Echoes Between Us - McGarry, Katie Page 0,108
mom.
His expression falls, as if my silence has crushed him, and that causes a slicing pain in my chest. Sawyer leaves, shutting the door of his apartment behind him, and I sink onto the stairs, resting my head against the spindles on the banister. The problem is I understand. More than he knows. Because how he loves Lucy, I love my mom, and how he doesn’t want Lucy to hurt, I don’t want to lose my mom again and that’s what I’m facing.
With my heart bleeding, I close my eyes and silently weep.
SAWYER
Monday September 23: Cured a lot today. Was in my chair all morning after the mail was delivered, and all afternoon in bed. Had a nice nap.
Poor Morris! Gee, I feel sorry for him. He was in bed all day and then came down to movies. His temp was 101.2. I told him to go up—but might as well talk to the wind.
My fault. That’s what Mom said. I was supposed to be home. She said I had agreed to be home by seven so I could watch Lucy, but I never said that. We never had that conversation. Mom was so damn insistent that my brain began to separate as I wondered if she was right and I was wrong.
Lucy was alone and was it my fault?
“Lucy, how about you go and help Tory make chocolate-chip cookies in the kitchen?” Dad enters the living room of the condo he shares with his newest and very pregnant girlfriend.
It’s a three-bedroom deal and the place is decorated like an advertisement for Pottery Barn. Never thought of Dad as the multiple-throw-pillow type. He tosses two of the pillows on the floor before sitting on the light blue couch so I guess he isn’t. Makes me wonder how long he’ll stick around with this woman and this baby.
My gut twists. This baby is going to be my half brother. Does that mean when Dad splits I’ll be responsible for him, too?
“What do you think?” Tory rubs her swollen belly and smiles kindly down at Lucy. Tory, oddly enough, is not in her twenties. She’s not as old as Dad, but she has the type of job that includes a 401(k) and health benefits. She’s going to need that when Dad decides he’s done playing round two of family man. “We’ll have a great time, and that will give your dad and Sawyer some time to catch up.”
That’s what I’ve been avoiding all day. I drove Lucy to Louisville this morning. Since then, we’ve been out to breakfast, to the movies, out to lunch, to the zoo and now back here for a home-cooked dinner. Until now, it’s been easy to sidestep any conversation that goes deeper than “How’s school?” from Dad and “Ew, that giraffe pooped,” from Lucy. Especially when Lucy has stayed stuck to me, but now Tory and Dad are seeking to conquer and divide, and I can’t think of a good reason fast enough as to why Lucy should stay.
But maybe I can go with her … “I can help,” I say, and Lucy looks like I gave her a puppy.
She slides off my lap, and as I go to stand, Tory places a hand in the air. “Sorry, this is a girls-only thing.”
Lucy’s shoulders roll forward with disappointment as she walks into the kitchen, and I slam my butt back to the chair. But I take out my cell, pop in an earbud and start swiping through my cell like I know exactly what I’m searching for, but I don’t. Other than I need a distraction.
After a few minutes of scrolling through YouTube videos, Dad does what I don’t want and breaks into my world. “Sawyer.”
I release a frustrated breath. I brought Lucy. Can’t that be enough? I glance up at Dad and find him staring at me. He looks older than I remember, though I saw him this past spring. Lines have formed around his eyes and gray peppers his black hair.
Dad leans forward and folds his hands. “How are you?”
“Good.”
“School’s going okay?” It’s the hundredth time he’s asked variations of both of those questions.
“Yeah.” I drop my eyes back to my cell, but Dad doesn’t take the hint.
“How’s swim?”
“Fine.” Eyes still locked on my cell.
“Are you dating anyone?”
“Nothing you need to know about.” There’s a twinge of guilt that I haven’t reached out to Veronica since I left her place last night.
Dad falls silent, and I hope he’ll do what he did when I was