Iglanced at him skeptically. The short, curt answers didn’t convince me. “Whatwas so good exactly?”
“Idon’t know,” he shrugged, grabbing his phone out of his backpack. “It was justa good day, I guess.”
“Well… are you still liking your teachers?”
“Justas much as yesterday.” He eyed me sidelong, smirking in a way that immediatelyreminded me of his father.
“Sorry.”I held my hands up in momentary surrender before gripping the wheel. “I’mallowed to ask.”
“Mm-hmm.”He shook his head and looked back to his phone, typing away and smiling tohimself.
“Whoare you talking to? Sebastian?” He nodded. “How’s he doing? How’s the tour?”
“Youcould ask him yourself, you know,” Greyson muttered, continuing to type.
Isighed, tapping my fingers against the wheel. “Well, maybe I’m just trying tomake conversation. I want to make sure you’re okay.”
Greysongroaned, laying the phone in his lap and turning to me. “I’m okay. Seriously.”
“Areyoupositive? Because we could go back to the therapist, or—”
“AuntTabs.” He cocked his head, and my eyes met his to find his pressing glare. “I’mfine.”
Sam’smemory clung to the walls of my mind as I hesitated on my words. I wanted toask him about her, and if he thought about her anymore. He seldom brought herup, if at all, and it broke my heart to imagine he was struggling internally.Alone. Refusing to bring her up for some adolescent reason.
“Grey,”I uttered on a shaking breath. “I just want you to know that youcantalk to me, if you wanted to. If you ever wanted to talk about—”
“Imiss Mom, okay?” he blurted without warning, surprising me with his apparentability to read my mind. “I’mnotokay that she’s not here. It really sucks,and I hate it. But Iswear, I’m okay. Just like you say that you are,too.”
Itightened my grip around the steering wheel and pursed my lips. Iwasokay, while still allowing myself the freedom to miss my sister and my parents,and I considered it was possible he was also. But the question begged to beasked.
“Didhe really help that much?”
“Who?You mean Dad?”
Icouldn’t help but smile as the tears collected in the brim of my eyes. God, hesaid it so easily now, like he’d been calling him that every day of his life.There was no hesitation, no awkwardness.
Inodded. “Yeah. I’m just … I’m just having a really hard time believing that hecould’ve turned things around so much in such a short period of time.” Greysonwas quiet for a moment and I thought I might’ve upset him by questioning the positiveeffect his father had on him. I reached out and laid a hand on his thigh. “I don’tmean that heshouldn’thelp to make things better, Grey. I’m just—”
Heshook his head. “Sometimes bad things happen, and good things come along tobalance them out. Not to like,erasethe bad things, or to make you lesssad that they happened or anything, but just to, you know, make them easier todeal with.”
Thewords struck a chord within my heart and I glanced at him. “Who told you that?”
Hesmirked with an accompanying shrug. “Oh, I dunno. Just some guy you thoughtwasn’t good enough for you, or something like that.”
Witha tip of my head toward the window, I scoffed. “Greyson …”
“I’mstaying out of it,” he declared, lifting his phone from his lap. “I’m justsaying, Dad’s one of the good things, Aunt Tabs.”
Ididn’t nod, because to nod would be to admit that I agreed. And if I agreed,well … wouldn’t that be to admit that I was wrong about Sebastian? And I wasn’tready to do that.
Notyet.
***
Me: Hey.
Sebastian:Whoa. Am I dreaming, or are you actually initiating a conversation with meright now?
