Page 115 of Still Love You

Her head lifts. "But they need the money."

"Yes, but they want you to go to school."

"Who cares about school?" Her sadness is suddenly replaced by anger. "They need to pay off their bills! What the hell is wrong with them?" She tries to rip her hand from mine but I grip it tighter.

"It's important to them that you finish college. They don't want you to get off track."

She's quiet, and I see the guilt on her face. She thinks this is her fault. She has a timeline for her life, a list of what she needs to accomplish along with dates for when those things must be done. Her parents know this, and they know how much it means to her to achieve her goals. They agree with me that the path Willow is going down won't make her happy, but they also know they can't talk her out of it, so they've always been supportive of her and never tried to hold her back.

"I'm not letting them do this," she says. "I'm going through each one of those bills and paying them off. I don't care if it drains my college account. It has to be done."

"That's not your decision, Willow. This is your parents' decision. It's their farm. Their house." Shit. Why did I say that?

"The house?" Her face crumples and the tears fall again. "We're losing the house?" When I don't answer, she says, "That's why my parents redecorated, isn't it? That's why they painted all the walls. Got rid of the clutter. They were getting ready to put the house up for sale. That's why that lady came by to see the house. Has someone already bought it?"

"No. It's not even up for sale yet so I don't know why that lady came over. Maybe she heard it might be going up for sale. Maybe your mom told her."

"We can't lose the house," she whispers, sniffling.

I sit next to her and force her into my arms. "They may not have to sell it."

She rests her head against my shoulder. "Do you know that for sure? Or are you just saying that?"

"Nothing's for sure. But at this point, they're not ready to sell."

Given how angry she is at me, I'm surprised she's not shoving me away. Instead, her body relaxes against mine as I continue to hold her in my arms.

"They're losing the farm, aren't they?"

I sigh. "You should really be asking your parents this. I don't know all the details."

"They'll just lie to me. They'll make it sound like it's not as bad as it really is. I need you to tell me the truth, Silas. Please."

I sigh again. "The truth is...yeah, they might lose the farm. If they can't pay off their debts, then they'll have to sell the land."

"How much do they owe?"

"I don't know. Your dad didn't tell me."

"Maybe my college fund won't be enough." She pushes off me and moves over a little. "If it's not, they'll have to get a loan. They hate banks, and I know it would be taking on more debt, but right now they have to pay their bills."

"They already..." I don't finish the thought because I don't want to tell her.

"They already what?"

She wants the truth so I need to tell her. "They already have bank loans. And they haven't been able to make the payments. The banks won't loan them any more money."

She leans forward and covers her face with her hands. "How did this happen? Everything was fine a year ago. So what happened?"

"I'm not sure. But maybe everything wasn't fine last year. Maybe they've been in trouble for a while and just never told anyone."

"I don't know what this means. I'm so confused right now. And panicked. I can't go back to school in the fall. My parents need my college money, and if they refuse, I'll force them to take it. But then what? What do I do? Get a job? Live with my parents?"

I move so that I'm facing her. "You'll figure it out. You don't have to have all the answers right this second." I hold her chin up so she'll look at me. "You didn't let me finish what I was going to say earlier. The reason I got back together with you? It wasn't for any of the reasons you said. It was because I love you, more than anything. I don't want to go another day without you in my life. I've never given up on us, Willow. The timing was just wrong the first time. But as for us? There was nothing wrong about us. Then, or now. I know that now more than ever. And together, we can get through this."

"It's over, Silas." She pushes me away and stands up. "I can't do this anymore."

I jump up. "Willow, don't say that. You're just angry. I know this is hard, but I'm here for you, for whatever you need."

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