Page 6 of Masquerade (Blue Bloods 2)
“Yeah, it is. Had to beg them for that number and pull the sick dad card.”
Eli laughed, his green eyes lighting up. “Will your boyfriend be wearing your jersey in the stands? Uh, I’m so sorry. I forgot your name.”
“Sen,” I said, stepping closer.
He held out his hand and I took it firmly. “I know we’ve met, but I think I feel a little more like me today.”
“I’m happy to do it again. And yeah, I’ll be at every single game.”
“Good, good. You’re a wonderful man and I don’t think that I need to give you the dad speech.”
“God, please don’t,” Kai groaned.
“Listen here, you little shit.” Eli pointed a serious finger at him, but just like his son, he couldn’t hide when he was amused. “We never know what tomorrow holds, so I have to make sure I’m entrusting you to the right man.”
“Sen is the right man.”
“I believe you, but no getting married until you’re at least twenty-five. Studies show it’s less likely to lead to divorce.”
I stared down at my feet as I laughed. Kai leaned forward and took his dad’s hand, so I squeezed his shoulder and nodded toward the house. Once I was inside, I headed down the hall to make sure we’d packed everything. I stopped beside his parents’ door when I heard the distinct sound of crying.
It could be an invasion of privacy, but I inched the door open anyway. “Savannah?”
She sniffled and cleared her throat. “Sen, I’m sorry. I, uh, just need a minute.”
I pushed the door open enough so that I could see her. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, red eyed and with tears drying on her cheeks.
“Can I come in?”
She hesitated before she nodded. “Is Kai still outside?”
“Yeah. He’s talking to his dad.”
“Good. I’m glad Eli’s feeling okay today. I would’ve hated for Kai to leave without getting a proper goodbye.”
“Yeah, this is something he needs. But why aren’t you happy?”
“I am. I…” She blew out a shuddering breath. “It gets lonely, you know? My husband isn’t always my husband. Not really. I don’t want Kai here,” she added quickly. “Neither does Eli. But these three weeks made me so happy that I guess I’m coming down from that high.”
“Does Kai know how hard this is for you?”
“He does and he’s begged me to let him come home nearly every day since he left, but he needs to be there.”
“He could go to school closer to home.”
She shook her head. “Both of their scholarships are at Harmon. This is what Kai needs. He’s spent his entire life preparing for his father to forget him, to lose thousands of memories they made together, and to die. When your best memories are with someone who can no longer share them with you, it wears you down, and he’s already spent seventeen years watching it progress. Every day, the first thing he wanted to do was say good morning to his dad so he’d know if he was getting worse. I want him to keep the good, otherwise, he’ll be drowned by the years watching him fade and what good would it do?”
“But that’s what’s happening to you.”
With a rueful smile, she stood and took my hands. “In sickness and in health, Sen. It’s natural for your parents to age and die. That doesn’t mean you can stop living. We move on while our kids keep going, then the cycle continues. Death isn’t bad; it’s just the process that causes us pain.”
“You said he gets his personality from his dad,” I noted. “But that just sounded a lot like something Kai would say.”
“Well, something has to balance out his dad’s chaos. I’m sure you’ve seen the extremely over exuberant side of Kai. That’s Eli’s influence.”
We both laughed as we went into the hallway. When we passed West’s room, I heard a hushed conversation. I peeked in and saw him on the phone, waving his hands like he was frustrated.
“Whatever. In six months, you’re gone, and I can’t wait.”