled up the list of questions she’d made for Dash. “Okay, is there something your dad has always dreamed of doing but hasn’t done yet?”
“Can I plead the Fifth?” Dash asked. “I absolutely don’t know the answer to that question.”
“Okay, no worries. I’ve got more!” Sophie scrolled down her phone. “What does your dad value most in a friendship?”
“Well, my dad’s only real friend is my mom, and she’s...” He drifted off and didn’t seem like he intended to finish the thought.
“Okay, well, it’s cute that your parents are best friends.” Sophie shifted slightly in her seat, batted her curtain bangs away from her eyes, then asked, “Okay, third time’s the charm, I hope. I just want to know one thing you genuinely like about your dad.”
He sighed so deeply she couldn’t tell if it was him or the engine rumbling through her seat.
“Dash, as you know, I’m a great writer, but I do needsomething.Even if you just make it up!”
“Okay, my dad is terrified of sharks,” he finally said. “Like, deeply, horrifyingly scared of them. But on his firstMission Foreverfilm, there’s a scene where he jumps out of a helicopter and into the ocean. He had to land in the water, then climb onto this boat, and he was so terrified but wanted to do his own stunts for his first starring action role, so he just did it. He decided he wasn’t going to be afraid of sharks that day. So he took a shot of whiskey, dove into the ocean, and pretended like they were in a water tank and not on the open sea. I kind of loved how badly he wanted to be an action star, that even his deepest fear couldn’t keep him from making it happen.”
“I love sharks,” Sophie said, straightening. “Did you know they don’t have bones?”
He squinted at her. “Just so I’m clear, you love tractors and sharks.”
“You say that like they aren’t all related.”
“Sharks and tractors are related?”
“They’re both wildly misunderstood, Dash.” She made sure to sound deathly serious.
Her phone pinged with a new text, and when she glanced at the screen, she saw a new message from Ned.
Ned:See you soon.
She swallowed down the ball of dread that had gathered in her throat and tried to focus on the road ahead of them. She’d been enjoying the car ride with Dash and had almost entirely forgotten that she’d soon be face-to-face with her high-school boyfriend. She didn’t want to have an uncomfortable conversation with Ned, but it was shaping up to be something she couldn’t avoid.
8
DASH
