Something Forever by Rachael Harriet

Author:Rachael Harriet [Harriet, Rachael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-08-22T00:00:00+00:00

The next day, I’m in my room avoiding my roommate when my phone rings with a call from my dad. For a moment, I consider ignoring it, terrified that he’s going to ask about school and all my secrets will come tumbling out. Instead, I press the phone to my ear.

“Liam! I can’t wait to see you.”

Despite myself, I grin at the sound of my dad’s voice. “Yeah, me too. Should be fun.”

“Damn right. It’s been too long. You’re so busy with school, I never get to see you.”

I suppress a sigh. It’s time. I have to bite the bullet.

“Listen, Dad. I’m not in school anymore. I’m off it.”

Silence greets me on the other line.

“Dad?”

“What do you mean?”

“I dropped out. Also, I’m married.”

My dad roars with laughter for a solid minute before he settles down, chuckling lightly. “Good one, Li.”

I shake my head. “I’m not joking. I know it’s a dick move to tell you like this, but I knew you’d figure it out when you came to visit, and I thought it was better to tell you before.”

He quiets. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah.”

“Well.” He clears his throat. “I wish you’d told me. These are major life decisions, Liam.”

“Trust me, I know.”

“Who is she?”

“She’s… ” I trail off, unsure what to say. I settle on the truth. “She’s amazing. I’ve never met anyone like her.”

He hums, and I imagine he’s smiling. “Does she have anything to do with you dropping out?”

“No. I did that before I even met her.”

“Li, what’s going on? If you’re in love, I can understand, but you’re making a huge mistake quitting school⁠—”

“Dad, please no lectures right now. Can you just respect that I need to make my own decisions, even if they end up being mistakes?”

He pauses for a moment. “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy. I’m excited to meet her.”

My heart skips a beat. “Me too.”

“Am I still alright to stay with you? Don’t want to interrupt the newlyweds.”

I groan. “Yeah, you’re fine. You can stay in my old room.”

Yet again, Whitney and I are going to have to share a bed. As if the first time wasn’t bad enough. I hardly survived waking up to her scent, to the feeling of her wrapped around me. Now that sex is entirely off the table, it’s going to be pure torture sleeping next to her.

“Can’t wait. I’m thrilled to meet her. Has your mum spoken to her yet?”

I shake my head, grimacing. “Haven’t gotten ‘round to telling Mum, either. Suppose I will when I visit for the holidays.”

“Liam. Why are you keeping secrets?”

“I don’t know. I’m sorry. I’m just… ”

Lost?

Fucked up?

Lonely?

“I love you, Li. I’ll text you when I’m headed to the city.”

“Right. Love you, Dad.”

I hang up, feeling like an absolute prick. It’s bad enough that I’ve dropped out, but now I’m lying to my family about a fake marriage that has an expiration date? Maybe Whitney was right. Maybe I shouldn’t have told them at all.

But somehow, telling my dad about me and Whitney has filled me with an unexpected feeling of pride.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.