Page 67 of Fresh Start
I didn’t realize I was telling Andy all this until he broke down in tears, his whole body trembling, the cigarette burning low and hanging limp between his fingers.
I sat next to him and put my arm around his back, and with my other hand, I took his head on my shoulder.
“She never told me any of this,” he said in between sniffles.
“Maybe she wanted us to fix our relationship on our own terms,” I said.
“Or maybe she knew I’d tell her off. God, Leo. I’ve been such an ass,” he said and sat up.
“Makes two of us,” I said.
“I’m sorry, too, for what it’s worth. I should have been there for you too.”
“She was there for both of us,” I said, and Andy hugged me.
“She was there for all of us.”
Nineteen
Dawson
How could I have screwed up things so royally? We were fine one moment, more than fine, actually, and the next thing I knew, we were back to square one.
In one way it made sense. We had gone from mortal enemies to lovers in a matter of seconds. It only made sense to have things turn again so quickly.
I didn't know what to do or say to Leo, how to explain this to him, but I needed another chance. A chance to tell my version of the story. Even though I didn't know what that version was.
I’d screwed this up so much, and now, I couldn’t move for fear of making it all worse. Was there anything worse than losing Leo?
I ran up the stairs after him, but before I could do anything, Aunt Sally saw me and exclaimed, “Dear darling. Look at you. I hear you’ve got a special friend here with you. When do I get to meet her? Huh?” She put her hand around my arm as she spoke.
“What? Er, no,” I said, my eyes glued on the back of Leo’s head as he ran out the door.
“What do you mean ‘no’?” Sally slapped my chest playfully and laughed. “We’ve never met any of your fiancées. It’s high time we meet at least a girlfriend,” she said and grabbed a glass of champagne from one of the waiters working around the room.
“I-uhm, Aunt Sally, I can’t do this right now. I need to go,” I said and tried to pull myself away from her, but she pulled me back.
“Dawson Miles Eldred, don’t you dare leave your aunt hanging,” Sally said and scanned the room around us looking for my special friend. “Do you know how long your mother has been waiting for this moment? And your poor dad. He wants to be a grandfather at some point before he dies. So excuse us if we’re getting excited you’ve finally brought a girl home.”
Aunt Sally didn’t usually bother me, she was quite pleasant to be around, but I don’t know if it was the alcohol she’d consumed or my mood, but it took all my willpower to stay calm. Especially when my whole world was crumbling down.
“I didn’t bring a girl!” I shouted, and a few heads turned to stare at us.
Sally laughed.
“What on earth did you bring then?” she said as she took a sip of her drink.
“A guy. And now if you don’t mind, he’s run out, and I need to stop him, so...” I said, and her jaw dropped.
She finally let me go, and I rushed the way Leo had gone, wondering if anyone else had heard what I’d just said.
It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered without him. The realization didn’t even surprise me. All I wanted from life was Leo, and I didn’t care about anything or anyone else.
I’d made the mistake of letting him go once before. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t survive a second time.
The fresh night air cooled my overheated body, but it did nothing to appease my worry. Leo wasn’t there. He’d already gone.
I rushed around all the cars until I got to mine and got in, reversing onto the main road and speeding down to the center.
