my forehead. Oh, please let there be a way to fix this!
There wasn’t a minute to spare. I tossed my crutches aside and hobbled quickly toward the door, swiping my keys from the hook as I went.
But my mother’s voice stopped me. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“To make things right with Layne.”
“Not tonight, you’re not.”
“Mum!”
“Wyatt, you’re not to leave this house! Doctor’s orders.”
“I’m not running a marathon! I’m driving a few miles away to go talk to my girlfriend.” At least I hoped she’d be my girlfriend after she heard what I had to say.
“You can talk to her on the phone, but you’re not going over there.”
My father walked over and took the keys from my hand. Then, thinking better of it, he took all the keys off the hooks removing temptation.
Seriously? They were choosing now to be parental?
I clenched my jaw and sucked in a breath through my nose, praying for a way to make them understand. “I need to speak with Layne in person,” I said calmly. “It’s important.”
“So is your health,” my mother argued.
I threw my hands up and stubbornly walked out the door even though I didn’t have my keys. I didn’t know where I was going, but I just needed to get out of my house so I could think clearly for a moment.
I’d only made it three steps outside when I stumbled to a standstill. There, laying in a heap in my driveway, was my jacket. The one I’d given Layne.
My heart tore from my chest.
I limped over to pick it up. That’s when I knew how royally I’d screwed up.
I walked back inside, my pulse pounding in my temples as I wracked my brain for a solution. There had to be a way to fix this. Layne was the first good thing to ever happen to me. I would not ruin it. She was right. I was the problem. And if I wanted to stop my past from ruining my future, I knew where I needed to start.
I walked into my father’s study, finding him sitting in his favorite chair staring into a glass of Scotch. I wanted to blame him for this, but Layne’s words haunted me. ‘Maybe your dad’s not the problem here. Maybe it’s you.’ I hated that it had taken me hurting her to learn this lesson, but it made me realize that the only person I could fix in my relationship with my father was me.
“Can I talk to you?” I asked.
“If it’s about taking that car—” he started.
“It’s not.”
My father relaxed and nodded to the chair next to him. I took a seat and drew in a long breath. This conversation was way overdue. And as much as I wanted to rush through it to get to making things right with Layne, I knew if I was ever going to have a shot with someone as incredible as her, I was going to have to start doing things right.
So, I started from the beginning. I told my dad everything. How I resented having to move to Northwood, how I never got to see him, how I didn’t feel like my voice was valued in our family, and how the last few weeks with Layne had changed everything for me.
When we were done talking, I felt like I’d shed a thousand-pound weight from my chest.
My father drew in a breath, his eyes sincere as he spoke. “I’m glad you told me how you feel. It takes a man to speak up for himself. And it takes an even bigger man to apologize for his mistakes. I know I’ve made a lot of them with you, son. And I should’ve apologized to you a long time ago.”
I hadn’t been expecting him to agree with me. But just hearing him say those few words meant the world. “Thanks.”
“Let’s keep working on talking like this. My eyes have been opened tonight. And I’d like to keep them that way.”
“Me too.”
My father smiled. “That girl of yours is right. You are a pretty incredible person. I’ve always known that, Wyatt. And I’m sorry if I haven’t done a very good job of showing you.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. His words didn’t make everything right, but it was a step in right direction and it made me want to keep the momentum going with Layne.
“Did she really say that?” I asked. “That I’m an incredible person?”