Page 61 of Promised Secret
Sandra shook her head hard, like she was trying to delude herself. “No, no, no. You’re probably just confused. If you’d just meet new people, date around, and expand your horizons, you’ll realize you’ve mistaken your love for being romantic when it isn’t.”
“Sandra, where is all this coming from?” mylao-baasked, surprise clearly written on his face. Sandra had never spoken like this before. She always tried her best to support us—Clayandme—in our endeavors, so it made sense that mylao-bawas shocked by her sudden outburst.
Sandra looked my way again, but she nibbled on her bottom lip instead of answering him. It looked like she wasn’t going to spill my secret.
Clay looked between me and his mom, and I suspected he was fitting the pieces together as well. He sighed and looked a little defeated.
All my worries from throughout the years came rushing forward. This was what I’d been afraid of ever since finding out mylao-baand Clay’smom were together. I’d pushed my feelings for Clay down, ignoring the pain of suppressing them, all to avoid this right here.
“I love him, Mom,” Clay said calmly. “And that’s never going to change.”
He wasn’t coming out and telling them he lovedme, but my belly fluttered nevertheless. The fluttering lasted only for a second, then turned into an entirely unpleasant sinking feeling.
“You can either accept it, or I’ll leave,” Clay stated.
Sandra’s face fell, too. “Are you saying…”
Clay took a deep breath, then confirmed, “If it really comes to it, I’m ready to leave.”
“Now hold on. Why don’t we all take a breath and talk this over calmly?” mylao-batried to reason, but I didn’t think anyone was listening.
I certainly wasn’t. Not when the ground was falling from underneath me. I probably looked as horrified as Sandra did right at that moment.
“You’re right. Let’s all take a step back and call it a night,” Clay replied. He walked toward me and grabbed my wrist.
I was still too stunned to react, so I could only let myself be dragged away. Sandra’s frantic calling followed us through the living room, but she didn’t follow us. Mylao-baprobably stopped her.
I didn’t dare look back at them. I couldn’t witness their disappointment or face the damage I’d caused.
A crack had appeared in our happy little family dynamic, and it was all my fault.
Chapter Twenty-Two
CLAY
I was fuming the entire journey home. Even when we reached the comfort of our home, and the happy squeaks of our rats greeting us, I couldn’t control this restless energy.
Mom had never been this insistent before, at least not when it concerned me. She’d always told me the most important thing was that I was happy and healthy, but I guessed that was only if it didn’t mess up her perception of our family.
“I can’t believe sheknewthis whole time,” I muttered as I paced our living room.
Dan was sitting on our couch and looked up when I spoke. He’d been quiet this entire time. I didn’t even have to ask to know he was worrying about something. I could practically see the gears moving inside that brilliant brain of his.
If this was the Dan before he’d started working out with me, he definitely would have fallen sick from all this worrying.
I sighed and fell into the space beside him. Turning my body toward him, I lifted one leg over his lap and tucked the other behind his back, so they wrapped around him in a side hug.
He was always comforted when he was hugged like this in burrito form, so I figured it might still give him some comfort even if he wasn’t wrapped up in blankets.
Dan was stiff in my hug, so I just hugged him tighter. I let my chin rest on his shoulder.
“Do you finally believe me now when I said I didn’t agree to go on a blind date?” I said, trying to break the tension.
“Were you serious about walking away from your mom?” Dan asked, without acknowledging my attempt to lighten the mood.
Of all the things he could be worrying about right now, that was the last thing I expected.
I shrugged as much as I could in this position, which only angered Dan. The words had come out in the heat of the moment, but they still conveyed just how far I’d go to keep Dan.
