Page 46 of The Last Date

Me: How are you hanging in?

Sasha: To be honest, I don’t even know.

Me: I’m so sorry about all of this, my gorgeous angel.

Me: I promise we will get through this.

Sasha: OK.

That wasn’t much of a response, but at the moment, as I saw my sous chef waving wildly to me, it would have to do.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

* Sasha *

My father didn’t speak to me for three days, which made tiptoeing around our huge house a bit unnerving for me. My hearing had become my most important sense, as I maneuvered around each area carefully to avoid him. My mother had said that he needed some time to cool down, but I had no idea how long that would be.

There were several loud conversations between my parents that featured occasional yelling. I wore my earphones more than ever in an attempt to stay calm while blanking them out.

Strange that since I had dug out my sketchbooks and colored pencils again, I didn’t mind spending most of my free time in my room. Doodling patterns was incredibly grounding. If I did get my own apartment soon, I could set the living room up to be a painting studio.

The more I thought about how my father had steered me away from art, the more my shoulders slumped. It was distressing to realize that he didn’t really care about my happiness, he just wanted me to sound normal to strangers.

Throwing myself into work more than ever, I lost myself in research and planning as another way to spend my time since I was avoiding the living, family, and dining rooms.

I’d been leaving for work a bit early so that I didn’t run into Dad in the foyer, but today he had been standing silently in wait.

“Sasha, I need to speak with you in the living room.”

“I’m on my way to work,” I said, glancing at the time on my phone.

“You have time, and I’ll be quick.”

Dragging my feet to the couch, I settled at the far end as he sat down and turned to me. “When you were seventeen, you went on and on about that art school in Italy.”

“Yeah?”

“I was thinking that now might be the perfect time to send you,” he said. “You’re old enough to live on your own for a while now.”

Blinking in shock, I couldn’t believe that he might be serious.

His smile didn’t touch his eyes. “Your mother has a friend with a small condo available for rent just three blocks from the school. We’ve been looking into it. You’ve been working so hard, that perhaps taking a year off to just paint would do you a world of good. We would pay for everything, and could even come to visit you at some point.”

I felt my lips fall open, unable to stop them. “When I begged and pleaded, you said no. I applied anyway, and was turned down. Now that there’s really a reason for me to be here, you want to send me away?”

“Sasha,” he said gently, reaching out to pat my hand but I jerked it away. “You know that you can’t be with a man like that.”

“That is not your business anymore,” I said.

“While you are under this roof, yes it is.”

“Then I’m moving out,” I shrugged, assuming that would completely freak him out.

“I’ll call Collin at the gallery and have him fire you.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” I gasped.

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