Page 74 of Those Summer Nights (Sweet Cravings 2)

I smiled. “Thanks, Kristen.”

She nudged me with her shoulder. “Race ya back to our stud Swatch and pancakes!” She took off like lightning.

Kill me now.

***

I stared down at the cracks on my cell phone screen. It was easier to look at them then the string of missed calls from an unknown number. Probably Aiden. Definitely Aiden. And it was easier than finding my dad in my contact list and actually going through with the call. But I had to do it. I wanted to come home. I wanted to be less than three hours away from J.J. by car. Not a six hour plane ride away. Long distance was easier when you were closer, right? That had to be a thing. I could even take the train up to New York and do homework the whole time. It would be kind of perfect.

I took a deep breath and swiped my finger across the screen. Ignoring the missed calls, I pressed on my dad’s number and pulled my cell phone to my ear before I could chicken out. It rang a few times and went to voicemail.

There was no way I was leaving a message and then waiting around on pins and needles. I hung up the phone. I’d try his house phone. He’d told me before not to call their house phone. He didn’t say why, but I had a pretty good hunch. His wife Nancy hated being reminded that I existed. If she had her way, I would be completely erased from the family. More so than I already had been.

The phone rang a few times. I started drumming my fingertips along my thigh. Please, someone pick up. I hoped it was either my dad or one of my half-sisters. Then I wouldn’t be reprimanded for ruining Nancy’s day. Right before I thought it might switch to voicemail, someone picked up.

“Hello? Wilson residence,” said an overly chipper voice.

I could tell it was his wife. Every other female in the house had high-pitched children’s voices. And they weren’t quite as fake friendly as hers. “Um. Hi, Nancy. It’s Mila. Is my dad home?”

“Oh.” The chipper tone was immediately gone. “Mila. One second, I’ll get Dale.”

I heard her yell for my father, letting him know it was me.

“He can’t talk for long though, Mila, okay? He’s playing with our girls.”

The way she said it was so snooty I wished I could reach through the phone and slap her stupid face.

“Yeah…I understand.” I did. She was telling me not to cross her. I just didn’t understand why talking to my father bothered her so damn much. He was mine before he was hers. And she clearly won. My dad hated me as much as she did now. I wasn’t a threat to her perfect little family.

There was a muffled noise as the phone switched hands. And then I heard my father’s voice. “One second, pumpkin.”

I put my hand to my chest. I couldn’t even remember the last time my dad called me that. But it was definitely sometime before he moved out. Maybe I’d been too hard on him. Maybe he did miss me too. I was about to say, no problem, Dad, but he started talking again.

“I’m sorry, pumpkin, but Daddy’s on the phone. We can play in just a minute. It won’t take long, I promise.” He cleared his throat. “Hi, Mila. Sorry about that, Emma and I were in the middle of a game of Candy Land.”

He hadn’t been talking to me when he said pumpkin. He was talking to my youngest half-sister. “You’re playing Candy Land?” I asked,

trying not to sound hurt.

“Yes. It’s a board game.” His voice was so formal.

I knew what Candy Land was. I wasn’t surprised by the game, I was just surprised that he was playing it. My dad had never played games like that with me growing up. He’d always wished I was a boy. He taught me how to play football, swing a baseball bat, and shoot a basket. He didn’t play Candy Land. Why was he suddenly so content with having daughters? He was 21 years too late. “Oh,” was the only thing I could think of to say. “How are you? How are Emma and Isabella?”

“We’re all good. Nancy too.”

I pressed my lips together. Of course he’d focus on the fact that I hadn’t asked about Nancy. But I’d just talked to her. I could tell she was good. She was as uptight and bitchy as ever. “Great,” I gritted through my teeth. “What have you been up to?” Why was small talk with him so painful?

“We just got back from vacation yesterday and are recouping this weekend.”

Recouping from a vacation? Why was that necessary? “Where did you go?”

“Down to Galveston with the whole family.”

The whole family? What about me? I blinked, telling my impending tears to fuck off. “That sounds fun.”

“It was.”

I waited for him to ask how I was. Where I was. What I was doing. If I was going on any vacations this summer. Anything. But of course he didn’t. He didn’t even know I was at the beach we always came to as a family when I was younger.

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