Page 73 of Forever & Always You
“Mom.”
Austin laughs and flashes me a dazzling grin as he says, “I guess I’ll just have to adjust to Gabrielle McKinley’s hairproducts cluttering my bathroom.”
The sound of the front door opening interrupts the conversation, and there’s the scratch of paws on the hardwood floor before Lily the poodle bursts into the kitchen with overflowing excitement. She circles us at the table, jumping up on Mom’s legs, then Austin’s, then mine, unsure of who to greet first.
“Hi, Lily!” I say, sliding off my chair and crouching down to fuss her. “I didn’t know you were coming by!”
Zach and Claire enter the kitchen, and before Mom even says hello, she’s muttering, “You know I don’t like it when you bring that dog over here.”
“Oh, relax, Mom,” Zach says with a dismissive wave. “She’s super clean. Look how excited she is to see you! Be nice to her.”
I look up at my brother from my position on the floor. “Woah. Did you just—” I dramatically gasp “—defendLily? Protective-dog-dad mode activated.”
“Shut up, Gabster,” Zach snarls, and Claire elbows him in the ribs and mouths an apology to me.
“What are you doing here?” Mom asks them, and I still find it so completely bizarre that our family dynamics are so twisted, our own mother is always so mystified when we visit her.
“Making sure you didn’t die in that wild, wild storm last night, obviously,” Zach says with a sarcastic smirk, then musters up enough maturity to be serious for once as he slides into an empty chair and plucks a croissant off the table. “Gabby was worried about you last night, and we weren’t sure if she eventually got in touch with you or not becausesomeonenever updated us—” he glowers at me “—so here we are. Glad to see everyone is alive and well.” He looks across the table at Austin for the first time and asks, “Can I ask why you’re wearing my clothes?”
“We spent the night,” I tell Zach. “Austin helped secure thehouse.”
Zach bites into his croissant and chews silently for a moment, then rises from the table. “Can we talk outside?” His gaze shifts to Austin. “Both of you.”
Austin and I exchange a look. None of us have addressed what happened at the beach and this is the first time the three of us have seen each other since then, so it’s not difficult to guess what Zach could possibly wish to talk about. Whether it’ll be an apology or further argument, I have no idea.
I kiss the mop of curls on top of Lily’s head and straighten up from the floor, following Zach and Austin outside into the backyard while Mom watches the three of us leave with a look of betrayal for being left alone with the soon-to-be daughter-in-law she’s not a fan of and the adopted poodle she can’t stand.
It’s a cool, breezy morning outside as the winds continue to die down and the skies are overcast. The patio furniture is still inside the garage, so Zach leans against the wall of the house instead, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I won’t tell Mom about the trust fund,” he says, albeit grudgingly, as he fastens his eyes on Austin. “It won’t change the fact that that money is already yours, and there’s no point sending her into a tailspin, because she’s insufferable when she has a meltdown. What she doesn’t know can’t hurt her.”
“Thank you, Zach—” I start, but he holds up a hand to cut me off.
“That doesn’t mean I agree with it. I still think you have no right to my father’s money, but at least you didn’t blow it on something stupid,” he grumbles. “I’ll learn to live with it, and I’m sorry for hitting you at the beach, I guess.”
“I’m also sorry for hitting you at the beach,” Austin says, managing a tentative smile to test the waters.
Zach rubs his jaw. “You have a pretty solid sucker punch for someone who was on the high school track team. I thought allyour strength would be in your legs.”
“It is. That’s why you’re lucky I didn’t kick the shit out of you.”
Zach’s eyes widen in surprise at Austin’s confidence and when he looks at me, I laugh and say, “Yeah, not quite the shy kid from across the street anymore.”
“Alright, man,” Zach says, thumping Austin on the back of his shoulder, almost with a weird sense of appreciation. “Thanks for helping out my mom last night. Maybe you’ll win her over one day.”
“Here’s hoping,” Austin says, and Zach saunters off back inside. We don’t follow him, because we need a moment to process how surprisingly well things are turning out. I feel like I’ve entered a parallel universe.
Austin wraps his arms around my shoulders and pulls me in close, our gazes locked. “This weekend has been .?.?. full of milestones.”
“Right?” I say, my head tilted up to look at him as my arms rest around his waist. “Our parents are being reasonable, Zach has apologized, I’ve accepted your offer of moving in .?.?. Oh, and I love you.” I smile wide as the words ignite a fire inside my body.
“And I loveyou. Always have, Gabby,” Austin murmurs, cupping my cheeks in his hands and pressing his lips to my forehead. “Now get your ass up to Durham, quit that job, break your lease, and then come home to me.”
26
The two weeks that follow feel like the slowest two weeks of my entire life.
As much as I’d love to move into Austin’s house overnight, abandoning the life I’ve been living in Durham isn’t that simple. Before I can make the jump, I need to ensure transferring schools is a viable option for me. I meet with my academic dean at Duke who reassures me I’ll be able to transfer just fine, gather my transcripts, then start the application process to UNC Wilmington. If accepted, I’ll be able to enroll in classes in January.
