Page 146 of Encounter

Tapping his fingers at the wheel, Chast sent me an air kiss. “Alright.”

As I walked toward the entrance, I noticed Dad standing in the hall through the opened main door. He was gesturing and talking to the men who were already in the music room.

Another wave of nervous tingles passed through my body and tightened the knot in my stomach, but I took a deep breath and ignored it. Dad noticed me when I entered. For a moment, it was like I was looking at someone I didn’t know—someone completely different, yet I wasn’t sure in which way exactly.

“Galen,” he greeted me, voice as firm and reserved as usual.

“Hey.” I stopped by him and quickly turned my gaze to the men preparing ropes, blankets and studying the piano legs to prepare for disassembly. Biting on the inside of my lip, I desperately tried to find some small-talk topic to break the ice, but failed.

Thankfully, Dad spoke again. “I left a suitcase in your room, in case you want more of your clothes brought over. I imagine what you got wasn’t enough.”

“Yeah,” I blurted, almost too excitedly. I didn’t want him to think I couldn’t wait to run away, never to return to this house again. No—it was still my home, though without the piano, it was going to feel even less so. “I’ll leave some here, in case I... stay over or something.”

“Of course. If you ever find you need anything, I can always have someone for the company bring it to you,” Dad said, nodding in precise rhythm together with the taps of his finger on his watch.Maybe he’s feeling weird about this, too.

“Do you... remember the address? Want me to write it down for you?” I was so damn excited about it back when I told him, I wasn’t sure if he even caught it.

“Yes, I have it. Twenty-eight dash eight State Avenue, correct? Quite close to the city center,” he noted quietly, and I could finally sense some emotion in his tone. He seemed intrigued, but there was still a tinge of judgment—perhaps more of a parental kind, though. Either way, I loved our new place, and there was nothing in the world that was going to stop me from being happy about it.

“Yeah, that’s right,” I said firmly, smiling.

Dad let out a quiet, thoughtful huff, and fixated his eyes on the movers again. “And you are buying, not renting? I’m a bit surprised you can afford such a place, but I suppose his line of work pays quite well,” he added the last words quietly while adjusting his watch.

I pushed back the feeling of being scrutinized and realized that Dad might just be worried. He hired Chast, after all. He knew what kind of a person he was, even though that was no longer the case.

“We can manage more than fine, so you don’t have to worry I’d need to... borrow money or something like that.” When I said it, Dad’s eyebrow shot up with interest. “Chast hasn't really spent any of the cash he made in all those years, working non-stop. He’s lived in the same cheap apartment and never really threw money around buying useless stuff so... He’s saved quite a lot.”An understatement.

“And you are sure he doesn’t have any ulterior motives? Is he truly—”

“He doesn’t, Dad,” I said firmly, looking him right in the eye. His expression changed—as if he forgot that I was no longer the same timid pushover he had known. Well, maybe I was, but not when it came to this part of my life. No, with Chast... With Chast, I was damn sure. “Trust me with this.”

“Very well,” Dad murmured. It was uncanny seeing him so... unsure and hesitant. I actually liked it. Made him more human. “And... you said you were still figuring out what you were going to do last time. Have you...?”

“Yeah!” I yelled and couldn’t help but smile. “I’ve decided to finish this year at school,” I started with the bit he was probably going to like the most to ease him into the rest, “and after that— I actually met with Zola recently, and her Mom is going to help me with starting my own piano lessons.”

Dad arched his brows—not in the typical, judgy way, but with genuine curiosity. I knew it wasn’t what he wanted for me, what he imagined, but it was the future I decided to strive for. One that would makemehappy.

“I’ll just... give some cheap lessons to some kids she can connect me with at first. Next year, I can start working on getting my license and more qualifications in that area,” I said while nervously playing with my hands. “I only get some numbness here and there now, so by then, I should hopefully be back at my hundred percent when it comes to playing.”

I lifted my eyes to him again, after subconsciously escaping his gaze. What I felt around him—not being good enough, never unable to fulfill his expectation—was programmed deep into my psyche, but I was going to unlearn it, slowly.

It seemed like something shifted in him as he opened his mouth, gaze unusually approachable, but a figure in both of our peripheral visions demanded attention.

Awkwardly with his hands on his hips, one of the heavy-built moving guys stood in the entrance to the music room, probably waiting for Dad’s instructions.

He glanced at him affirmatively and then turned back at me. “Go upstairs to gather your things. I’ll sort this out.” Before I could protest—insistent I overlook the whole process—he cut me off. “This is the same company that brought the piano here for your mother. It won’t get damaged, rest assured,” he said in a calm, soothing voice—one I never really heard before.

Forcing myself to trust him, I nodded and headed upstairs.

I actually welcomed being able to slip back into my room for a moment. There were a few little knick-knacks I wanted to bring with me to the new place—most importantly, my little secret hidden at the bottom of the closet. It wasn’t like I was going to need it, living with Chast—we were busy enough when it came to that—but there was no way I was leaving it around for Dad or some poor, curious cleaner to find.

I quickly put it at the bottom of the suitcase, covering it with clothes. Then, I got distracted by my books and spent a while figuring out which ones I wanted to take with me. Some old albums, too. Couldn’t forget Mom’s LP.

We should get a record player for our new place.

A few minutes later, I sat back down to finish packing the clothes when knocking made me jump. I quickly threw some more of my sweaters over the already hidden box and shouted, “Yeah?”

Dad poked his head through the crack, as opposed to the way he would usually stride right in. The insecure glance he gave me sent chills down my spine.Oh god, what kind of talk is he going to give me? I don’t know this expression.

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