Page 54 of When Sky Breaks
“When did you send it? I haven’t opened any today.”
“Look when you get a chance. I had a job run through that I think you’d love.”
I sigh, closing my eyes to the sun beaming down overhead. “I don’t know if I can swing anything right now.” Or ever again if that means leaving town while Sky’s here.
Spencer hums. “Thought you might have missed me. Don’t you even want to hear about it?”
I chuckle. “I just saw you. But sure, lay it on me.”
“That was under different circumstances.”
The image of my father’s casket flits across my mind. “I know. How are you doing with that?”
It’s no secret my dad and uncle weren’t close. Spencer said if he knew the things that were going on when I was young, he would’ve stepped in. With no kids of his own, he loved the solitary life of travel photography but said he would’ve dropped it for me.
“Work keeps me busy, so I don’t have time to think about it. I should be asking you this. He was your father.”
“Ignoring most of it.”
“August.”
The bridge of my nose stings as I pinch it. “Fine, I’m dealing with it, okay? Mom isn’t, but that was expected.”
“Yeah, she liked to wear a mask around Kent. I can imagine she isn’t handling his death well. Drinking?”
I rub my eyebrow back and forth, smiling thinly at someone who crossed in front of me. “Yeah. She is.”
He blows out a breath. “I’m sorry. I wish you hadn’t got caught up again with them. I wish?—”
“It’s okay. I wasn’t your responsibility. And I’m trying to make it work with her. Despite everything, she needs me. In a way, it’s simpler now that Dad isn’t around anymore. Does that make me sound bad?”
Spencer huffs. “Absolutely not. He was an asshole to you. And don’t use their age as an excuse. They could’ve had help and chose not to take it, instead embracing that partying lifestyle. They had you and you deserved more. Never doubt that. So please, just tell me, are you really okay?”
As I absorb his real question, I run my fingers along the top of the bench, the wood smooth, with zero splinters to catch my skin. “I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? You know if things get to be too much, you’re always welcome back with me.”
Spencer knows almost everything.
Almost.
As a cloud passes over the sun, it shrouds me in darkness, lending to a choice I nearly made one night.
Thank god I didn’t.
And thank god for Spencer.
When everything seemed lost, he helped me find my place—my footing—and since then, I welcome his calls and concerns. He cares about me even when I didn’t think I was worth it. It’s a daily battle, more so now that Sky is here, her presence both the delectable poison and the blessed antidote.
“I promise I’m okay. The fall festival is coming up and I’m working on a project for that and working on the apartment at Lina’s. I’m keeping busy.”
He hears what I’m not saying in my voice. “And what else? Last week, you told me that girl was around.”
I roll my eyes. “That girl is now a woman, and things are…going about as well as expected.”
“She ignoring you? Would she ignore you knowing how much of a badass you really are?”
More like an asshole, but he never fails to make me laugh. “That’s not true, and I haven’t really talked to her about Cali yet and I have no clue if she’s looked me up. Just hasn’t been the right time to go boasting about it.”