Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 99918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Chloe stared at the screen, unbelieving, until it went dark again. Reality slowly crept in. She hit the screen button again, bringing the picture back up. “Is this your only picture?”
This didn’t make sense at all. She looked up at Jacob who was taking the phone from her hand. He now carried the same bewildered look they all had.
“It doesn’t make me gay that I have that. They were just cool guys and successful and great tippers,” Jacob rambled, tucking his phone in his pocket, looking away from both girls. Which was a good thing because Chloe was having a complete out of body experience. She looked over to see Allison standing, panic on her face, and holding all of their belongings. She must have been down on this blanket for a while.
“Where are your keys? I’m driving,” Allison said, holding out a hand to help her up. Everything centered into Chloe in that moment. She grabbed Allison’s hand, using her as an anchor to the turbulent storm raining down on her overtaxed thought processes.
“That was my dad.” In her mind, she thought she whispered those words to Allison, but by the look on her friend’s face, she’d just made everything worse.
“Let’s go. Where are your keys?” Allison asked, trying to tug Chloe along toward her car.
“She didn’t know?” Jacob asked, immediately standing beside them. “Oh man, I ruined their secret?” Allison took hold of Chloe’s arm, moving her swiftly to the car.
“Was he there all night?” Chloe asked.
“Tell your dad I’m sorry. Allison, tell him I’m sorry,” Jacob said, following along behind them.
“Stop talking, Chloe. Just stop. You don’t know anything,” Allison hissed in her ear, dragging Chloe faster toward the car. “Jacob, go away.”
“My dad’s gay or at least bi, Allison. He was holding Mr. Wilder’s hand like that wasn’t the first time,” she said, every aspect of that picture seared into her memory in vivid detail. Allison stopped them a few feet from the car. They were all alone, and she turned Chloe to face her. Allison, her very best friend in the world, looked worried as she moved the hair out of her face.
“Whatever happens, I promise we’ll get through it. I’ll always be there for you, no matter what,” Allison said.
“Is that what you saw when you looked at that picture?” Chloe asked and stared at her friend, trying to gauge her reaction. She begged for anything that helped her deny what her eyes had seen so clearly. Except she and Allison were too close. They didn’t need words said between them. “I need to call my mom.”
“You need to think about this. Not react on every impulse like you always do, Chloe Reeves. This is a lot to process and it’s big. It’s life-changing big,” Allison advised.
“I need my phone. I have to tell my mom. This is something she needs to know.” Tears poured down Chloe’s face as she realized the burden she was about to place on her mother. She dug for her phone through the things in Allison’s arms only to remember she had it in the back pocket of her shorts.
“Are you sure you have to do this right now?” Allison begged her to stop by placing a hand over hers as she dialed. Both girls stared wide-eyed down at the phone in Chloe’s hand as Teri’s tired voice echoed on the other end of the line.
Chloe needed her mom more than anything right now. Tears slid down her face, and she lifted the phone to her ear.
“Mom, I have something to tell you,” Chloe said, tears were in her voice as she looked directly at Allison who stood shaking her head at Chloe.
“Are you crying?” Teri asked.
“Yes, Mom. I have something to tell you. You need to listen to what I say, because I don’t want to repeat this again.” Allison stopped moving her head and stared at Chloe.
“Where are you?” Her mother’s voice radiated concern. Chloe was about to rock her world. She had to be strong for her mom right now.
“Are you listening, Mom?” she asked, leveling out her tone.
“Chloe, what’s wrong?”
“Mom, Dad has a boyfriend. It’s Mr. Wilder. I think that means he’s gay. I saw it with my own eyes,” Chloe said and dropped down, clutching her knees with her arm as she gripped the phone tightly. “Oh god, I just betrayed Dad. I should have called him first.” The tears were flowing in earnest now.
“Calm down, Chloe. Tell me where you are,” Teri stated, the concern gone, her voice taking on a harder edge not near the meltdown she’d expected from a women who found out her husband was gay.
Denial. She’d read about this in her psychology course. Her mom was definitely in denial.
“Mom, I’m sorry. Allison said I shouldn’t tell you. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but it’s true.”
“Are you with Allison—hand her the phone,” Teri instructed firmly. Chloe lifted her hand in the general direction she thought Allison was standing. Her mom probably needed the confirmation and Allison had seen that picture too. She rocked on her feet as she listened to them talk.
“Yes, ma’am,” she heard Allison say. There were a couple more yeses before she felt Allison slipping an arm around her. “Come on, I need to take you straight home so your mom doesn’t come down here to get you.”
Teri pushed herself up on the mattress. The lamp light was on and her e-reader lay on its side close to the edge of the bed where she’d fallen asleep reading. She looked at the clock on the nightstand beside her and lowered the phone to her lap. It was already three thirty in the morning.
This was enough. This lie needed to have ended a long time ago.
She never wanted her children to find out this way. Her dreams of a carefully planned vacation with a family meeting scheduled somewhere in the middle were finally dashed—the one dream she’d always looked forward to in ending this farce she and Dylan had created. She sighed deeply. If she were honest with herself, that dream had been destroyed four months ago.