Page 51 of Meet Me in the Blue

“Yeah… me too,” I said, regret niggling through my ribcage. “I wish I would have figured that out sooner. If I could go back, I wouldn’t have ever moved to Los Angeles.”

“You’re here now. Make the most of it.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Love you, big brother.” Her voice trembled and I pulled her into a hug.

“If you see Rook,” I whispered. “Tell him to meet me in the blue. He’ll know what I mean.”

She wiped at her eyes as she pulled away, making the smudges even worse, and sniffled.

“Um… yeah, sure.”

Outside, the sun had almost set, and everything was bathed in a dull blue blanket. I had to hug myself to stay warm as I walked down the path between my house and Rook’s parents’ house toward the forest. The trees stood at attention, watching over me like the sentries I’d imagined them to be when I was a kid. This forest, and all of its secrets, were ancient to me now. Like the life I’d lived here had happened centuries ago. If I closed my eyes, I could see it all unfold, see the sulky nine-year-old who never wanted to move in the first place, the pre-teen who had learned something too big and too scary about himself, the young man who’d fallen in love with his best friend, and the idiot who ran away from it all. But I kept my eyes open and stared at the fort that was barely a skeleton of itself after all these years, and wondered how all this time had passed me by.

“Why are you hiding up here?” my father asked, and I quickly swiped at my eyes with the back of my hand. His head peeked through the treehouse trap door, his smile falling. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

“Want to try again?”

Our gazes caught for a second before I dropped mine, staring at my knees like they were the most interesting thing in the world. “It’s nothing, Dad. I needed some air.”

“Don’t you think you’re getting too old for tree houses, son?”

I shot him a dirty look and he chuckled.

“I see.” He waited, and when I didn’t say anything, he wriggled his way through the small space and sat next to me. “Rook and his girlfriend just got here. Should I tell them—”

“Tell Rook I went out.”

“Luka…”

“Please, Dad. I can’t… I don’t feel like going to the movies. Not tonight.”

“You care about him,” he said, and my heart threatened to shatter. “More than a friend?” My throat burned, too tight to speak as I nodded. His big hand enveloped my knee, and he leaned his back against the wood wall. “I thought so.”

“You did?”

“When you came out to me and your mom… I wondered. I don’t know. You’re different with Rook than you are with anyone else. He lights you up. You make each other shine.”

“Well… he’s straight and has a girlfriend. Nothing shiny about that.”

“He cares about you.”

“Not like he cares about Ella.”

“Maybe.” Dad smiled at me, bumping me in my shoulder. “Rook’s always been a patient kind of soul, you know what I mean? He takes his time. Maybe he hasn’t seen it yet.”

“He’ll never see it,” I said, slumping into my father’s side. I rested my head on his shoulder. “I need to move the hell…” I cleared my throat, and he raised his brows. “The heck on.”

“Do what you need to do, but I’m telling you, that boy cares for you.” He patted my knee, then folded his hands in his lap. “Love takes time.”

“You’re so cheesy.” I laughed, and he grinned. “Love takes time… God, where do you come up with this shi…” I cringed. “I mean… stuff.”

“Your mother,” he said and playfully shoved my shoulder. “She gives me all the good lines.”

“I want what you guys have.”

“You will.”

“Yeah?”

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