Page 25 of Lost in the Current of You

“Welcome home, chook. I’ve missed you,” he mumbled into my hair as he swayed us back and forth.

I chuckled. “It’s only been a week.”

“Compared to seeing you every day of your entire life, it was way too long.” He grinned and pulled back, pointing to the creamy pasta in the pot. “I made your favourite.”

Sometimes, he did too much just to see you smile and make you happy. But it made me love him more. He wouldn’t be my Dad if he didn’t make us celebrate even the smallest of things. Like when I tried out for netball, he celebrated by taking us to dinner and buying a cake even though I didn’t make the team. When I did my first presentation and had to speak in front of the class, I had almost backed out and just taken the fail for not doing it, but he had pepped me up and rehearsed with me, and when I finally got through it, he pulled me out of school and took me to Movie World the next day.

All of these things just made me appreciate him more. I threw my arms around him again, squeezing him. “Thank you,” I whispered.

He dropped a kiss on my head. “You’re welcome, chickadee.”

Another pair of arms wrapped around us, and I chuckled.

“I felt left out.”

And all felt right in the world at that moment, in my family's embrace.

9

The next morning, I had wrapped myself under my covers with my portable air conditioner on full blast. It was another thirty-degree humid day, a normal summer day that made me never want to leave my bed or room because it was too hot to do anything else.

Apparently, it had rained here all week while we were away, and now, we were in the after-effects of it with no breeze in the humid air. It was absolute torture to live in that kind of temperature. It was safer to stay in the air conditioning and watch reruns of my favourite TV show or read a book.

But obviously, my brother had another idea.

He burst through my room with his Oakwell Royals baseball cap on and a frown on his face.

“What the hell are you doing? Get up. Get ready. Let’s go.”

I groaned into my pillow as I rolled onto my stomach. “Go away.”

The blankets were ripped away from me almost immediately, and the chill of my room bit into my skin, causing a ripple of goosebumps to wake along my skin.

“What the hell, Nathan!” I exclaimed, jumping off my bed to grab back the blanket, but he pulled it out of reach. “Give me the blanket.” My legs bounced as I tried to keep the warmth in them, but it didn’t work too well.

“I’ll give it back once you get ready to go. We have a game to head to.”

I sighed in exasperation, dropping my hand as I met his eyes. “I’m not going.”

I knew it was going to be awkward. I knew Liam wouldn’t want to see me, and I didn’t want to ruin the thing he loved most. No matter how much I wanted to apologise to him and talk to him, it was best I kept my distance. The week away with Reece, Jake, and Sage was fun, but I wasn’t going to take away his friends, or make them choose. I’d broken his heart already. I didn’t want to tear him down more.

With Liam and I, it was always up and down. He was attentive, and caring, and listened when you talked. But, when I tried to show the emotional cuts that burrowed underneath my skin, I never felt like he could truly see me. He would try to give me advice and tell me I needed to patch things up with my mother, but he never understood and made me seem like I was overreacting. He had the perfect life and the perfect family who loved him. It grated me, and made me a bit envious.

Nate wagged a finger in front of me. “Uh uh. You promised some people you would go remember. Plus, you’ll be my DD.”

I rolled my eyes. Right, of course.

I chewed my lip, thinking about whether I should go to the baseball game, or sit at the cafe around the corner for a few hours and people-watch. Maybe I would be able to bale out before anyone saw me.

“I don’t know if I should go, Nate. Not with how things ended with Liam. It will be awkward as hell.”

His eyes softened, and he sighed, the blanket limp by his side. An easy grab. I could have just plucked it from his loose grasp and wrapped myself back up. But I didn’t, even as a shiver raked my body.

“Look, I didn’t know Liam that well, but he’s a big boy, Dakota. I’m sure he can handle himself.” Nate squeezed my arms while his 6’2 frame bent down to look straight into my eyes. “Okay?”

“Okay, fine. But you better not leave me alone there.”

He smiled as he straightened. Then he lifted a hand to the top of my head and messed up my hair, which I immediately smacked away. “Will do. Now hurry up. Gotta leave in ten minutes and pick up Reece.”

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