Page 159 of Between Never and Forever
Is Brynn right? Will Savannah be back? If not, do I want to be wasting this last bit of time I have with her?
“Boss, how about you see if Cameron can video chat.”
Brynn sighs loudly, but she picks up her tablet anyway. The moment Cameron answers the video chat and squeals their hello, Brynn hops off the couch and out the door to sit on the stairs. I turn to Sharon.
“I’m going to tell them. I’m going to just put it out there so I’m not fucking hiding anything anymore.”
She blinks at me, and her forehead creases as her eyebrows slant.
“And if they try to fight you?”
“Let ‘em. I’ve got the money from the studio now. I’ve got Clark on retainer. Let them try.”
She takes a deep breath and glances at the door, then back at me.
“A lot could go wrong,” she says, keeping her voice low, and my stomach swirls with the truth of it all.
A lotcouldgo wrong. It could fuck up the entire life I’ve managed to piece together. But...
“I have to try, Sharon. I have to get it over with.”
She looks at me, peering into my eyes as if she’s reading my thoughts. I didn’t know her well when I was younger, but I remember seeing her from time to time. Her eyes were always distant, sunken. She always appeared lost. I remember thinking Sharon was like a ghost. I couldn’t believe Savannah was her daughter, because Sav was always bursting with life and vitality, while her mother seemed the opposite.
Now, though, with her sharp wit and keen eyes, she misses nothing, and I can finally see it. The resemblance is almost unnerving at times. I had to do a double take the day I found Sharon in that shelter after the storm. I thought my eyes were tricking me. I thought it was Savannah sitting on that cot. It was such a mindfuck, but when I realized who she actually was, I couldn’t just leave her there. I had to help. If for nothing else, for Savannah. It was a way to feel closer to her even when she was miles, sometimes even continents, away from me.
I really hope that someday Savannah and Sharon can sit down and talk. Maybe work things out. They’re cut from the same cloth. From how it sounds, they’ve had a lot of the same experiences, the same vices, and they’ve both managed to haul themselves out of that wreckage. That takes courage. That takes a strength a lot of people only wish they had. I think that could forge a bond, foster forgiveness, or at the very least, an understanding.
“Does this have to do with Savannah?” Sharon finally asks, and I answer honestly.
“It’s something I’ve thought of doing for a while now, but ultimately, Sav is why I’m making the jump. She comes with media attention that I need to be able to face. I’m tired of hiding shit, of always looking over my damn shoulder. And now that Sav is back...I can’t lose her again.”
She nods.
“If you need anything, you can always use the—”
“I don’t want your money, Sharon. Quit offering it. I don’t need it now, anyway.”
She huffs out a laugh and throws up her palms.
“Okay, forget I said it.”
She takes a deep breath then hits me with a pointed look.
“So, when will you do it?”
I drum my fingers on the desk, glaring a hole in the wood top, trying to ignore my growing anxiety.
“I’ve got an appointment with Clark on Thursday to make sure all my loose ends are tied up, and then if everything is still good to go, I’ll do it the start of next week.”
“After Savannah has left.”
I nod.
“It’s easier that way.”
She opens her mouth to say something else, but the door swings open and Brynn stomps inside, so our conversation halts. But when I glance back at Sharon moments later, I can tell she hasn’t stopped thinking about it.
About all the risks. All the ways it could go wrong.
