“And if I said I wanted here and you?” So much for ambience and lack of llama shit.
She froze, like an actual deer caught in headlights. He’d always thought that was just an expression, but her wide-eyed non-movement was exactly like that time he’d hit a deer in college.
And then, of all fucking things, her phone rang. She blinked, pulling the phone out of her pocket.
“Don’t answer it.”
She swallowed as she looked at the screen. “It’s Caleb.”
“Ignore it, Mel. We’re having an important conversation.”
She stared at him, then back down at her phone, and he held his breath, because he needed her to do this. To be willing to talk about this. To be willing to take a chance. On him. On them.
The phone went silent.
Chapter 21
Mel kept staring at the phone, even though it had stopped ringing. And if I said I wanted here and you? Yeah, she’d actually much rather talk to her brother than deal with that question.
“Um, I need to call him back. Something could be wrong with Dad and—”
“Mel—”
Whatever he’d been about to say was drowned out by her ringer going off. Caleb again. “It’s… It must be important. I have to answer it. It could be…”
“Mel, please.”
But she couldn’t listen to his “please.” She couldn’t. I want you. This was not what she had signed on for. Him wanting her and wanting this place and that glimmer in his eye like he might stay. No. That was not the deal.
The deal was he leave just like everyone else. And she’d make sure it happened. She would. Once she dealt with Caleb.
“Hello?”
“I need you to come home. Now.”
She bristled at the sound of half demand, half desperation in her brother’s voice. The twinge of guilt it created in her stomach. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know how to explain this,” Caleb said, his voice all creaky and weird. Really weird. “But I need you here. I don’t know how to…” His voice broke and trailed off.
“How to what? What’s wrong?” She gripped the phone tighter, and even though she could feel Dan behind her, she couldn’t think about him and that stuff now. Something was seriously wrong at home, and Caleb needed her.
“There’s someone here. I…I don’t know what to do with her. I can’t let Dad see…”
Mel could have sworn her heart stopped. For the longest, strangest second, she thought he might mean Mom. That she was back. “Who’s there?” she asked in little more than a whisper.
“This girl. She says… She says she’s our sister.”
“Sister.” She was swamped by a whole myriad of feelings. There was relief it wasn’t Mom, but there were other, more complicated emotions she couldn’t wade through. They just sat there, along with the ones Dan had stirred up, a big uncomfortable lump in her gut. “A sister. What, like Mom had other kids? Well, that’s not surprising, I guess.”
“No, Mel, I mean, she is Mom’s but… She says Dad’s her father too.”
“That can’t be.” Even though Caleb couldn’t see her, she shook her head, because that was ludicrous. How could they have a sibling they didn’t know about? “What is this? What is she asking for? Why is she here?” They certainly didn’t have anything to give.
“I don’t know. I need you to come home. I need your help. She…she’s twenty-one. She could be…she could be Dad’s. What do I do about Dad?”
Mel inhaled sharply. If she knew the answer to that question, would she be here? But this was new and big and…a sister. It couldn’t be.
Twenty-one.
Twenty-one years since Mom had jumped ship. A twenty-one-year-old sister. It really couldn’t be possible. This was some kind of mix-up.
“She looks…” His voice lowered, his breath an audible inhale and exhale over the line. “Mel, she looks just like you.”
“I’m on my way,” she managed. There were some things you could ignore. She didn’t look back at Dan, but she could feel him. Whether he liked it or not, she could ignore him. She had to. To survive whatever the hell was happening at home, she needed to ignore him completely.
“I have to go.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s complicated.” She slid the phone into her pocket, still not turning to face him. She was afraid she’d break if she looked at him and he was being all nice-guy Dan. What if I wanted here and you?
Yeah, she didn’t have it in her right now to deal with that. She didn’t have it in her ever to deal with that. So she started walking away. Just keep pushing forward until something works out, right?
And if it never does?
“Okay, it’s complicated,” he said, following her. “Explain it to me.”
“I don’t have time.”
“Then tell me on the way.”
She stopped and turned to him, though she kept her gaze off of him, guarded. “On the way? No.” She shook her head and mustered her best no-nonsense tone. “I’m going.”