with a broad grin that made me feel guilty. The implications of last night hit me like a freight train, and a swarm of negative emotions started to paint over the happiness I had felt. Lance must’ve noticed the shift in my expression, because he then spoke. “We don’t have to though. I was just suggesting. I don’t want to pressure you into anything—”
“I would love to come here again, Lance. Your parents are really nice. I’m really glad that you had them,” I said reverently. And it was true.
Lance scratched the back of his neck before looking down the hall, then back at me. “Mom is making breakfast. I know you don’t like pancakes, but how do you feel about French toast?” he asked. I was curious how he’d learned that I didn’t like pancakes, but I realized seconds later that Decker probably told him.
“That sounds wonderful. Maybe we can call Dad’s parole officer again?” I’d been so wrapped up in Decker that I didn’t even think about Dad last night. But standing here in the harsh realities of the morning glow reminded me that we were here for a reason.
“I already spoke to her. Your dad is nowhere to be found; seems he fled Memphis. We’re probably safe to go back tomorrow, and the guys he was associated with are on a watch list. The authorities have assured us that we are perfectly safe.”
It sounded like they were brushing everything under the rug, but I didn’t voice my concerns to Lance. I wanted to be back in Memphis. If Dad needed something, I wanted to be close by. I didn’t like the idea that no one could find him. What if he hadn’t fled? What if the guys got to him?
“If you say so,” I said.
“Besides, I hear you have a lot of school work to catch up on. Cutting class, hmm? I let it slide because it was her birthday, but I don’t believe for a second that you conveniently got the flu on Thursday.”
I winced. “It’s been a long week,” I explained. “I’ll be back to normal on Monday.”
“Good,” Lance began. “I would hate to have to ground you or sick Rose on your ass.”
I was hoping that Decker would join us for breakfast, but it was just the Trasks and me. Jonathan talked about his work mostly. He was incredibly passionate about saving lives, and it almost made me reconsider my disgust for the human body. Katy was incredibly kind, asking me about my interests and avoiding the topic of my mother. I wasn’t sure if she was just intuitive or if Lance had warned her that there was a painful history there, but either way, I appreciated her determination to make me feel welcome.
The hours passed by, and I grew more and more nervous. I didn’t want to ask Lance where Decker was and make him suspicious of me, but after lunch and dinner passed, I started doubting myself. “Where has Decker been all day?” I finally asked as Katy began to clean up our dessert plates.
“He went looking for his dad,” Lance explained. “He should be back soon though. Figured we could watch a movie in the theatre room,” Lance explained.
“Ooh! That would be fun!” Katy said with a grin. “I have the perfect movi—”
“We’re not watching The Notebook again,” Jonathan growled. Her pretty face fell.
“I was thinking maybe something with superheroes?” Lance offered while tossing the leftover food on his plate in the trash.
I heard the front door open and shut, and my heart constricted. Decker joined us in the dining room, and his eyes connected with mine. Warmth, pure warmth. He said a thousand reassuring words with a single glance before walking over to pat Lance on the back. “Hey, man,” he greeted.
“Hey, how was your dad?” Lance asked before grabbing what was left of the dessert pan and plopping it on the table in front of an empty seat. Decker sat down and started digging through the Sundae Pie, eyeing me before answering Lance’s question.
“He said he was too busy to see me,” Decker said with his mouth full. A hint of whipped cream was on the corner of his mouth, and I leaned forward to wipe it clean with my tongue but stopped about a foot away when I realized what I was doing. I was already fucking this up. I was obviously not good at secrets.
“Fucker,” Lance said. “Well, we’re going to have a movie night. You can