Page 60 of Fate Will Bring You Home

“You okay, sweetie?” he asked hesitantly.

I was so embarrassed. I sounded so silly, gasping for air. I held my hand to my chest and got out some words. “Yeah, I’m sorry if I woke you.”

Weirdly, the site of him calmed me a little, almost like my brain was finally associating him with being safe.

“Do you need me to get you something? Leave you alone? Tell me what you need.”

I put up one finger to signify I just needed a second. A few moments later, I was able to continue speaking.

“I didn’t mean to yell like that. I’ll have breakfast ready in a few. I just wanted to check in at home first, and it didn’t go as planned.” I sat there with my face in my hands.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. We were both up already. As far as breakfast goes, we’re all adults and can fend for ourselves. Do you want to call them back? Do you want to talk with me about it? I’m here to listen.” He smiled sweetly.

I looked up at him and smiled. “I’d love to chat, actually.”

He came in and sat next to me on the bed. “Lay it on me.” He smiled to show he was trying to be carefree and funny, but my smile back was weak and didn’t reach my eyes. I didn’t know where to start. I didn’t want to hurt him by talking about leaving and didn’t exactly want to dump my feelings all over him, but that’s what dads are for, right?

“I can’t stop thinking about leaving,” I said sadly.

“What do you mean? Do you want to leave today?” He leaned back suddenly, like he had been hit hard by my words.

“Well, no, not right now, but eventually I will have to. When everyone comes for my birthday, I think they expect me to go home. By then, it will be two months of being here. That’s long enough, no?”

He looked pretty sad at my admission. “Well, I personally don’t think any amount of time is long enough because I’m enjoying you being here.” He placed his hand gently on my knee. “Working with you and getting to know you has become the best part of my days. I love our lunch talks.”

I smiled. “Me too.” I placed his hand in mine.

“But Aubrey, I’m not naive to the fact that this isn’t where you plan to stay. I know you will go home, and then we will have to plan visits together.” He paused. “I’m really excited about that, by the way. I can’t wait to visit your home so you can show me some stuff up there.”

I smiled but didn’t respond right away. I looked down at my hands. “What if I don’t know what I want anymore? I mean, I miss my friends and family, but… you guys are my family too. I feel like I’ll never be able to make up for all the time we missed out on. I feel very cheated. Then there is the added complication of—” I cut myself off because I didn’t want to admit what I was going to say.

“Are we talking about Lincoln now?” he said.

I nodded my head in conformation. “I think he’s a bit of a factor, don’t you? I know you didn’t want anything to happen between us, but it did. We’ve been getting close, and things are going well, but it’s only been a few weeks since we met and only days since we decided to try making it something more. I can’t exactly call it serious, right?” I chuckled at myself and started tearing up a little. “How the hell do I even bring up leaving when we’re just getting started? I’ve tried, and we agreed just to let things happen, but things are happening so fast, and my feelings are getting very invested. I think— I can’t just leave without thinking of him, especially since our relationship could be a lot more serious by my birthday.”

He gave me an understanding smile. “Sweetie, I know this isn’t the answer you want, but you are the only person who can make these decisions. You love everyone that this decision affects.” He leaned in, nudging my shoulder. “They love you too, you know.”

“I know.”

“Whatever decision you make is the right one, and we will all—” His voice cut off, and he froze. He was staring toward the corner of the room where I had all my music stuff in the chair. “Where did you get that?” He pointed to all my stuff.

“The chair? It was here when I—”

“No, the guitar.” He said as he walked over to it.

“Actually, I got that in Nashville if you can believe it. I was here on a trip during my first year of college, and it was given to me by a complete stranger. I know that sounds strange, but I guess he was sick and wanted it to go to someone who would love it and use it like he did. I only use it for special occasions because I can tell it’s old.”

He approached it and was looking at something inside its body as I was talking.

“His name was David.”

“I’m sorry, what?” My stomach lurched with nerves.

He cleared his throat. “David gave that to you.”

He looked like he was going to be sick. He was rubbing the base of the guitar with one finger like he was memorizing it. I couldn’t tell if he was asking me a question or making a statement. My heart started beating really fast. I thought I may have misheard him.

“How could you possibly know that? I mean, I don’t know if you are right, but why would you think that? Who is David?”

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