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“As good as I can be. I…feel hopeful. I haven’t experienced that before, when it comes to my dad. Part of me is afraid to try, but I’m so done being afraid. I want to be more like you.”
My eyeballs nearly fall out of my head. “Me?”
“Yes, you, silly puppy. You don’t ever let fear hold you back. The world could use more Theos in it.”
“The world could use more Perrys too.”
“I guess that’s why we’re perfect together.”
Perry threads his arm through mine and rests his head on my shoulder again. We’re quiet for a few minutes, and I try to figure out what he needs. Whatever it is, I’ll do it.
“He’ll be okay, Theo…right?”
Pressure plants itself right on my chest. He’s counting on me to tell him and for me to be right. “Yes. He will. I know it,” I say, hoping like hell it’s the truth.
We sit like that, Ty and Brax in a corner, doing the same, as the four of us wait for news on their dad. I can’t say if it’s five minutes or five hours later when a nurse comes out, and Perry and Ty both shove to their feet.
“Is he okay?” Perry’s voice shakes on the question.
“He’s doing just fine. Everything went well.”
I let out the breath that had been trapped in my lungs since we first found out about Perry’s dad. I’m taking this as a sign that everything is going to start being a whole lot better from here on out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Perry
We decide I’m the one who is going to pick Dad up at the hospital and take him to the hotel. His wife, Marie, is flying out soon. Once we knew he would be okay, she didn’t rush—to give him time with us, I think. I have to admit, I’m nervous as fuck. My stomach is twisting, and I’ve almost vomited three times on the way over. Maybe it should have been Ty and me together? I’d made the suggestion but hadn’t pushed when he said he was busy and it should be just me. That’s Ty’s way of giving me and our dad time together, and I’m thankful for that and also scared as fuck.
For a lot of reasons. We don’t even know each other, for one, and…I look at my vehicle. On the whole, I’m not the kind of guy who’s embarrassed of the things I have or don’t have, but the thought of Montgomery Langley in my small, beat-up car is slightly horrifying.
Or maybe it’s more that I’m nervous I’m going to have a real conversation with my father for the first time. I’m going to be open and honest and work toward having a relationship with him the way Ty does. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it and wish I’d kidnapped my puppy so he could be here with me. Things are a lot easier with him by my side.
Still, I tough it out and finish my drive to the hospital, taking in the palm tree–lined streets and the ocean in the distance. When I get there, Dad is already outside in a wheelchair, a nurse behind him.
“He tried to make a prison break, so I had to come down with him early,” the nurse says.
“I don’t need this chair. It’s ridiculous. I can walk,” Dad grumbles, sounding like a spoiled brat. I think no matter what happens, there are definitely going to be some differences between us.
“It’s her job, Dad. Don’t take it out on her,” I scold, and maybe that’s not going to get the two of us off to the best start, but if we’re going to do this, if we’re going to have a relationship, then I have to be who I am. I refuse to pretend to be someone else.
“I wasn’t… I didn’t mean… Oh hell. I’m sorry.”
She pushes the wheelchair up to my passenger door. I open it, and Dad pauses for a moment, then gets in.
I thank the nurse, and she goes back inside. Dad has all his discharge paperwork on his lap, so I just go over to the driver’s side and get in.
“I can get you a car,” is the first thing he says to me.
“I don’t need you to get me a car. This one works fine. If we’re gonna do this, you can’t just try and throw your money at me all the time.”
“That’s not… Okay, that’s what I’m doing, but I do it because I care. I want you to have nice things. I want to help. It’s how I…”
“How you show you care?” I finish for him. “I’d rather see it in other ways. That’s not me.”
He sighs, and I can tell he doesn’t understand it, but he says, “I’ll try. I don’t know how good I’ll be at it. I’m not the best at giving up control or not trying to fix things with…well, with money, but I do love you, Perry, and I want to make this work. I want a relationship with you.”
Throat full, I nod. “I want that too. And I can try and make sacrifices with some things as well.”
