Meant For You

sixty-seven.

Miles Dempsey

Today was the day.

Nola and I were going to tell her parents about my birth parents.

My girlfriend had slept over at my place last night since we planned to take off to Oak Hill together. It was currently seven in the morning and my body had woken itself up. Nola sleeps peacefully next to me so I try my best to get out of bed quietly. I pull my boxer briefs on and head downstairs to make myself some coffee.

My mind rattles with a bunch of different thoughts. Nola and I stayed up late last night discussing what we're going to say yet we couldn't really figure it out. My eyes burn from the lack of sleep so I put some eyedrops in to soothe the pain. I'm more worried about the person this is going to affect the most which is Nola's mom.

She's most likely going to have a bunch of questions for me but all I know is everything Bethany has told me. I guess that might be everything since she's the only person who knew that Ryle was my father. Besides Mom and Dad but they didn't know him like Bethany did. Nola thought it would be a good idea to have her dad there just in case her mom needed someone.

It makes me worry. That means Nola thinks her mom will need her dad. Meaning her reaction might not be the best. I hate to be the one breaking the news to her but this is how life panned out. I'm her first loves — who tragically died — son who's now dating her daughter. How ironic is that? My head starts to hurt from all the thinking.

After getting to know both of Nola'a parents, I don't want their opinion or outlook on me to change. That will be difficult after they find out but a part of me is hoping it doesn't go terribly and everything remains the same. I'd hate for this to be the thing that ruins my relationship with them. Mr. and Mrs. Scott are important to Nola so they're important to me.

"Hi, cutie." Her voice takes me out of my thoughts. My eyes flit to Nola who stands in just my t-shirt on the other side of the kitchen. "I'm sorry, I tried my best to get out of bed quietly," I apologize. She shakes her head and walks over to me, taking the coffee mug from my hands and placing it down. "Everything okay?" She wraps my arms around her waist and laces hers around my neck.

Trying not to worry her too much, I shake my head. "Just woke up earlier than intended. You should sleep for another hour." I tap her ass lightly. "Come with me," she adds. I nod, "I'll be up in a bit after I finish my coffee." She kisses me for a second before retreating upstairs.

There's no way I'm planning on going back to sleep. My mind was racing and anxiety prickled my skin. It's been a while since I've been so anxious and the uneasy feeling is never fun. I decided to take a long shower to calm my mind. It somewhat worked. By the time I was out, Nola was already awake and getting ready. She smiled wide at me as I leaned against the doorframe, holding onto the towel that sat on my hips.

"Almost ready," she says. Her smile makes me smile lightly and I head over to my closet to look for something to wear. It takes me about five minutes to finish up the rest of my routine and my girlfriend seems ready to go as well. She grabs her bag and we head out. Nola plans on staying in Oak Hill for a couple of days. I would too but I have no idea how things are going to go so I'm not making any plans.

For most of the car ride, Nola and I don't bring up the topic of talking to her parents. We talk about other things that help clear my head a bit. Having her around also instills a calmness inside of me. It isn't until about five minutes before we get to her childhood home that she brings it up. We brought it up last night but there was really no conclusion to that conversation.

I'm starting to think there's no easy way to go into this. At all.
It's a wing-it kind of moment.

The conversation we had was the same as last night. She assured me everything would be fine and that she would be there for me despite what happened tonight. It comforted me but also made me feel a little more on edge. I've come over multiple times throughout these past weeks. It is the offseason so I have a lot more time. It feels like shit lying to her parent's faces. Or not telling them the full truth behind my story.