“I thought you wanted to work towards tenure at Oxford.” Worry lines creased over his dad’s forehead.
“I did, but I can’t. I can’t be that close to her every day without being with her.” Wyatt raked a hand through his hair with a desperate groan. “I messed up so bad, Dad.”
“What did you do?”
“We didn’t really like each other at the beginning,” Wyatt said, tossing his pen onto the table and leaning back on the couch. “Mia was in the running for my position at the lab and when I got it, she assumed it was because of you.”
“Which is a pretty serious button for you.” His dad leaned back as well, brown eyes full of compassion.
“I wasn’t exactly nice to her, either. Even after we got involved, it started out as a big game of ‘who can get the upper hand’.” Wyatt rubbed his hands over his face before looking at his dad, desperately seeking an answer. “I thought we moved past that, I thought she trusted me.”
“Trust is everything in a relationship, Wyatt, doesn’t matter what type of relationship it is.”
“I know, and I never gave Mia a reason to trust me.”
“Sounds like she had her mind made up before anything happened between the two of you.”
“Yeah, but I had months to prove her otherwise.” Wyatt’s chest constricted painfully. “All I did was prove her right.”
“Whatever was going on between the two of you, I’ll assume Mia could have stopped it at any time?” his dad asked, and Wyatt nodded. “But she didn’t.”
“No.”
“I think you may be taking too much blame on yourself, Wy,” his dad said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Mia was there willingly, up until the second it ended. She trusted you enough to stick around for much longer than a girl who doesn’t feel safe with you would.”
“When Kylie came to Oxford Mia was at my house, we had just had a big argument and she, uh, broke it off.” Wyatt was washed with a burning slew of shame thinking about that night. “Mia saw how worried I was for Ky, how I took care of her, and she told me she doesn’t think I could ever be that way with her.”
“What was the fight about?”
“I…” Wyatt buried his face in his hands with a groan before looking straight into his dad’s eyes. “I don’t want to lie to you, but I really don’t want to tell you either, so let’s just say I did something very bad and Mia walked away for a good reason.”
“Wyatt, did you cheat on her?” Contrary to his acting skills, Brian Jenkins’ stern gaze was no laughing matter.
“No!” Wyatt hurried to say, his face burning. “Look, I know what I did was wrong, I feel crappy enough without you having to know how much of an idiot I am.”
“Okay.” His dad seemed slightly concerned at his response, but let the subject go. “Ky said you went over to Mia’s place and when you came back you practically dragged her to the airport to take the first flight back to Boston.”
The weight on Wyatt’s chest doubled and his gaze turned to the chart laying on top of his work pile.
“She let me in. I spilled my heart and guts out, and, for a second, I thought there was a chance everything would be okay, but she told me to leave.”
“That must have hurt.” His dad squeezed his shoulder.
“Yeah, but not as much as knowing she can’t accept how much I respect and admire her, how much I love her.” Wyatt shrugged, too exhausted to fight the pain away. “She looked so scared, and I don’t think there’s anything I can do to change that.”
His dad’s eyes filled with understanding.
“You know, your mother and I didn’t get off to a good start either when we…” his dad’s forehead wrinkled, a pinkish hue spreading over his cheeks, and he cleared his throat. “…got involved.”
“Okay.” Wyatt couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice at his dad’s embarrassment. Despite the PG fairytale version they were told as kids, Wyatt had the sense to fill in some blanks about the earlier stages of his parent’s relationship.
Wyatt Jenkins, choosing logic over emotions since he learned how to walk.
“Hey, you okay?” his dad asked with a worried frown, and Wyatt shrugged. His dad seemed to want to say something when they were interrupted by a knock at the door.
“This conversation isn’t over,” his dad said as he stood from the couch.
Wyatt smiled. He really had missed his family, his dad even more than anyone else. It was surprising, considering he left home to step out of the man’s monumental shadow, but also a pleasant realization.