He’s a good kid. Fable’s raised him right.
Doc is tapping away at her iPad. Probably noting how worried she is that I’m living with Fable. “Are you all getting along?”
“For the most part.” I can’t lie to her. “There was tension at first, most of it coming from Owen. He’s hurt that their mom did this.”
“Understandable.”
“He blamed Fable at first.”
“Also understandable. We sometimes look to put the blame on others because we don’t want to believe the truth.” She looks at me pointedly. “We also tend to blame ourselves.”
I know all about that. I get it. “They’ve hashed stuff out, but it’s still a little tense between them. So that means it’s a little tense between Owen and me. But overall, he’s a nice kid. I feel bad for him.” I remember being a teen. My entire world changed in a blink of an eye. I lost all my innocence, my childhood forever.
This betrayal by his mother has taken Owen’s childhood away from him for good.
“Has the mother resurfaced at all?”
“Fable finally received a text from her a few days ago.” And it had infuriated her. Only two sentences, it sent Fable into a funk that had her stewing the rest of the night.
I’m so sorry. Someday I hope you’ll understand.
Fable deleted it immediately, calling her mom every horrific name she could think of.
“Your relationship is already a delicate one. Doesn’t this situation put unnecessary stress on the two of you?”
“If we can get through this, we can get through anything, don’t you think?”
Dr. Harris offers me a kind smile. “One would think. Such a momentous move while in the early stages of your commitment to each other can also turn everything sour. Are you afraid of that? Of losing her after finally getting her back?”
I’m always afraid of losing Fable. The fear stays in the back of my mind 24-7. Most of the time I push it aside and focus on the present day.
“She needs me.”
“And you need her, don’t you?”
“I do.” I take a deep breath. “You won’t want to hear this, but I’d prefer if they lived with me. I like having her there. We don’t spend every waking moment together since she’s working full-time lately and I’m in school, but I like…” My voice trails off.
“You like what?” Dr. Harris asks.
“I like having her in my bed every night. Waking up with her every morning. Just knowing she’s with me gives me a sense of peace I can’t remember ever having in my life.” I rub my thumb against my knee. “I don’t want her to leave.”
“She will eventually. It sounds to me like Fable is a very independent person, right?”
“Yeah.” I don’t want to talk about her any longer. I don’t want to think about her leaving me, even if it is just to live on her own.
As if she can sense me closing up, my shrink changes the subject.
“Have you heard from your dad?”
“He called right before I came inside. I didn’t answer.” I feel guilty for sending him straight to voice mail but I can’t deal with another rant. And that’s all he does when he calls.
Rants about Adele and how much she wronged him. How badly she humiliated him among their friends and his colleagues. He’s the laughingstock of the country club, she’s flaunting her young piece all over town. On and on it went.
I’m over it. I’ll be there for him but he still hasn’t filed divorce papers. I know deep down inside he’s waiting for her to come crawling back and beg for his forgiveness. Fool that he is for her he’ll probably take Adele back.
I can hardly stomach the thought.
“He still doesn’t know?”
She’s referring to Adele and me. I shake my head.
“So she hasn’t said anything?”
“Not that I know of.” Cold fear grips my gut at the mere thought.
“Have you ever considered beating her to the punch?” When I frown, Dr. Harris continues. “Telling your dad before she does?”
“No way.” I shake my head. “I could never work up the nerve to tell him that.”
“It might be easier coming from you. Being honest with your father might take an incredible load off your chest. If he hears it from Adele first, she’s won. You’ve allowed her the chance to tell him, to make up whatever story she needs to tell to make herself look better.”
I study her, let her words sink in. She has a point. I’m way too chickenshit to broach the subject with him, though. “I’ll consider telling him first,” I say only to appease her.
She smiles. “I’m glad.”
* * * *
The moment I leave Dr. Harris’s office I check my phone. Two missed calls from my dad and one from Fable. I call her first.
“You’ll never believe what happened.” She sounds excited. Happy.
“What?”
“I think I found the perfect apartment. Oh my God, Drew, it’s so nice. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms at a newer complex. The rent’s reasonable and the deposit isn’t too outrageous. I went and checked it out with Jen and it’s beautiful. They already ran a credit check on me and said they’d hold the apartment for me, but I have to come up with the deposit by Friday.”
Shit. She’s leaving me. “Where’s it located?” If it’s in a bad part of town, I refuse to let her move there.
“Here’s what’s even better about the apartment. It’s not too far from your place. Like about two miles away, tops. On the other side of the shopping center with the grocery store you like to go to.” She laughs. “I don’t have any furniture but I don’t care. We’ll figure something out. I can shop the Goodwill.”