Page 101 of Unfix Me

“That’s too bad. Tell him he’s always welcome here. We’ll make sure he feels loved, even though nothing really fills the gap left by a parent. We’ve seen that too much.”

“He’ll be here next week. He can’t wait to meet you. I may have told him a few things.”

“Oh,” Mom gasped. “You got a package. Hold on.”

She disappeared for a minute, then came back with a box that was already open.

“I thought it was mine,” she said defensively.

“It has my name on it.”

“It came to my house, so I assumed.”

“Mhm.”

I pulled out the book and admired the dark red cover for a moment.

“This must be for Sen,” Dad remarked, running his finger over the title.

“It’s one of the things. I had it made for him so that if he ever forgets why he’s loved, all he has to do is look at it. Oh, and there’s a keychain, so that’s pretty cool.”

“Do you want me to wrap it?” Willow offered. “I’m the best wrapper in the house.”

I honest to god couldn’t tell if she was being serious, but I handed it to her anyway. “Donotmess it up or you’re paying for it.”

“Was it expensive?”

“Yes. For a broke college student, it’s like gold.”

She winked before she turned around and disappeared into the living room. I considered taking it back but decided West could deal with her when he got here if she messed something up. I couldn’t be both of their keepers.

When I looked back at Dad, he was half asleep. I hopped down from the counter and kissed the top of his head.

“You should take a nap, Dad. I’ll be here for a few weeks.”

“You’re leaving?” he asked, looking alarmed.

Pursing my lips, I shook my head. “No. I’ll be here. Get some rest, okay?”

Taking out my phone, I slipped through the back door. Under the awning, it was dry, but the cold pierced straight through my socks. I almost laughed as I looked at the snow. Sen said he wasn’t a fan. He was definitely getting a few snowballs to the face while he was here. West would probably try to bury him in it.

I held the phone to my ear, listening to each of the rings. It kept going and I found myself pacing across the patio, all the way to where the snow began, then back.

“This is Sen. Please, for the love of god, text me unless someone is dying.”

Clicking my tongue thoughtfully, I tried him again. It went straight to voicemail, then a text came through.

Sen:I can’t really talk.

Kai:Are you okay?

The bubbles showed up, then disappeared too many times for me to feel good about whatever was going on.

Sen:He says talking to you is breaking the agreement.

Kai:That’s ridiculous.

Call me.

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