Page 83 of Myla: The Hawthornes

“What’s up?” Myla asked tentatively. “Did you just call to tell me you’re a dick?”

“Pretty much.”

“Cool.”

“You accept my apology?” I asked, closing my eyes.

“I didn’t hear one.”

“I’m sorry for bein’ a dick.”

“You’re forgiven.”

“Easy as that?” I murmured.

“I was being pushy,” Myla replied. “I get it. It was time for me to go.”

“That’s not—you weren’t.” How the fuck did the guys with old ladies do it? How did you explain shit without actually explaining it?

“I was,” she argued. “It’s cool. I get that you guys needed some time to yourselves. Just took a minute for that to sink in.”

“That’s not—” I needed to just tell her what was going on or at least let her in on enough so she understood why she couldn’t stay behind with me. “Let’s talk when I get back, yeah? I think we’re headed out tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

“You didn’t overstay your welcome, Myla,” I said, hating that I’d made it seem that way. I couldn’t get shit right with her. “Christ. You know I’d rather you were with me.”

“Sure.” The tone in her voice made my stomach clench with nerves.

“Call you when I’m back?” I asked.

“Yeah, drive safe tomorrow.”

“Always do.”

“Okay, bye.”

She hung up.

“Fuck,” I whispered, dropping the phone on my chest. I needed to figure shit out or she was going to completely write me off.

We left for Oregon the next morning, and the ride was surprisingly uneventful. Following behind Aunt Ashley’s RV and Aisling and Aoife’s cars in the rain was pretty fucking miserable, though, and I was happy as fuck when we finally turned onto Aunt Ashley’s long driveway and slowly made our way to the property.

The house wasn’t anything spectacular with only two bedrooms, but it was well maintained, and the decks were fucking awesome. There was a fenced area out back for animals, a small outbuilding for them to sleep in at night, and a large garage with a carport connected. Aunt Ashley backed the RV into the carport like a pro before we’d even made it up the driveway.

I stared at it all.

I was supposed to buy it. That was the plan. I was supposed to be moving into that house in just a few days.

I watched as my sisters piled out of their cars and Aoife helped Sean out of the back seat. He went running into the grass, his arms above his head as he yelled like a maniac. Fearless.

He hadn’t realized yet that his dad wasn’t coming back.

When our dad died, Aisling had only been a little older than Sean was. I remembered her curled into a ball on Aoife’s lap. She might not have understood, but she’d known something was very wrong. Sean didn’t have that knowledge.

“Seanie,” Saoirse called teasingly, running after him. “Halt! You’ll get lost in the tall grass and we’ll never find you! The wolves will have to raise you!”

That was the difference. Seanie had us. We made it okay for him.

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