so much and so ugly, and no one wants to be around that.” I look away, my gaze blurred with fresh tears that I’m still working to hold back.
Arlo wraps his arms around me, engulfing me in a hug. “You’re wrong,” he whispers, holding me tighter. “I’m here. I’m still here. I’m not going anywhere.” The tears multiply at the sound of his conviction, streaming onto his shoulder as I cry for missing my mom, and missing my friends, and missing my old home.
I cry so hard I sob, and all the while, Arlo holds me tighter.
My face feels tight, and my head aches when I finally lift my face from his chest. He brings a hand to my face and gently brushes my hair back. I should feel embarrassed for having cried on him until I couldn’t cry anymore, but I don’t, and regardless of how long I wait for the discomfort to come, it doesn’t.
“I didn’t mean to drop that bomb on you,” I tell him.
He nods. “I had no idea. It makes sense now why that woman upset you so much.”
I chew my bottom lip. “I remember a woman named Ellen,” I tell him honestly. “But I was really hoping to prove your bad luck wasn’t real because I desperately needed that woman to be a liar.”
“What happened to your mom?”
I move to sit down on the couch, and Arlo follows. “She fell asleep while driving home one night.” I shake my head, recalling the details like they just happened. “She swerved into oncoming traffic and hit another car. The other driver walked away with a broken wrist. My mom wasn’t so lucky. Her car flipped and hit a tree on the driver’s side. They said she was killed instantly.”
Arlo brushes his thumb over my knee. “You guys were close.”
I nod. “And now I don’t even know if she was my real mom.”
“She was. Blood is thicker, but choice is stronger.” He stares at me, the conviction in his gaze matching that in his tone. “But, if you want to know, Liv, you deserve to know the truth, and I’ll help you find it.
I sigh. “I don’t know if I’ll want the truth once I have it.”
He nods as though he understands.
“My dad acts really strange every time I try to ask him anything, so I don’t even know if there’s anyone to ask besides that crazy, old lady.”
“I’ll go with you if you want to try talking to her,” he says.
“You don’t have to.”
Arlo shakes his head. “Liv, you’ve dedicated your time to helping me over bullshit stuff like spilled coffee and things that don’t matter. This is important to you, and that makes it important to me. Plus, that lady is crazy, and this isn’t something you should do alone.”
Before I can respond or even process the emotions I’m feeling at his conviction to help me, Rose’s key jiggles in the door, and then she appears, her dark hair in an elegant braid and her clothes revealing she’s been at yoga. “Hey,” she says, attempting to read the mood.
“How was yoga?” I ask.
She nods dismissively. “Is everything okay?”
I swallow as tears start to build in my throat again. “I was just telling Arlo about my mom’s accident.”
Rose’s green eyes don’t hide her shock as she looks at Arlo and then me. She slowly nods and slips off her jacket, coming to sit on my other side. She places a hand on my back. “That conversation never fails to be less shitty, does it?” She swallows thickly, her own initiation into the club of lost-parents visible in her drooping shoulders.
I slide my hand around her waist, pulling her closer to me. “It does not.”
“What do you say? Pizza and a sappy movie with the excuse to cry? Or dinner out?” Rose asks.
“We’re not watching another movie where someone dies,” I tell her. “I hate those movies.”
She laughs, and though it’s not as vibrant and loud as usual, it’s genuine. “Let’s go out. What sounds good?”
“Dick’s,” Arlo declares. “Liv told me she’s never been.”
“Oh, yes.” Rose agrees with a nod. “Big, fat, greasy Dick’s.”
“Stop!” I plead
“Sometimes, I take two at once,” Arlo adds.
“Oh my God, you guys are the worst.” I stand, and Arlo’s hand slips from my lap, the absence of his touch surprisingly noticeable.
“Grab your jacket. And dress however you please. Dick’s loves everyone.” Rose heads toward her room.
I turn to Arlo as he stands. “Thank you,” I tell him.