Page 70 of Forever & Always You
Austin’s eyes brighten with hope. “Yes?”
“Obviously, I want my degree.”
That sense of hope is instantly replaced with deflation as Austin releases a sigh. “I know, Gabby. I get it,” he says softly, allowing his hands to naturally find my hips. “We can come back to the idea once you’ve finished school. We’ll keep visiting each other on weekends until then, and time will pass fast—”
“I want my degree,” I say again, firmer this time as I press my finger to his lips to shush him, “but I don’t care whether or not it’s a Duke degree.”
Austin parts his lips in surprise beneath my finger and grips my hips tighter for leverage as he sits up. “I like it when you’re goofy, but don’t be goofy aboutthis. It’s Duke, Gabby. You can’t transfer.”
“There’s more to this decision than how prestigious the college on my future resume will be,” I say, then roll out my shoulders. “Okay, fine. Once upon a time, I cared. I bragged about it to anyone who would listen and I stuck Duke bumper stickers to my car before I’d even attended orientation. Hey, don’t laugh.” I pinch both his cheeks in one hand, smooshing his lips together and holding him captive like that as I fix him with a stern look. “I love Duke, but I’m all alone up there, and I’m trying to think of the bigger picture when it comes to what will make me happy. And I’d be happierhere.” I smile. “With you, in our hometown. The UNC campus here is beautiful, and I can look into transferring my credits. I’ll help out more at the dog shelter with you, alongside planning my amazing adoption events, and I’ll work on my relationship with my mom a little bit because it’s rather sad how repressed she is and—oh my God.”
“What, Gabby?” Austin asks as I scramble off his lap.
“I’m the worst daughter in the world,” I groan, grabbing my phone and scrolling through my contacts until I find my mother’s name. I press my phone to my ear and pace the living room in small circles as it rings. “There’s a storm kicking off and I haven’t even checked in on her. You think Priscilla McKinley knows how to board up windows herself? And she’s not answering her phone!”
Austin pushes himself up from the couch. “Try your brother. See if he knows she’s safe?”
“I haven’t spoken to Zach in weeks. I’m still waiting for him to apologize for throwing his fist into your face,” I grumble, but reluctantly call my brother, anyway.
“What?” Zach’s angelic voice snaps when he picks up.
“Hi. Just checking everything’s good with you guys? You’re all safe indoors?”
“Of course,” he says, his abrupt tone easing. “At least this storm won’t get you up there in Durham.”
“Actually .?.?. I’m here in Wilmington. I’m with Austin.” I nervously catch Austin’s eye in front of me as he listens in.
“Of course you are .?.?.” Zach sighs, then adds, “Well, stay safe, you two. Have you heard from Mom?”
“That’s what I wanted to askyou! You normally help her secure the house whenever there’s a storm.”
“Normallyshe asks me to,” he counters in defense. “She didn’t this time, so I assume she has it figured out by now. Winds aren’t going to bethatstrong, Gabs. She’ll be fine. Probably sitting with a glass of wine watching her soap operas right now as we speak.”
“But she’s not answering her phone.”
“Probably just doesn’t want to talk to her junkie daughter.”
“Zach,” I snap, because now is not the time for cracking jokes. When he quits laughing, I say, “I’ll keep trying her.”
“I’ll try, too.”
I hang up on Zach and dial Mom again, growing increasingly restless. Zach’s rather blasé about the idea of Mom being unreachable during a storm, and I know the winds aren’t going to be strong enough or the rain heavy enough to cause any severe damage, but I feel terrible that she didn’t cross my mind untilnow.She’s alone in that big house, and neither of her children bothered to make sure she was safe and hunkered down. We’re theworst, and now I need to compensate for it.
“Still no answer?” Austin asks when I lower my phone from my ear with a frustrated groan. “Would you feel better if we went over there to check on her? Make sure the house is secure and she has everything she needs in case the power cuts out?”
“You’d come with me?”
“I followed you into bug-infested lakes when we were kids,” he says with a smile, tilting his head to the side. “What makes you believe for even one second that I wouldn’t follow you through a tropical storm?”
Yeah, I amsotransferring schools for this man.
I thank him with a quick kiss and we head upstairs to grab our shoes. This storm wasn’t quite in my plans when I packed a bag for this weekend, but Austin has me covered when it comes to a raincoat—he gives me one of his, though it engulfs most of me. It swishes around by my knees as we make our way to the garage and climb into my car, because on the off chance a tree branch falls on us as we drive across town, better it happens to my easily replaced Prius than Austin’s Porsche. I let him drive, and he does it with zero complaints for once. He’s too focused on squinting through the bucketing rain hitting the windshield.
“Are we idiots?” I ask after five minutes of driving and the realization that we haven’t passed any other cars out on the roads. “There’s no one else out here.”
“Well, you’re kind of supposed to stay inside during a storm,but .?.?.”
“Goddamn Priscilla McKinley,” I mutter, and we exchange a grin. My mother really does have a knack for being the center of attention. I swear, if Austin and I are driving through this storm to get to her and this entire time she really has just been drinking wine and watching soaps like Zach believes .?.?. Oh, she’s gonna get it.
