Beauty and the Geek Boy

Chapter 48-Will

*Geek Boy*

"Dad?"

I could hear my heartbeat pounding, so loud that I wondered if it was audible over the phone.

I heard a short gasp, followed by a crash—like something had fallen down. "Will?" his voice was more alert, more awake. "Will, is that you?"

The lump in my throat swelled. I nodded, then remembered that he couldn't see me. "Yes," I rasped.

There was a choking noise. "I—" he cleared his throat. "How are you?" he decided, his voice rough.

My eyes started to burn.

Ask him what to do about mom.

"Why did you leave me?"

The question came out without my permission.

"I—" his voice cracked. "I'm sorry Will."

I squeezed my eyes shut, dragging in a breath.

"Mom's upset," I said quickly, changing the subject. "Jed's not here and I don't know what to do."

"Oh—ok." His voice steadied. "What is she doing right now?"

I glanced into the living room. My shoulders slumped. She wasn't crying anymore. She'd fallen asleep on the sofa.

"She fell asleep," I said.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

My throat tightened. "She—she doesn't like my girlfriend."

I couldn't say anymore.

"Why?" he asked, confusion seeping into his tone.

"She reminds her of Aubrey," I whispered.

There was a beat of silence. "Oh." He paused. "Maybe—maybe you should stop seeing this girl. For your mom's sake."

*

I cleaned up the living room, putting everything back into its proper place.

It was as I was cleaning that I found the picture.

It was beneath one of the sofas.

A framed photograph of our family before the accident. I couldn't breathe as I stared at it. The faces in the image grinned at me. Mom's face was captured mid-laugh. Dad's arm was wrapped around her. James clung to her legs, giggling. Jed carried me on his shoulders.

We looked so happy.

My eyes started to burn.

Was this what she'd been looking for?

She'd erased them so completely from our lives. I didn't even know that she had this picture. That any pictures of our family had been brought here.

Did she look at this picture and think about how destroyed our family was?

I resisted the urge to keep it. I placed it gently on the coffee table, for her to find when she woke up.

I glanced at her, still asleep on the couch.

Her features were softened by sleep, harsh lines settling into exhausted wrinkles. She looked so young—and so tired.

I hesitated, then I strode to a cabinet, retrieving a blanket and covering her with it.

Then, quietly, I left. I tried to keep my mind empty as I made my way to my room.

The curtains were open. Outside, the sun was beginning to set, the sky a grey-blue.

Maybe you should stop seeing this girl.