Page 55 of Not A Chance

I had too many years being seen and not heard in my parents’ circles. It wasn’t the same as that sort of oppressive silence, but this time, it was a game schedule keeping me from re-establishing some boundaries with Theo.

I was grateful for his help, but I couldn’t allow myself to get used to it and then have it taken away. I’d been taking care of myself since I was eighteen officially (and many years informally once my parents decided school was “too important” to drag me along as an accessory on their work trips anymore). I didn’t need someone to hold my hand every time I got a little sniffle.

Wasn’t it sooo nice to have someone take care of you for a change?

I shoved the traitorous voice inside my head aside. It would never have occurred to me to ask Theo for help last week, and the truth was I was still uncomfortable having accepted his help.

The cold, gray late-autumn Toronto weather seeped into my bones as I made my way to the Billings Centre, which held both head office and the main arena for the Tempests games. Even though streetcars were available to take me westward to work, there was something about the fifteen or twenty minutes of walking that helped me clear my head.

My hands buried deep in the pockets of my new wool peacoat, I felt my phone vibrate. Pulling it from my pocket, I saw the notification for my group text with Emery and Abbie.

Emery

How are you feeling? I hope better. That cold sounded nasty. You should come home to CA. I think some fresh Amado air would clear any lingering germs right up.

Guilt wormed its way through my system. Even though Theo had outrageously called Emery to ask her permission to date me, it didn’t feel like she took him seriously. Nor had I made any mention of even being friendly with Theo over the past month to Emery.

It was shitty of me to keep this thing I was doing with him a secret from her. I didn’t think she’d care—hell, maybe she’d even be excited—but once it ran its course sooner or later, Emery would be put in the very awkward position of pointedlynottalking about Theo in front of me for fear that she’d hurt my feelings.

My friends were absolutely my family. Emery had a family who loved her outside of me and Abbie. I didn’t want to force her to pickand choose what she could share with me.

Indie

Ha. I wish. At least it’s still above 60 there, right? It’s like freaking 9C here. In the DAYTIME.

I quickly flipped over to my trusty Weather Network internet browser bookmark to get the conversion.

Indie

Ugh. It’s worse than I thought. That’s like 48F.

Emery

Brrr. All the more reason to come home. Maybe your dad has gotten over the insanity that made him think you needed to go to a whole other country to make you ambitious or whatever it was he wanted.

I loved her trademark positivity, but short of me signing a contract with my family’s empire, giving my father exactly what he wanted, there was no way I was getting to go home early.

You’d have to leave Theo then, too.

The sudden whoosh of my stomach had me seeing red. God, it was like my nineteen-year-old self had possessed some part of my brain, pushing these thoughts on me that I didn’t want to deal with. They were entirely unwelcome.

Liar.

No. I would control myself and shut down weak thoughts like that. I’d only ever let my guard down once, and I’d spent those months before my twentieth birthday picking up the broken pieces of my heart. Never again.

Indie

Yeah, sorry. It’s not going to happen. When Gerald Layne makes up his mind, he doesn’t bend.

Abbie

Hey. Was just getting ready for work. Glad you’re on the mend, Ind. What can we do to get your dad to let you come home? We missssss you. You also need to send us more pics of Giz. I’m making a Baby’s First Year album. Congratulations Fur-Mama!

Indie

Yeah, yeah. I can tell you’re gloating from here. And she’s five years old, Abs.

The rescue had contacted me for an update on Giz, and I just couldn’t bring myself to let her go to another family. So I’d officially adopted her.

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