You’ll really show up?
I would show up for you now if you told me where you lived…
My cheeks flush deeper. I set the phone down, needing to think.
That’s when I see the sign.
Welcome to Southampton
Yeah… we definitely can’t afford anything near here.
My mom pulls us past a stretch of beachfront homes that look like they belong to retired celebrities or fictional billionaires. We take a turn down a private road lined with trees and crushed gravel, and just when I think she’s lost again, the house appears.
A massive, ocean-blue estate rises like something out of a dream—white pillars, wraparound porch, and a second-story balcony that seems to float over the dune grass. The Atlantic sparkles just behind it, close enough to hear the waves.
She pulls into the drive and cuts the engine.
“Welcome home!” she says, grinning like she just won a prize she didn’t pay for.
My jaw tightens. This can’t be real.
As we get out, a man steps onto the porch wearing a pale-blue dress shirt, sleeves rolled, tan slacks. Clean-cut. Smiling. But something about him gives me pause. I’ve seen him before. Maybe on TV. Maybe in a movie. I’m not sure.
Then he speaks.
“Well, hello there, Emily.”
And I know that voice. Not the name. Not the face. Thevoice.
“I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while now,” he says. “Your mom brags nonstop about your writing talent.”
I shake his hand. “Nice to meet you too. You have a beautiful home.”
“Wait until you see the inside,” he says. “I’ll give you the full tour—and I’ll have my son grab your bags.”
“Oh, that’s right,” my mom says. “He has a son who’s a little older than you. So you’ll have a live-in friend until school starts.”
“Son!” Aidan calls through an open window. “Hey, son?”
Silence.
“Warning,” he sighs. “My son’s a fuckin’ hardhead. Hold on…”
He pulls out his phone and dials.
“Haul your ass to the front,” he says. “My girlfriend and her daughter are here.”
A deep, lazy voice crackles through the speaker:
“What does that have to do with me?”
Something in my stomach flips. My skin tightens.
“Don’t start this shit with me today,” Aidan mutters. “Just come grab their stuff.”
The call ends.
He turns back to us, gesturing toward the beach. “Make sure you take advantage of the sand and water every day. It keeps me grounded.”
