Page 62 of The Cost of Forgetting You

“Is that all?” I mumble instead.

They exchange a quick glance. Alicia takes a step toward me. “That’s everything, I think. If I find anything else, I can give you a call. Is your number still the same?”

“Yes,” I say at the same time Tru grumbles, “If she hasn’t blocked you.”

Her mouth pops open, but before she can ask, I say, “You’re not blocked!” and shoot Truett an exacerbated glare.

He shrugs and offers Alicia a smile. All that heated tension from the ride over is gone from his face. And thank God, because regular Truett is hard enough to be around. Passionate Truett is a new level of danger for my psyche.

“Thanks, Alicia.” I give her a wave and start toward the door with Truett hot on my heels. We step into the hallway, disjointedly bright after the dimness of the deconstructed band room. I blink against the glare coming off the yellow walls, feeling a headache forming at my temples.

“Hey, Delilah?”

I turn. Truett shifts to reveal Alicia braced in the doorway, her flowy tunic top still moving against her thighs as she comes to a stop.

“I don’t know how long you’re in town, but if you ever want to hang out, I’d love to catch up.”

My lips thin and I nod. “I’m not sure, but I’ll let you know. Thanks again.”

I try to look away before the disappointment on her face can lodge in my memory, but it’s too late.

Truett hefts the box into the back seat on my side. As he’s slamming the door shut, I step around him to climb in, and he surprises me with an outstretched hand. “Need a lift?”

Surprise ripples through me. That he would offer, when we were in some sort of pseudo-argument a mere half hour ago. I place my palm in his, briefly marveling at his rough hands against my delicate ones, before he passes me into the seat and lets go.

The truck rumbles to life. I yank my seat belt over my shoulder and clip in. Since this man is prone to flying off the road at any moment to lecture me about the benefits of small-town living, I need all the security I can get.

“So you’re not sure how long you’ll be here?” His voice dips low as we reverse out of our parking space. “What happened to ‘as long as Dad needs me’?”

I stare straight ahead, afraid of what I might see if I glance his way. “That’s still the plan.”

A hum vibrates his throat. “Do you think you’ll take Alicia up on her offer?”

The school slowly grows smaller in the side mirror. I roll the window down and brace my elbow on the sun-warmed windowsill, inhaling the fresh scent of azaleas that flows in on the breeze. “I don’t know.”

Tru scoffs. “Why not? Are you morally opposed to having friends?”

I turn and level him with a hard glare. “Do I really want friends who can’t stand up for me when someone is hurting me? Who will abandon me when my life is falling apart?”

It’s harsh, but it’s the truth. Just because he and I have found some sort of truce doesn’t mean that all magically goes away.

His chest deflates, shoulders caving. He flicks on the blinker to pull onto the main road through town. “You’ve got to allow people to grow, Delilah. You can’t spend your whole life seeing people as their worst mistake. I doubt you’d want to be judged by yours.”

I blink, momentarily stunned. Exposed, if I’m being honest.

He pins me with a sidelong glance. “Or does the great Delilah Ridgefield never make mistakes?”

I slump against the leather seat, letting its blistering heat seep into my body, but it does nothing to ward off the cold of his statement. I wish I could tell him that’s right. That I don’t make mistakes. But all I can see when I close my eyes is my dad’s face the day Mom and I drove away. Mom’s disappointment when I told her I was coming here. Lately it seems like mistakes are all I make.

We ride the rest of the way home in silence. I climb out of the car and retrieve the box of my father’s things wordlessly. As Truett pulls away, headed toward town instead of the farmhouse, I can’t help but add the look of disapproval on his face to the slideshow that appears when I blink, contemplating his question.

I’ve never been able to decide if it’s the things I have done with Truett or those I wish I had, that make him one of my greatest mistakes. Only that he sits at the top of the list.

Chapter Nineteen

Delilah

Me

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