Page 3 of Solitude

Huffing out a breath, I tighten my arms around my body. “Why do you ask so many questions?”

“I’m a curious guy. Always have been.”

He says it honestly. Like the answer is just that simple. He asks questions because he genuinely wants to know the answer.

It makes me brave for some reason.

“If you really want to know, my parents forgot my birthday, okay?” I confess quickly, eyes falling to the ground as I kick at a patch of grass.

He says nothing for a long time. So long that my eyes flick upwards to make sure he’s still there.

And he is. He’s still swinging gently, and I notice his face is pensive. His thick, dark brows are lowered, and his mouth twists as he looks at the stars.

“Damn,” is all that tumbles out of his mouth.

I chuckle at that, surprise lacing throughout my body, and I walk closer until I can plop down in the other swing beside him. I don’t push off, though. Sitting there, I comb through my thoughts and try to figure out why I even told him about my parents in the first place.

Silence has never bothered me, but suddenly I hate it.That must be why my mouth begins moving before I can stop it. “They’re important people, you know? It’s not unusual for them to miss things. It’s not really a big deal… I know they’re saving lives or something.”

“Do you do that a lot?”

“Do what?”

“Make excuses for them.”

My head snaps in his direction as he swings again, full force, and my eyes follow him back and forth for a few moments. His bluntness feels comforting in a way.

Once again, his honesty gives me courage.

“Yes,” I reply.

Why lie?

I thought I’d want to keep that humiliation locked up tight, but I do the opposite. Whenever Sienna, my best friend, questions me about my rocky relationship with my parents, I avoid the topic because it feels too…personal.

I don’t want to be that vulnerable. I don’t want to admit that my parents’ lack of interest in me, their only child, burns me from the inside out. Makes me feel lonely and worthless at times.

But this moment with Beckett Hale feels like a fever dream. I can say or do whatever I want because in the morning I’ll wake up and none of this ever happened. I can pretend it wasn’t real and go back to avoiding him.

I can tell my secret: Lorelai and Colson Carmichael are bad parents.

My mouth opens to spill all of the words I’ve kept buried deep down, but Beckett cuts meoff.

“I had to get away from my family for a while.” He’s staring off, no longer swinging. “That’s why I’m here. I love them, don’t get me wrong, but it’s just too much sometimes.”

He kicks the dirt then resumes his momentum like he didn’t just admit something to restore the balance between us after our uneven exchange. He passes me, swinging forward as I push backwards.

I ask, even though I know the answer, “How many of you are there now?”

We pass each other again. “Eleven. We officially adopted Millie six months ago.”

“She’s precious…” I mumble.

In truth, I attended the celebratory party Mayor Taylor, a long-time friend of Beckett’s father, held at Bluebird Ranch on the outskirts of Magnolia Hollow. The entire town came out to welcome Amelia into the Hale family, and it was a fun time.

Beckett had danced with his siblings all night until he jetted out of the barn with Holly Franklin, one of his classmates, and his twin brother and best friend hot on his heels with their own girls trailing behind. I had watched them run down the sloped hill leading toward the small pond towards the back end of the ranch, laughter filling the air. It was like a scene out of a movie.

I wanted to be a part of it. A part ofsomethingfor once.

---