couldn’t have been that bad.”
I bent over my bowl of cereal, raised the spoon to my lips.
“Of course I don’t know what happened because you won’t tell me.”
I giggled at Grandma’s tenacity and milk dribbled down my chin. Swiftly, I stopped it with my napkin. After discarding it on the table I glanced up at Grandma who was leaning over her bowl of cereal. Taking a deep breath, I gathered up the courage to ask the question I’d wanted all morning.
“Grandma, what do you know about my dad?”
She froze, spoon suspended in midair. Her eyes widened. “Um…not much actually.” She shoved the spoon into her mouth and chewed at a snail’s pace as if she hoped never to swallow.
“C’mon, Grandma, you must know something.”
“No, not really.” She turned away from me, carrying her bowl to the sink. Turning on the water she scrubbed the dishes with a sponge. Soapsuds caked the bottom of her sleeves.
Undeterred, I got up and followed her. “That can’t be true. If they were a couple then you knew him.” A thought struck me. “Unless he was a one night stand.”
No, because then why would she have the picture?
Grandma faced me, wiping her hands on a towel. “You really need to ask your mom these questions.” “I have. She won’t tell me anything. I only know his name and what he looks like because I found a picture of the two of them.”
She frowned at me, pity filling her face. “I’m sorry. You deserve to know more than that.”
“Exactly. So tell me.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I promised your mom I wouldn’t.”
I threw my arms up in the air in exasperation. “That’s so unfair. I have the right to know about my dad. He’s half of me.” I stomped out of the kitchen. “Whatever. If you or mom won’t tell me I’ll find out another way.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” I stalked into my room and slammed the door. Snatching up the phone, I began dialing Haley, but then thought better of it. I hung up and dialed the only person who could help me.
When Rhiannon answered I said, “Hey, do you mind if I come over?”
“Not at all.”
I caught my messy reflection in the mirror. “Okay. I’ll be over as soon as I shower and change.”
“Sounds good.”
After Grandma left for work and I finished getting ready, I headed to Rhiannon’s. When I opened my front door Isaac stood before me with his arm poised, ready to knock.
“Sorry. I’m just heading out,” I said icily and stepped past him.
“Wait.” He grabbed my arm. His skin was warm and I melted beneath his touch.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” I shook my arm out of his grasp.
“Well, you clearly weren’t sick yesterday. Did I do something to upset you?”
I bit my lip, contemplating my answer.
He continued, “I thought things were going so well between us.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, we had fun together. So what?”
“Why are you being so cold?”
The hurt in his voice squeezed my heart. I wanted to grab him, take him in my arms. I wanted to let him hold me and never let go but it wasn’t that simple. I didn’t know if I could trust him and I wasn’t going to let him hurt me. So, I needed to push him away. I had already fallen harder than I wanted to.
“What did you expect, Isaac? That we were gonna fall madly in love and ride off into the sunset together? Get real. I’m only here for the summer. I’m not looking for a relationship.”
“I don’t know where all this is coming from. Did Brooke say something to you?”
“This has nothing to do with Brooke.” I raised my voice. “It has to do with me and what I want, okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah, okay.”
As he trudged off, my heart sank. I watched him leave and it was all I could do to stay rooted in place and not go running after him. How could I have been so cruel? What if Brooke lied? Shouldn’t I have let him explain? I shook away the questions. No, it was better this way. What I said was true.
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