Page 54 of Things Left Unsaid

He picks up almost immediately. “Hey.”

“I’m sorry about the time,” I excuse.

“It’s fine. What’s going on?”

The meeting with Clyde’s had me in its grip all day—screwing with my blood sugar as well as messing with my head.

A part of the reason it’s taken me so long to call him is that I’ve been second-guessing myself.

Telling him about Clyde’s request is akin to trusting him, and I already promised myself I’d never be such a fool again.

I’ve filmed six videos because the only thing that soothes me is baking and decorating my cookies. The panic kicked in when he texted me after I told him I’d arrived, saying I could phone him any time.

“I know you’re there. I can hear you breathing.”

Though he sounds amused, I stutter, “S-Sorry. I-I’m struggling to get my thoughts together.”

Your day of reckoning is coming.

I’ve no idea why that horrible letter pops into my head. Talk about bad timing.

The note feels like it’s more suited to his father. But if it isn’t, is the facade Colt showed me a lie?

ShouldI trust him?

Is the man so different from the boy I knew?

“You breaking off the deal?”

Huh.

Of course, that’s where his mind went.

“No.”

He clears his throat. “I’m relieved to hear that.”

“I didn’t mean to make you think—” Hesitating, I rub my tired eyes. “I don’t like your father.”

“Join the club.”

“No. I mean it. I hate him. Have for a long time.” Since I was a child. Never mind how he ruined my life.

“To be honest, I figured that out from our conversations,” he says calmly, and he’s not talking about our recent ones. “Trust me when I say,proudly, I’m nothing like him.”

“This isn’t about you. It isn’t about our deal.”

“What’s it about then?”

“He was waiting for me. At the airport,” I whisper.

Silence is my only answer.

Until: “Did he hurt you?”

There’s a zip of emotion that threads through the words—rage.

I’ve listened to this man talk like every word he uttered was from God’s lips to my ears. I shouldn’t be reassured by his anger but I am.

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