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“Your dad wouldn’t mind me in your bed?”
“As long as I’m on the couch, it’s all good. He knows about your dad.”
“You talked to him about me?”
I nodded and looked down at my lap. “He wanted to know why I’ve been so sad lately.”
Tanner touched his lips to my cheek. “I’m sorry for hurting you, Charlotte.”
“Don’t worry about me. You’ve got enough on your plate to deal with.” I looked into his watery eyes. “Please say you’ll come inside.”
Tanner ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled a long breath of air. “Okay.”
Once we were inside, I led him into my bedroom. I turned on my nightstand lamp and gestured to the bed. “All yours. Do you want some water or anything?”
“No. Thank you.”
I closed the door behind me and stretched out on the living room couch. Wrapping myself with a fleece blanket, I didn’t feel tired anymore. I thought about how lucky I was to have lost my mother at such a young age. It sounds crazy to think about it like that, but I was so young when it happened—I didn’t have much to miss.
Chase and Tanner had almost two decades of memories with their father. Everything from this point on would be filled with reminders that their father was missing, that he should still be here. People wouldn’t get to say that he went peacefully, or that he lived a long and happy life. They would say he was taken too soon. It wasn’t fair. My heart broke for Tanner. How much more would he have to endure before his father’s fight was over?
I watched the hours tick by until my father emerged from his room. The sun had not even begun to rise, and he was ready to leave for work.
“Charlotte? What are you doing out here?” he asked, sitting at the edge of the couch cushion next to my feet.
“Tanner’s father is in the hospital. He’s having a hard time, and I didn’t want him to be alone. So, I told him to sleep here. Hence, me on the couch.”
“Is his dad going to be okay?”
“I don’t know how much longer he has. He’s in the phase where his body is shutting down. It’s just so sad.”
Dad wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead. “You’re a good kid. I know this is hard for you.”
“I wish there was something more I could do.”
“I know. But you can’t save everyone from heartache. All you can do is be there to help them through it.”
“I know.”
“Well, let him know that he is always welcome here. I’m off to make the doughnuts. I’ll see you in the afternoon.”
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you more.”
I watched as he gathered his wallet and keys before heading out. Once I heard the door lock, I sprang from the couch and into the hallway. I cracked my bedroom door to check on Tanner.
His head immediately lifted off the pillow.
“Did you get any sleep?”
His red eyes told me the answer before he could. “No.”
Hurt for him constricted my chest, compelling me to comfort him. I climbed into bed beside him and slipped my legs under the covers. He still had his clothes on.
“You can’t possibly be comfortable lying in a bed with jeans on.”
“I didn’t know if your dad was going to chase me out of here with a shotgun when he woke up. I figured, if you’re packing heat, he must be, too.”
