Page 123 of All I Ask
“Nope.”
“I get it.”
She turns her head to look out the window.
I swear, I owe my mother one hell of an apology. “Your dad said you went out for the cheerleading squad?”
“Yup.”
I’m trying here, but Lord am I failing. I’m not sure how to connect with her. Cheerleading was my for-sure in, after that I’ve got nothing.
Maybe I can draw out some form of emotion and then go off that. At this point I don’t have anything to lose.
“Can I ask why you seem angry at me?”
Everly’s eyes turn toward me. “You can’t have my dad. He’s still in love with my mother and he will never love you like he loved her.”
I release a heavy sigh. I want Everly to at least be open to liking me. There’s a long way to go before that will ever happen but this is a start in the right direction.
“You’re right.”
“I’m—what?”
Good. I’ve flustered her a bit. “You’re right. He will never love me like he loved her.” She opens her mouth and closes it. “Did you think that I thought he would?”
“I don’t know what…I mean…”
“I’m not under any delusions that we will ever have what he had with your mom, who I know you think I didn’t like, but I did. I really respected her. She was funny, pretty, smart, and I remember she could do that thing with her nose.” I smile warmly.
“She thought she was a witch.” Everly’s voice loses a touch of her edge.
“She would wiggle it all the time when we talked to make your dad lose his train of thought.”
Meghan may have hated me, but the feelings weren’t mutual. I wasn’t her biggest fan, but I will never allow Everly to think I hated her mother. She got the guy. I wasn’t strong enough to tell him and that was on me.
“He hated it. He would yell when they were fighting and she’d wiggle it to make him stop.”
“I can imagine she would.” I chuckle.
Everly’s hands unclench and she rests her head back. “I didn’t know you knew her like that.”
“I was friends with her too, which is why losing them both was so hard for me. I wish I could’ve at least talked to her again.” I say the words and park in front of the house. “I would’ve liked to have met you, especially.”
“Me?” she asks with narrowed eyes.
“Yeah, your mom and I were pregnant at the same time. We talked about our kids being best friends. Which is apparently the opposite of what you and Chastity are.”
“Yeah, we’re definitely not alike.”
“No, she’s actually like your dad, which is weird.”
Making fun of Derek wasn’t my goal, but whatever lane opens, I’m going for. She’s not giving one-word answers, and for that, I’m grateful.
“Yeah, and he says you and I would’ve been friends in school.”
“We would’ve,” I say with a smile. “I was really cool, unlike your dad. Who I can assure you was a total dork in high school.”
“My mom wasn’t.”
