Page 25 of Promised Secret
I could understand why Dan worked so hard to make his dad proud. There was just something about getting validation from the man that made you crave more.
Instead of being happy at the compliment, Dan frowned so hard his eyebrows turned into one. He looked pensively between me and his dad, his eyes finally landing on the spot where Victor clapped me on the shoulder.
He was quiet through the rest of dinner, mostly forking at his plate instead of actually eating it. Mom and Victor were immersed in conversation about their next backyard project.
Now that Dan had mostly taken over the clinic, Victor was in retirement mode. He did still work at the clinic every so often, but these days, more often than not, he was enjoying time in his garden instead.
Victor wanted to add a birdbath by his koi pond, andMom wanted to build a resting area by the pond where she could relax with a nice book.
Neither of them was paying attention to Dan and his unusual behavior. But I was.
I’d grown up watching and studying Dan that I could have a master’s degree in Dan Yao by now. I could write an entire thesis about him and never run out of things to say about him.
I was the person who knew him best, so I felt at a loss when he closed himself off from me like this. He took away my bearings.
“Hey,” I said to Dan, bringing the last of the dishes to the sink, where he was washing them.
Mom and Victor had moved to the living room to play with Captain and Hook. Dan hadn’t been kidding when he said he would build a huge habitat for them. Their cage took up the entire wall, with tons of tunnels, hiding spots, and room for them to run.
They could disappear within the cage if they wanted to, and we’d never be able to find them. Although it wasn’t hard getting them to come out. Captain and Hook were very smart. They knew their names and came running when called, especially if you had treats for them.
I was stillwary of them and unsure how I was supposed to handle them, but I had to admit I was gaining a soft spot for our new pets. They did look adorable holding food in their tiny hands. And most importantly, they made Dan happy.
“Hey,” Dan replied, stepping aside when I nudged to take over his washing duties. He grabbed the rag to dry the clean dishes I handed him.
“What’s been going through your mind tonight?” I asked, glancing behind me to make sure our parents were still in the living room. I couldn’t see them from this angle, which meant Dan and I had some time alone.
Dan’s hand faltered on the plate for the briefest of seconds before he continued wiping. He scrubbed at it so hard with the rag that it squeaked.
“I was thinking…maybe it’s time we change what we call our parents.”
There was that fucking word again.
Change.
I’d say there have been more than enough changes recently. I gripped the dirty fork in my hand, wishing I could just stab the word out of existence.
“Yeah?” I replied, proud of how steady I managed to keep my voice. “How do you mean?”
“Do you remember when they first told us they were getting married, and you were so excited about calling my dadlao-batoo?”
I nodded. The excitement had quickly faltered when I saw Dan’s clear unhappiness toward the news.
He gripped the plate tightly against him. With his head down, not looking at me as he whispered, “You should do it. You should call himlao-ba, too. It’ll make him happy.”
I let the fork drop out of my hand, not evenbothering to turn off the faucet before grabbing Dan’s shoulder with my wet hands.
“Dan, look at me,” I said.
He kept his head down, his knuckles white as he gripped the plate to his chest.
“Look at me,” I demanded. When he stubbornly refused again, I grabbed his chin and forced him to meet my gaze.
“What’s going on?” I asked. I glanced between his dark, blown pupils, begging him to finally tell me what the hell was happening to us. How did the person closest to me become someone I didn’t know seemingly overnight?
There was defiance in his brown eyes as he shook my hand off. I released his chin but kept my hands on his shoulders in case he ran away. The water seeped through his white T-shirt, revealing the deep groove of his collarbone. His muscles were defined from all the time he’d spent at the gym with me.
“Dan.” His name on my lips was a desperate plea for him to stop shutting me out.
