Page 108 of The Problem with Falling
That was the final nail in the coffin. I saw the shift in his whole demeanor. His eyes grew ice cold. His body tensed up. His jaw locked. He was disappearing right before my eyes.
“Okay.” He nodded. “Then do me one big favor?”
“What’s that?”
“Stay the fuck gone forever.” With that, he turned and walked away. He headed out of his house straight to his boat. I listened as he sped off toward the middle of the lake.
I was gone before he came back.
CHAPTER 37
Theo
Willow was gone.
She left a letter for me on my dining room table.
I refused to read it because no matter what it said, the outcome was still the same.
She left me.
Just like the others.
CHAPTER 38
Willow
Idrove around in Big Bird for days, not knowing where to go. Not knowing where I’d end up. Feeling so lost and confused that I was worried about my own well-being. So I went to the only place I could feel some sense of safety.
Dad opened his front door and seemed shocked to see me.
“Little Bird,” he said, taking off his reading glasses. “What’s going on, baby girl?”
Before words could leave my mouth, I burst into a fit of tears.
Dad’s arms instantly wrapped around me, and he didn’t let me go.
After a few daysof me staying at my father’s house, he finally decided to confront me after finding me rotting on his couch in the living room, surrounded by used tissues, watchingPride and Prejudicefor the millionth time.
“All right, time for a break,” he said, grabbing the remote and shutting off the television.
“Hey! It was just getting to the good part!” I shouted.
“She bewitched him body and mind or whatever, yada, yada, yada,” Dad muttered, waving a dismissive hand my way. He then sat on the coffee table in front of me and shook his head. “Do you know why I built Big Bird for you, Willow Rose?”
I snickered and sniffled, pushing myself up to a better sitting position. “Because I wouldn’t stop talking about the silly thing for months?”
“No,” he sincerely stated. “That’s not why.”
“Then why?”
“Because I’m your father, and while the rest of the world might’ve fallen for the fake smiles and the bursts of engineered, manufactured joy, I saw the truth. I saw the real you.”
“And what was the real me?”
“A broken little girl who blamed herself for a terrible, tragic accident. A broken little girl who probably blamed herself for her mother’s death, too.” His eyes glassed over as he lowered his head. A slight tremble left his mouth. “And all I could see was my baby hurting as she pretended not to be hurt. But I felt like if I didn’t give you the freedom to explore and find yourself with Big Bird, then you might’ve slipped too far into the facade of pretending to be happy in front of others. Because I knew if you were on the road by yourself, you’d have to face yourself and your truths. I wanted you to do some of that inner work on your solo adventures. I just didn’t expect you to meet so many strangers who could distract you from said inner work.”
I released a nervous laugh. “Leave it to me to push my trauma down deep and dance instead of cry.”
