Page 72 of Where We Met

When I look at Luke, his face is white.

"Mr. Davis," Luke begins, but my father cuts him off.

"I'm not here to talk to you. This is between me and my daughter. You've done enough. Savannah, go pack. Now!"

Luke looks at me and nods his head.

"Go ahead, Savannah," he tells me.

Tears begin to cascade down my cheeks, but I know I can't put Luke in a bad spot, so I turn around and run upstairs.

I pack my bags through a steady stream of tears. Bailey sits by my side, a look of concern on her face, and Luke appears in the doorway.

"I'm gonna help you bring your things down," he whispers as he grabs a few bags.

"Luke," I cry.

He turns around to look at me. "I know, Princess," he says before walking down the stairs.

What else is there to say? We're stuck in an impossible situation.

Luke helps me load up my car, Bailey jumps into the backseat. She has no idea that she may never see Vino again. Just the thought of it brings a fresh new wave of tears. I can tell Luke wants to do something but doesn't know what.

He looks over at my father who's waiting by his car then back at me.

"Call me when you're settled back in," he whispers for only us to hear.

I nod my head and get in my car.

Dad told me to drive straight to the girls' apartment. We park and walk in silence up to the door.

It hits me that I don't have a key.

"I don't know if they're home, but I don't have a key anymore."

"They left it under the mat," he tells me. "I'm guessing you're going to have some explaining to do with them too. The way it sounded, your friends didn't know about any of this."

This is such a mess.

Luckily the apartment comes furnished, and once my dad gets me settled back into my room, we walk out to the main area and take a seat on the couch. I was hoping he was gonna head home afterward, but clearly, that isn't happening.

He sits in silence for a few minutes before speaking.

"How could you lie to me?" His eyes show pain and bewilderment. "I don't understand it—any of it. You lying about being able to afford your place, lying about where you live, about sleeping with your professor. That's not the girl I know."

"I'm sorry," I cry. "I know I've made a lot of bad choices these last couple months. I should've told you I couldn't afford this rent on my own, but I didn't want to stress you out. I know you're doing the best you can, and I just want you to be happy. You have Veronica and the kids to worry about now, and I don't want to be a burden."

"Dammit, Savannah. Why would you think you're a burden? You're my baby girl." He starts to choke up. "It's been you and me since your momma passed. Do you think I would ever be able to live in a world where you are unsafe? You're always my priority."

I shake my head repeatedly, trying to stop the tears from falling.

"It wasn't about being a burden. I just didn't want to see you struggle or stress about me. I wanted you to enjoy your life, without feeling like you had to help me out."

"My new life includes you, it in no way means you stepbackfor others to come in, it means you stepaside. There's a big difference. Do you understand that?"

I nod my head as tears continue to trickle down. "I'm sorry."

"I appreciate you loving me that much," he chokes up again, "to want me to be happy. But I'm not happy without you."

---