Bound to You

Chapter 42

A few days later, I was walking home from class, texting you.

Hey. Not to alarm you, but your dad just asked for the address of the new apartment.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

Did you give it to him?

I couldn't exactly deny him. He would have known something was up. Just be cautious. I'll be home soon.

I started walking again, but my stomach was in knots. How was I supposed to hold off my father if he decided to show up? What was I going to say to him that would convince him I wasn't living in that apartment? My shit was everywhere.

I walked home slowly, feeling like I was going to lose the lunch I had.

But when I got there, it turned out that it wasn't my father who was the real threat.

It was my mother.

And she was standing in the hallway outside our apartment.

"Mom?" I asked, my voice cracking, and she turned to face me, smiling.

"Oh, Lena. Hi! It's wonderful to see you. Do you happen to know where John is?"

I grimaced. She hadn't flat out asked me why I was here, so maybe she thought I was just visiting you. It wasn't like it was unheard of for the two of us to see each other. Hadn't it been my dad's idea for me to show you all the best parts of New Haven anyway?

"I thought he was here," I lied. "I came by to see if he wanted dinner. I guess he's not home?"

My mother bit her lip and shook her head. "No. He's not. But that's okay. You can let me in, can't you?"

My heart stuttered. The way she said it, so cheerfully, so casual, like it would be completely normal for me to have a key to someone else's apartment.

"Um. No. I can't. I don't have a key or anything."

She looked at me for a long time, long enough for sweat to gather between my eyebrows, at the nape of my neck. And then she came over to me, sticking her hand right into my purse and pulling out my keys.

"What are you--?"

She rifled through the keys, and I listened to them jingle as she picked one, the one that was the most obvious choice. It was a pink key, with hearts all over it, and I clamped my jaw tight as my mother walked over to the door, stuck the key in the lock, and swung the door open.

I stood frozen, watching as she turned and sent me a smug look. She walked over to me and held my keys out. "I've been suspicious for a while, but John moving to New Haven wasn't exactly subtle."

"Does Dad--"

"Your father doesn't know, but I think he's probably on the verge, so I think we have something to discuss." She put her arm around me and steered me in the direction of the open door. Inside, she made tea while I watched her from the living room.

"The two of you are like lovesick puppies," my mother said, opening the pantry and looking for something. "And it's starting to become suspicious that neither of you has been in a relationship for such a long time." She pulled a box of crackers down off the top shelf and turned to me. She set it down on the bar between the kitchen and the living room. "How long have you two been together anyway?"

I shrugged. "About two years. Officially, at least. Unofficially, I've pretty much been his since he showed up."

My mother made a strange face. I was pretty sure it was an how cute face. "I can only imagine that it's a very kind and supportive relationship. Nevertheless, if your father finds out, he'll castrate John. So, I've been thinking. What if I set you up with someone?"

I just scowled at her. "Mom. I don't need you to set me up with anyone. John and I are very happy together."

My mother rolled her eyes. "I get that, sweetie. I'm talking about a decoy. A fake boyfriend. Someone who knows it's not real but doesn't know the whole story. Just to get your dad off your back. And if it works, we can always set John up with someone too. Just someone to bring to dinners and talk to your dad about so he's off the scent."

When I considered it, it didn't exactly sound like the worst idea in the world. I knew we couldn't hide from my dad forever. But if we just kept the charade going until I finished school? That way, if he decided to cut me off, at least my undergrad was finished.

I tapped my fingers on my knee. "You think it would work?"

She grinned at me and came around the bar to hand me a teacup and a saucer with crackers on it. "I know your dad pretty well. He loves to believe what he wants to believe. Give him a fantasy, and he'll roll with it."

I didn't want to know how she knew that.