Oh, my word. I could feel the beginnings of a fight. But it wasn’t fair! He couldn’t just forget about me like that. I would never forget about him.
“You know what?” I said, beginning to choke up. “I am PO’d. You didn’t come to find me. You didn’t call. In fact, Aiden, you’ve been out of school for over an hour, and you’re just now getting ahold of me. Where were you?” I didn’t sound like myself. I was acting crazy. Paranoid. Suspicious. SOS was getting to me. But Aiden paused, and there was a sickening twist in my belly.
“I was working on a chemistry lab assignment, Tessa.”
No. Oh, no. I took the phone away from my ear for a second, breathed out, and then brought it back. “With Chloe?”
“Yeah. We stayed after. I didn’t find out you were sick until just now when Kira called.”
“Where were you at lunch?” I needed to curl up in a ball and sob. In about ten seconds, I was going to do just that.
“Same thing, baby. Working on chemistry.”
Small little aches began to break across my face, wanting me to cry. “So,” I said, trying to sound as composed as possible. “You spent the entire day with Chloe?” Sugar and spice! I would die.
“Don’t say it like that,” Aiden said, sounding annoyed. “Damn, Tessa. Do I say shit when you hang out with that prick?”
I was startled. Aiden knew better than to swear like that. “Stop,” I said.
“No.”
My eyes widened. What was going on? Things were so clearly upside down. My boyfriend was angry with me when I was the one being ignored. He’d spent the entire day with that little cougar!
“I have to go,” he said quickly. “I’m sure you’re busy tonight.” He was definitely upset. And correct. I was busy.
“Sort of—”
“Whatever. I’ll see you tomorrow or something, Tess. Whenever you can fit me in.”
And. He. Hung. Up.
The phone fell from my hand, bouncing on the table. Aiden had never, ever hung up on me. Not ever.
My life had just officially fallen apart.
“Hi, Daddy.” I walked up to give him a kiss as he came in the door, dragging his suitcase behind him.
“Hey, sweetie.” He sounded confused, pulling his brows together. “You do something different with your hair?”
The braid had been hurting my head so I took it out, letting my hair run wild with crimps.
“I came home sick from school,” I said, as if that had ever stopped me from looking great before. “Where’s Mom?” I peeked over my father’s shoulder as he was closing the door.
“She’s going to the club. We’re staying in town tonight. She… she said you were upset with us for being gone so much. Is that true, Tess?”
My mother. She’d obviously been obsessing about our earlier conversation. I was making her unhappy. I was making everyone unhappy.
“That’s not it,” I said. My father moved his glasses down his nose to look me over slowly. Then he adjusted them and motioned to a kitchen chair.
“Take a seat, kid. Looks like you need to talk.”
I smiled. If only I had talked sooner, I wouldn’t be in such a mess. I plopped down in the seat and waited as my father poured us both a glass of milk and grabbed a few oatmeal cookies out of the cupboard. He was adorable. I was such a lucky Kitty.
“Thanks,” I said, taking a cookie from him as he sat down.
He nodded and then cleared his throat. “All right, Tess. Spill.”
I chewed slowly, wondering what my father would think of my spying. Wondering if he could relate more to the cheaters than to me. “I’m in trouble,” I said.
His eyes widened. Oh. I guess that wasn’t the best thing for a teenage girl to tell her father.
“Not that sort of trouble,” I said quickly. He exhaled.
“Wow, Tessa, thanks for the heart attack. Now what exactly have you gotten yourself into?” He pushed back in his seat and crossed his legs, taking a sip from his glass.
“Daddy, do you think Aiden is tired of me?” I hated those words. They were entirely too close to possible.
My father choked on his milk, his face turning red as he leaned forward. When he was able to breathe again, he put his hand on my arm and shook his head. “Has something happened with Aiden?” He was terrified. Aiden was the son he wished he had.
“No, not yet—”
“Not yet?” My father raised his voice. “Are you two having problems? Is it his mother again?”
“No, she’s the same. But Dad, do you think… maybe Aiden wants to see other girls?” Good golly! I began to tear up.
“What other girls could there be?” he said so seriously, I had to smile. In my father’s eyes, I was perfect. Even if it wasn’t true, that was what he thought. He reached over to mess up my hair.
“Stop.” I laughed, pushing his hand back.
He pressed his lips together, looking at me thoughtfully. “To answer your question,” he said quietly. “No. I don’t think Aiden would leave you, Tess. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. It’s the same way I used to look at your mother. He adores you.”
But his words, although sweet, stung me. “You left Mom,” I said, suddenly needing to know why. If he loved her so much, why did he walk away?
My father dropped his head, and I recognized the look. I’d seen it many times in my line of work. Shame. He had cheated. My father had cheated on my mother.
“I made a mistake,” he said, meeting my eyes. “I made one mistake, Tess, and I almost lost her.” He waited a beat, and I felt a heaviness creep over my chest, aching.
“Why did you do it?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I think I was lonely. But I never meant to hurt her, or you. I love you two so much. You’re my life.”
Aiden had told me that once.
“And I’m glad your mother loved me enough to forgive me.” He ran his hands through his thinning black hair. He tried to smile at me. “Aiden’s a good boy,” my father said. “He loves you. Why can’t you trust that?”
I didn’t know. I wasn’t exactly sure what had changed. It seemed that everywhere I looked, all I saw were cheaters. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
I didn’t trust Aiden. I couldn’t. Because if there was one thing my heart-to-heart with my daddy confirmed, it was that my boyfriend could love me and cheat on me.