Nosy Neighbors (book 3)

I'm not going anywhere

Garrett

Shay finally comes over after a few hours. She looked so nervous walking through my door. By her expression I already know she is about to address her run-in from earlier. We sit on the couch in silence for a long while. When she finally speaks she dives right in.

"You walked in on my confrontation with my dad," she sighs looking up at me, "He was never around when I was growing up."

"You don't have to tell me if you're not ready to...," I start to reassure her, but she interrupts me.

"No, I want you to know," Shay says, "When I turned 18 I went looking for him, you know, trying to find out what was missing from my life. At first things were great but when I started making money off of my writing he changed."

"What do you mean?" I ask

"My dad completely changed. At first it was him asking for small gifts or small amounts of money which was uncomfortable, but I gave in because for whatever reason I thought it would make him love me. Eventually, it turned into him opening credit cards in my name. And he even started reaching out to people asking for products and things for me but instead of giving them to me he sold the shit on eBay," her expression is filled with anger just recollecting the past, "His actions ruined business relationships and almost cost me my dream of being a writer. I cut him off and have been distancing myself from him."

"I'm so sorry," I say rubbing her back to provide comfort.

"It just sucks because I feel like I just got him and now I have to let him go," the words leave Shay's mouth and the tears begin to fall.

Her body falls into mine. I hold onto her letting her release all of the pent-up emotion she's been suppressing. While Shay cries I pick her up from her spot on the couch and carry her to the bedroom. I strip her clothes off and dress her in one of my t-shirts. Once the shirt is on I pull her hair into a ponytail and remove her glasses.

I lay her down sliding in behind her spooning her small frame. The only noise in the room is Shay's cries. I continue to hold her, stroking her back.

Once the crying stops I calmly whisper to shay, "I know a lot has happened and you've been done wrong by someone who you cared about but, I'm not him. And I wouldn't do that to you."

I turn her to face me because I want her to not only hear my words but see how serious I am when I say my last statement. Shay looks at me like she's contemplating a reply.

Shay opens her mouth to speak and I kiss her before a word could slip out. Our lips separate and I look into her eyes making sure she is paying attention.

"I'm not going anywhere," Shay processes my words nodding then rests her head on my chest and she falls asleep in my arms.