Page 163 of Delicate Storm

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Paige

Ireread Easton’s text and feel nauseous. He’s not a vulnerable guy. Ever. And he’s reaching out for me while I’m here, fucking up his life.

I hover on his name, ready to call him when my phone starts ringing, giving me an excuse to wait. Though, I’m not sure what I’m waiting for because I have no idea how to fix this.

“Dad?” The second I answer, emotion wells in my throat. Covering the speaker, I move the phone away from my mouth as I sniff, but it’s no use. The pain is obvious in my voice.

“Are you crying?”

“No,” I lie, wiping my eyes, thankful he can’t see me.

“What happened?”

“Nothing, I’m—”

“Paige,” he warns and I finally give in.

“They know about Easton and Isaac.”

“Who? The Mikklesons?”

“Everyone. It was in a goddamn gossip column.”

“What was? What did it say?”

“They know we're together, which is fine; that was bound to come out. But then it mentioned Easton’s issues with Macy, probably thanks to that goddamn TV show, and that I’m not a good role model for Isaac. I don’t know what to do, Dad.”

“Have you spoken to Easton?”

“No. Not yet. This is going to kill him. This is why I held back. Why… God, why didn’t I stay away? They have photos and—”

“What photos?”

Shit. I never specifically mentioned the photos because until now they’d never been released. But…this is bad. “The Mikklesons have been threatening me with photos of me and Christian, but I never expected them to release any because it would hurt him too much. Only now they have photos of me and Easton and… I messed up.”

“No, you didn’t. I’m going to handle this. Just—”

“You can’t. You need to stick to the plan.”

“Paige—” Someone knocks on my door and I ask Dad to wait before falling silent, not wanting to talk to anyone else. The knock comes again, louder this time, and I hold my breath until…

“Sweetie, it’s Mom. Are you there?”

Mom?

“It’s Mom,” I whisper to Dad, almost crumbling with relief.

“I know.”

“You know?”

“Yeah, she called me before she booked her flight, asking if I thought it was a good idea. We’ve been talking ever since then. I was calling to let you know she was on her way up.”

Mom knocks again and I jump up. “I’ve got to go, Dad. I’ll call you soon.”

“Please let me help. I need to.”

---