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“Don’t.”
“Sorry.”
She wipes her tears herself before crossing her arms.
“I’m just so sick of the lies, Dean. Do you know how hard it is for me to open up to people? And I let you in. I let you in! Even after all of my doubts and suspicions.”
“I’m not lying, Mae! I swear. I have no idea why that guy was here. Honest.”
She just stands there and looks at me.
“Please, trust me.”
“I can’t! From the start, you’ve just been using us.”
I feel so frustrated, and there’s a ball of emotion developing at the bottom of my throat that makes it feel like I haven’t had a drop of water in days.
“I haven’t. You have to believe me.”
“How can I?”
“Because I’m asking you to. And because I’m telling the truth.”
“My heart wants to. But my brain says differently. There have just been so many signs.”
“Like what? The unsigned contract and some mystery guy?”
“Are you seriously saying you wouldn’t find that suspicious?”
“I mean, I guess on its face—both things are suspect—but I already explained the story behind the contract. As for the guy? I have no idea. I wish I had some answers for you.”
“Well, maybe you should stay out in the rain or in your powerless house until you do.”
“Mae!” I can’t believe how cruel she’s being to me. But part of me feels like I deserve it for my deception to her and her family in the beginning.
She goes inside and slams the door before either of us can say anything else.
I don’t want to just sit in the rain, so I do as she suggests and go inside my own home.
As to be expected, it is cold and dark. So, I gather all the blankets I can find, and I just sit on the floor.
I’m kind of rocking back and forth as I try to process exactly what just happened. I thought that she was going to rush out and then hug and kiss me because she was so happy that I made it back safe. But no. Instead, she screamed her head off at me.
Was there some way that wires got crossed and someone didn’t hear about the canceled plan? It couldn’t be. I fired off a company-wide email, and I got all of the “sent receipts,” so I know that they went through despite the issues with the internet.
“Dad?”
The sound of his voice startles me a little.
“Sorry, I just wanted to give you some hot chocolate.”
“Thank you, Dyl.”
He hands me a thermos, and I happily accept it.
“Dad?”
“Yeah?” I say after taking a drink.
