Page 33 of The Love of My Next Life
“Daddy!” I call through the house, barreling into the kitchen where I expect to see him drinking a protein shake in his workout clothes. I screech to a halt and burst into tears when he’s exactly where I want him to be.
“Hey, Pumpkin,” he greets with a smile, grunting a little when I tackle him in a hug. He squeezes me tightly and chuckles. “I guess you missed me?”
I sniffle and nod into his shoulder. My emotions are such a mess.
“Just a little,” I say on a laugh. I pull back and look at him, surprised to see him still wearing pajama pants. I raise a brow. “Late start?”
He laughs. “Got in late, so I slept in.”
I smile. He deserves to rest. God knows what kind of stuff he had to do over the last two weeks. I drop my arms and step back, then something strange registers in my head. I lean back in and sniff his shirt.
“Lavender?” I ask when I pull away. His face is blank. “Why do you smell like lavender?”
“You tell me.” He shrugs. “You’re the one who insists on doing the laundry.”
I roll my eyes.
“That’s because you shrink everything,” I say with a laugh. Then I walk to the refrigerator. “You want eggs? I’ll cook, and you can tell me all about your trip.”
I glance back over my shoulder, and he raises an eyebrow that says,nice try, kid.
“Fine,” I relent. I knew better than to ask. “Then, I’ll cook and tell you about my first two weeks of senior year.”
“That sounds great.”
I smile as I pull out the egg carton and frying pan. I freshen up Dad’s coffee then get to work at the stove, rambling to him about my classes and my teachers. I let myself relax into the familiarity of it. The comfort.
I breathe easier when Dad’s home. He’s here. He’s safe. My little family is intact. And nothing else matters.
* * *
I tellmy dad I’m studying at the library.
I tell Claire I’m studying at the library.
The only person who knows the truth is the one person I’m avoiding.
Yesterday, he tried to approach me in the hallway a few times, but I managed to always be with Claire or Eric. In free period, I could feel his eyes burning holes into my face.
He even threw a small ball of clay at me.
I kept my eyes on my paper and refused to acknowledge him.
When the bell rang, he was out the door immediately, and I haven’t seen him since.
But just because Macon skipped free period today doesn’t mean he won’t be at the rec center tonight. In fact, I’m certain he’ll be here.
I check in with James when I arrive and keep my head down as I walk past the gym. The squeaking of shoes and the bouncing of balls tell me there’s a basketball scrimmage going on, and I’m sure that if I let myself peek inside, I’d find Macon playing coach with a whistle around his neck.
I don’t peek inside.
I go straight to my classroom and set up for today’s class. I’m letting the kids illustrate their own comics this week, and I think they’re going to love it. I decided to cover some drawing and sketching before we do paints, and it’s been working really well so far.
As the kids start to arrive, thoughts of Macon and Eric and Claire are put into a box and shoved out of the way, so I can focus on this art class. Just as I thought, the kids really enjoy the project, and by the time class is over, I’m not ready to go back to my real life.
I want to live my secret for a bit longer.
I shut the door to the classroom, move to the back corner, and lay out some paints, brushes, and paper. They’re not my preferred brands, but they’ll do. I pull up the music streaming app on my phone and decide on a playlist, hitting shuffle.
