Page 47 of Addicted

CHAPTER 27

DENISE

Hugh stood there, stone-faced, as I wrote my potato salad recipe and laughed at some joke I told with his Grams. She was leaning on me like we’d known each other for ages. After she’d told him off, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and sat back down beside me, announcing she had an appointment so we’d only get to stay for a little bit longer.

Her shoulder hit my side and her eyes went wide. When she turned her back, I gave Hugh a wink and saw his nostrils flare.

“It was lovely to meet you,” I said, lightheaded from hours of cackling at the top of my lungs.

“You better be coming by next week, Sugar. Hugh can come too, I guess. And maybe you can make that peach crumble.”

“I am in!” I walked out the door first to give them a moment while I looked around the neighborhood.

It was dark and the street was quiet. It felt odd to be surrounded by homes that seemed to be dripping in history. Each of them had to be over a hundred years old.

I breathed deep, allowing the scent of redwoods to fill my lungs.

It smells like camping.

It was the thought that always popped into my head when I was out of the city.

A reminder that we used to do daddy/daughter camping trips when I was a kid. My dad was obsessed with me knowing how to rough it in the wild. And, by wild, he meant tents, sleeping bags, and pre-packed meals.

Before I could dismiss the memory, I stopped and thought back to what Hugh said about anchors. Happy memories that you could cling to in the face of the sad ones.

Camping was an anchor.

In spite of it all, it was the place where me and my father bonded under the stars.

Those moments with him didn’t last forever. Eventually, he left and moved on.

Mom knew he’d never planned to stay, but she chose a few moments of happiness with him and built a family because she wanted to live at that moment for as long as she could.

I don’t think she ever regretted it, but I never had the courage to ask her about it. I’d spent so long being angry. At her and at him, but what if I chose to focus on the good? Would that help me see past my rage when I talked about them?

Hugh never talked about his mother either, but he did today. I saw the discomfort in his face, but the way he talked about his grief, the way they found a way to push through it together, it was beautiful.

Today was also a reminder that there was a lot we didn’t know about each other. We had to change that. We needed to pry. Because if there was anything I’d learned, it was that I couldn’t be with someone that I didn’t communicate with.

Wait, were we… together?

CHAPTER 28

HUGH

I watched Grams squeeze Denise tight, tighter than I expected, before letting her go. Denise gave me a smile before giving a little nod from me to my Grams. She walked out the door and down the driveway to give us a little time to chat.

We stood together on the steps and when Denise had made it to the end of the driveway, Grams spoke.

“Huey,” Grams grabbed my arm, her grip tight. “What aren’t you telling me?”

I didn’t have to ask. She wanted to know about the bruise.

Grams was my rock. I told her everything. I knew I’d have to fess up to what happened on Friday when I came today, but it was still hard to utter the words out loud. I swore I’d never break her heart again.

“Grams, I handled it.” She looked in my eyes before placing her hand over my heart.

“And what does that mean?” The question was soft.

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