Page 65 of Lose You to Find Me

Which I do.

He doesn’t need to know that though.

“I got distracted at the hospital,” he explains. “I know it’s a piss-poor excuse, but it’s the truth. I’m trying to spend as much time with Dad as possible and try not to look at my phone while I’m there. He’s not…there’s not a lot of time left. If you were in my shoes, you’d do the same thing, regardless of your relationship with your family.”

My nose twitches at his tone, which isn’t exactly gentle or apologetic. He knows our families are exact opposites, but our love for them is the same. “If I were in your shoes, I would havelet you knowthat our plans changed. Or I wouldn’t have made them at all if I had other priorities, which I know your father needs to be right now. It takes five seconds to send a text message, Caleb. I wouldn’t have cared if you had just told me you couldn’t meet up.”

Okay, maybe I would have careda little.

I hear a quiet sigh from him. “You’re right. I’m—”

“Don’t say ‘sorry’ again,” I tell him, not wanting to hear it. “I know you are. All the two of us are anymore issorry.”

I don’t recognize the sound of my own voice as I squeeze my eyes closed.

“My dad isdying, Raine. Isn’t that reason enough to be a little absent-minded? He’s family. When Mom called me after I got done with work, I thought…” His voice cracks. “I thought the worst. So yeah, I wasn’t really thinking about you or anyone else because all I could focus on was what I was walking into or what would happen once I got there. Then the hospice conversation started up again, which put everybody in a shitty mood. And on top of that, Dad got on my ass about you and Emma, and Mom isn’t happy about me putting him on edge with my personal-life drama.”

“Your dad knows about us?” I whisper.

“Is that really all you got from that?” he asks skeptically.

I slow down at another stop sign, frowning when the noise in my car starts up again. “Your dad has always been nice to me. I don’t want your parents to judge me or think less of me.”

Caleb doesn’t say anything right away, but I hear something murmured under his breath that I can’t understand. “Trust me. They’re not judging you about anything. It’s me they’re not very happy with.”

I doubt that. When it comes to us, it’s a two-way street. Parents like his aren’t going to be fans of the people who hurt him. “They love you.”

Just like my parents love me, even if they don’t say it often. I know that. I just wish I’d hear it more. See it. Feel it.

As I start driving again, I notice thick smoke start to rise from the hood of the car that blocks my view. “What the hell?”

“What?” I hear from the other end of the phone.

I quickly pull over to the side of the road and get out, spilling my chicken nuggets all over the street.

“Raine, what’s going on? Talk to me.”

“M-my car is smoking.”

“Christ. Where are you?” There are muffled noises like he’s shuffling something in his hands. “I’m leaving the hospital now anyway. I can come take a look.”

I tell him what street I’m on and the nearest number I see on one of the houses. “I don’t know what to do. Should I call the fire department?”

“It sounds like it’s overheated. Do you see a fire anywhere?” I hear a door close on his end. “I’ll be there in a few minutes. If there’s no fire, don’t call. This used to happen to Mom’s old Hyundai. Remember? The puke-green one that she put neon-orange seat coverings in. My dad taught me how to fix that.”

Sniffling back anxious tears, I grab my bag out of the car just in case. “Your mom loved that car,” I say weakly.

He chuckles. “Yeah, but she also loves the brand-new one she got after. This one has heated seatsanda heated steering wheel. She’s fine.”

“I guess,” I murmur.

“Did you know my dad used to want a Bentley? Not a new one but one of the classics—a 1938 in black. He said when they’re polished, they look slicker.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “Mom still says they’re the ugliest cars she’s ever seen.”

I know he’s trying to get me to calm down, and it’s working. A little. “What would he have done with a car that old?”

“Show it,” Caleb answers. “At least that’s what he said. We both know Dad barely took time off work, so it wasn’t likely that it would have made it very far. But they put classic cars in the town parades sometimes, especially during the Fourth. Remember when we were nominated prom prince and princess and got to sit in the back of that classic convertible throwing candy to the kids?”

I do remember that. Nobody was surprised we’d won the crowns. Not during junior year or when we won king and queen during senior year. Even back in high school, we were the couple to beat.

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