Page 63 of The Confidant
“We haven’t seen them since then,” Mom said. “We haven’t really seen anyone from church. But I guess that’s normal. We don’t have our beliefs in common anymore, and The Fold keeps everyone so busy that a lot of them don’t have time to socialize outside of church functions.”
“But it’s fine,” Dad said. “We know what it’s like because we’ve been in their shoes before.”
“Yeah,” Mom agreed, looking at my dad in a way that was actually really sweet. “I’m just thankful I’m on this side of things now. It’s been so hard, of course, and I’m sure it will continue to be really difficult since we still have to rebuild our world view and support system. But I’m glad we’re on this journey together.” She looked at me. “And I’m glad I don’t have to worry about my sons so much. My family is all I really care about—knowing that I’m not going to spend eternity without you and Bash by my side has given me more peace of mind than you could know.”
“And now that we're away from it,” Dad added, “it's just like, how in the world did we ever believe so many of those crazy things?"
I nodded. “It's amazing how hard it is to see anything from within the bubble.”
But if my parents had been able to see through the fog The Fold had them in, maybe there was a chance that Scarlett might see through it sometime, too.
I just had to find the right way to bring it up to her.
Hopefully, her dad wouldn't put his spin on my story first.
20
HUNTER
Bash joinedmy parents and me in the living room around eleven—they’d already told him the news of their faith transition a couple of weeks earlier. We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon talking about all the things we’d discovered in our research and just connecting in a way that I never dreamed Bash and I would be able to connect with our parents.
After grabbing a bite to eat at the French cafe down the street where I had an amazing filet mignon and some fancy potato dish, I went upstairs to my room to work on my column. But before I could answer the first email, my phone buzzed with a notification. I then realized I hadn’t checked my phone all morning.
Hoping it was Scarlett, I retrieved my phone from the charger and saw that I actually had a few missed texts from her. As I read the messages that started with her asking how I was and if I wanted to meet on the rooftop above my parents’ penthouse, my mind took me back to last night with Scarlett, making my stomach flap with butterflies.
Sorry I didn’t see your texts until now.I quickly texted back before she could think I had decided to ghost her after such an amazing night.But I can meet you at the rooftop anytime.
The text went to “read” immediately, and I held my breath as I waited for her to respond.
It only took a few seconds for her reply to come through.
Scarlett:I can come now. See you on the rooftop soon.
* * *
It waschilly when I made it to the rooftop a few minutes later, so to make it more comfortable—a place where Scarlett and I would want to spend hours sitting up there if the mood permitted—I turned on the fire pit table, grabbed a few blankets from the basket by the door, and poured two insulated tumblers high with hot chocolate.
I was just sitting down on the patio furniture when Scarlett walked onto the rooftop wearing the same wool coat she’d worn last night, with her hair down and curled in the way she always did it for church.
“Hey,” I said, standing to give her a hug as she walked closer. “I’m glad you texted.”
“Hi,” she said, returning the hug briefly before looking around at the cozy area I’d set up. “Did you do all this?”
“Yeah,” I said, feeling my cheeks flush, hoping it wasn’t too much. “I thought it would be nice to stay warm.”
“It looks nice,” she said. “Very cozy.”
But instead of sitting right next to where I’d been on the couch, she sat in the patio chair.
So maybe this wasn’t the type of rendezvous I’d been thinking it was?
I sat back down. When I looked at her, I realized something was off about her energy today. Instead of acting excited or like she was anticipating what might happen between us, she was agitated.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
Was she having second thoughts about last night?
Or had her dad seen me hiding in the corner and had pulled her aside to talk about what he knew about me?
