Logan nodded and took a step back. “Well, I’ll let you get settled in. Hopefully it won’t be too long until Tim arrives.”
“Hopefully,” I agreed.
After Logan left, I spent the next few minutes unpacking, then used the bathroom down the hall to freshen myself up. Sitting on a bus for four hours had made me feel grubby. I’d just returned to my bedroom and changed into some clean clothes when my phone rang, and my heart lifted at the sight of Tim’s name.
“Hey!” I said after picking up. “I’m here, where are you?”
“Um,” he began, in a tone that made my heart drop like a stone. “About that…”
“What is it?” I asked, clinging to the hope it wasn’t bad news.
“So, uh…I’m not going to make it tonight.”
“What?” I demanded. “Where are you?”
He took a moment to respond. “Cancún,” he said in a small voice.
I froze. “You’re in fuckingMexico? What the fuck, Tim?”
“Baby, I can explain,” he sound. “See, my friends were going and they begged me to come with them, and I couldn’t say no, could I? I figured I’d go with them, hang out for a few days and come back.”
“Yeah,” I said, my voice strangely calm. “Alright. Fantastic. Apart from the fact you were meant to fucking be with me, Tim. I’m at your house right now, with your dad. And you’re in another country.”
“You don’t have to sound so angry,” he said.
“I am fucking angry!” I said, raising my voice. “You’ve completely abandoned me. This wasyouridea. You’re the one who invited me to your hometown, and now you’re not even here.” My voice broke. “Don’t you understand how shitty that is?”
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “But…my friends…”
“I’m yourgirlfriend,” I said, enunciating the word as if that’d get it through his head. “Doesn’t that matter?”
“I’ll be back in a few days.”
I laughed mirthlessly. “What am I supposed to do till then? Sit around while stuck in a house with a literal stranger?”
“He’s not a stranger, he’s my dad.”
“I met him for the first time fifteen minutes ago.”
“He’s a nice guy. Just…I don’t know, play Monopoly or something.”
I laughed. “Fuck you, Tim.”
“Baby, don’t be like that.”
“No,” I said, voice going cold like ice. “You don’t get to call me baby anymore. I feel so stupid because I should have expected this. You always let me down. I was just too blind to see it.”
“Willow,” he tried.
“No. We’re done. You got that? We’re finished. Have fun in Cancún with your fucking friends. Don’t contact me again.” Ihung up and managed to stay calm for another thirty seconds. Then I burst into tears.
I don’t know how much time passed until there was a knock, and the bedroom door opened.
“Hey, just wanted to check up on — shit, what happened?” Logan said, stopping at the sight of me.
I quickly wiped my tears. I just knew my eyes and nose were red. “N-nothing,” I said, my voice wobbly from crying.
“It’s not nothing,” he said sternly. He grabbed a tissue box from the nightstand and handed it to me. I took it gratefully and blew my nose.
