Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78007 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78007 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“Heather,” she replies.
I give the phone back to Perry, and they talk for a moment, before he ends the call and sends her number to my cell.
“Are you hungry? Thirsty?” I ask him. “I can get you whatever you need.”
“You,” he says softly, making me soar. “Just you. And I meant to tell you last night before…well, all the excitement.” He snickers, but I can tell he doesn’t feel it. He’s just trying not to focus on what’s happening. “I was talking to my mom, and apparently her girlfriend’s daughter has this eye thing. It’s called convergence insufficiency. Her eyes don’t track right, which makes reading or understanding what she reads hard because sometimes she’s taking in the words out of order. Apparently, she does vision therapy for it, and I thought maybe that’s something you should look into. You have to see a specialist. It’s not the regular eye doctor who tests for it.”
My mouth drops open, and I don’t know what to say. Could that be why I struggle? The thought of having a plan, something in place to help things get better… “That’s good to know. Maybe that’s why I had the issue with the glasses when I was younger?”
“Could be. It can’t hurt to try. I’ll go with you if you want.”
Of course he will because that’s how Perry works. “I’d like that, but we’ll worry about it later. This is about you. Are you okay?” I play with the simple gold chain around his neck.
“As good as I can be. I…feel hopeful. I haven’t experienced that before, when it comes to my dad. Part of me is afraid to try, but I’m so done being afraid. I want to be more like you.”
My eyeballs nearly fall out of my head. “Me?”
“Yes, you, silly puppy. You don’t ever let fear hold you back. The world could use more Theos in it.”
“The world could use more Perrys too.”
“I guess that’s why we’re perfect together.”
Perry threads his arm through mine and rests his head on my shoulder again. We’re quiet for a few minutes, and I try to figure out what he needs. Whatever it is, I’ll do it.
“He’ll be okay, Theo…right?”
Pressure plants itself right on my chest. He’s counting on me to tell him and for me to be right. “Yes. He will. I know it,” I say, hoping like hell it’s the truth.
We sit like that, Ty and Brax in a corner, doing the same, as the four of us wait for news on their dad. I can’t say if it’s five minutes or five hours later when a nurse comes out, and Perry and Ty both shove to their feet.
“Is he okay?” Perry’s voice shakes on the question.
“He’s doing just fine. Everything went well.”
I let out the breath that had been trapped in my lungs since we first found out about Perry’s dad. I’m taking this as a sign that everything is going to start being a whole lot better from here on out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Perry
We decide I’m the one who is going to pick Dad up at the hospital and take him to the hotel. His wife, Marie, is flying out soon. Once we knew he would be okay, she didn’t rush—to give him time with us, I think. I have to admit, I’m nervous as fuck. My stomach is twisting, and I’ve almost vomited three times on the way over. Maybe it should have been Ty and me together? I’d made the suggestion but hadn’t pushed when he said he was busy and it should be just me. That’s Ty’s way of giving me and our dad time together, and I’m thankful for that and also scared as fuck.
For a lot of reasons. We don’t even know each other, for one, and…I look at my vehicle. On the whole, I’m not the kind of guy who’s embarrassed of the things I have or don’t have, but the thought of Montgomery Langley in my small, beat-up car is slightly horrifying.
Or maybe it’s more that I’m nervous I’m going to have a real conversation with my father for the first time. I’m going to be open and honest and work toward having a relationship with him the way Ty does. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it and wish I’d kidnapped my puppy so he could be here with me. Things are a lot easier with him by my side.
Still, I tough it out and finish my drive to the hospital, taking in the palm tree–lined streets and the ocean in the distance. When I get there, Dad is already outside in a wheelchair, a nurse behind him.
“He tried to make a prison break, so I had to come down with him early,” the nurse says.
“I don’t need this chair. It’s ridiculous. I can walk,” Dad grumbles, sounding like a spoiled brat. I think no matter what happens, there are definitely going to be some differences between us.