“But what would I have to do for her to make that decision? How far would I fall?” My mom frowned and reached across the space to grip my hand. Just her holding my hand comforted me. “That’s why I’m here. I can’t keep letting my past rule me. I can’t keep hiding and hoping that ignoring it will make it better. I’m tired of it, Mom.”
She swiped at a tear that managed to escape. I knew she still held so much guilt over what had happened, and I didn’t want my inability to let go keep holding everyone else back. I needed to face it. Deal with it.
“I was hoping Dr. Edgemore would be able to see me this week,” I said, referencing the therapist I saw before I left California.
“I’ll make sure he does,” my dad confirmed.
“How long are you staying?”
“Two weeks. I have a week of vacation saved up and then next week is Spring Break.”
“Two whole weeks.” My mom clapped her hands in excitement. “I can’t wait. Plenty of time for you to tell me about this girl.”
I smiled, just thinking about Oaklyn. “She’s great. Beautiful, smart, determined, funny. She’s so much of everything, I can’t even narrow down the adjectives.”
“She sounds lovely. I can’t wait to meet her. Maybe we can visit and all go out to dinner.”
At that, I looked away wincing. I’d run out of time on keeping the biggest complication a secret.
“What? Are you embarrassed by us?” my mom asked, joking.
“No. We uh—we can’t exactly date.”
She cocked an eyebrow and stared, trying to consider all the reasons. “Is she married?”
“No. Jesus, Mom.”
“Well, what is it?”
My heart raced making me lightheaded. “Um, she’s uh—my student.”
Her eyes shot wide, and she gasped, “Callum Pierce.”
“I know. I know, Mom. I didn’t mean for it to happen. I didn’t know, and I fought it. God did I fight it, but she’s just so much. And with her, for the first time ever, I saw a future. I saw her with me in a future, and I couldn’t fight it anymore.”
Her shocked look softened to sympathy, and I knew it would be okay. She understood, and at the root of it all, if it was legal and consensual, my parents wanted me safe and happy.
“It’s not like you weren’t my intern when we first met,” my dad muttered to my mom. “We had to keep our…activities secret too.”
She blushed, and I cringed. “Ew, Dad.”
He leaned over and kissed my mom on the cheek.
That was the love I wanted—the future I wanted.
There was no way I was getting to it in the state I was in right now. If I ever wanted my dream of Oaklyn and I working out later, I needed to be a better man.
Remembering her in Jackson’s arms, my shoulders slumped, and I wondered if I was too late.
But it didn’t matter. I’d fight for her if I had to.
First, it was time to face everything and be a better man.
I was ready.
chapterthirty-two
Oaklyn
