The Trouble with Faking It / Tyler Seguin

Chapter 16: This Love

Chapter 16: This Love

"no rain, no flowers."

May 8th

Turns out, my idea to adopt Clara isn't very realistic. I don't know why I thought it would be a walk in the park because I'm currently sitting in Jax's office surrounded by piles of paperwork and a very frustrated Jaxon sitting across from me.

"It's not as simple as you thought it would be." He sighs. "You should have came to me in the first place."

"I'm aware of that." I mutter but he isn't listening to me. He's flipping through files with one hand, while clicking away at his computer with the other. We've been at this all day and have been for the past week and it's getting exhausting because it seems as if we're getting nowhere.

He pauses all of a sudden and looks at me.

"If I can get the approval, I think you should go meet her before we move ahead any further."

His suggestion throws me off guard but I know he's right. It's something I have been putting off because I'm still very worried about her reaction to meeting me. Or if she even wants to meet me.

He senses my hesitation because he gives me a small smile.

"I know it's scary but I think you need to talk to her first. You don't know what her reaction will be."

"I know." I say and he nods.

"I'll get you approved. Go home and I will call you soon with the details."

Home. What even is home right now?

An empty apartment. Lonely nights. Hours staring at the phone waiting for a call.

"Yeah, home." I whisper.

May 10th

Jo: How are you holding up?

I stare at my phone because how can I answer that right now? I've been sitting around waiting for a call from Jax and thinking about what will happen between Tyler and I. Will we ever be able to work things out? Maybe we are not meant to be together. It would certainly make sense considering the way things have been going for us.

Me: Not bad. You?

It's an empty response and he'll know better.

Jo: It's not bad here either. Let me know if you need to chat. I can come visit or you can come here. Everybody would be happy to see you.

It's tempting. I know that visiting my friends and family in Montreal would help keep me distracted but I also know that if I go there, it's just bringing me back to my old habits of leaving when things are stressful here in Dallas.

Me: You are welcome to visit anytime but don't worry about me. I'm okay.

He doesn't answer for a bit and when he does, it's a screenshot of a plane ticket to Dallas.

Jo: Axel is coming to visit too. See you Sunday.

I smile, grateful for great friends but I also know that them coming is just a distraction from what I should be figuring out.

Me: See you.

***

"Is Jo single?" Maddie asks innocently and I look up from my dinner plate where I have been pushing my spaghetti around my plate because I don't have any appetite.

"No idea." I say. "Why?"

She shrugs. "He drops things when you need something. Doesn't really seem like you two are 'just friends'."