Manny Overboard by Parker Elliot

Author:Parker Elliot [Elliot, Parker]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2016-11-28T18:30:00+00:00

Derek was counting down the hours until he could get off the ship. Until he could get as far away as possible from the colossal fuck up that had probably ruined not only the professional relationship he’d had with Noah, but had also killed whatever that spark had been. Whatever hopes and thoughts and fantasies that he’d had about something more.

It was all gone.

He wished he could climb back into bed and catch some of the sleep he’d missed in the night. But sleep would have to wait. First, he’d have to make it through the morning.

If Derek had been hoping to catch a break, it hadn’t happened at breakfast.

Noah had barely spoken to him—had barely even looked in his direction. Blake was sullen but quiet, and Delilah—never a morning person, even at the best of times—was a little ball of fury.

“I don’t want Noah to leave,” she insisted. Again.

“Noah isn’t going anywhere,” Derek said, trying to keep the irritation from his voice. He hadn’t expected the kids to get so attached to Noah, and hell, he certainly couldn’t blame them. Not when he felt the same way. But he really couldn’t deal with any arguments about it, either. “He’s right here, eating breakfast.”

She glared at Derek over her plate. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” Derek sighed.

It was no use trying to deny it. None of them wanted to part ways with Noah, least of all Derek. But he didn’t see any other way. Maybe when things cooled down between the two of them. Maybe with a little bit of time, and space, and perspective, it would all make more sense.

But when they got off the ship in a few hours, they’d all be saying goodbye to Noah, and Derek hadn’t made any definite plans with him for the future.

“Try to at least finish your eggs, please,” Noah urged Delilah, giving a half-hearted smile. “You don’t want to be hungry later, when it’s time to get off the ship.”

“I don’t care about that,” Delilah grumbled, pushing the eggs around her plate with her fork. “Why can’t you just stay with us for a little while longer?”

She was looking up at Noah with tears in her eyes, and it nearly broke Derek’s heart. In that moment, he’d wanted to give in, wanted to join his daughter in begging Noah to stay. But that wasn’t how life worked. And while Delilah couldn’t be expected to understand at her age, Derek knew all to well how things would play out.

“It isn’t up to Noah, sweetie,” Derek said. “We have Raquel to think about, too. I can’t just replace her before she’s ready to leave. Not after all the time she’s spent with us.”

Even though it might have been the truth, it still felt like a hollow excuse, even to Derek’s own ears. The reality of the situation was that he was afraid to be around Noah for too much longer. Derek had already proven that he couldn’t be trusted to keep his emotions in check, and that was a dangerous thing for someone like himself.

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