Something this big needs more than a late night dance session to work through it all.
No matter how conflicted I am about where things are between us right now, I know I need him. So, with shaking hands, I press the button that will connect me to the one source of love and strength I desperately need right now.
“Leo? I need you.”
Chapter twenty
Leo
“What’s wrong?”
I bolt off the couch, ready for anything. In all the time I’ve known her, I’ve never heard Serena sound like this — so broken.
“My dad just called.”
“Shit. Do you need me? I can come over. Wait. Fuck.” I hit my forehead with a groan.Violet.“Damn it, I’m sorry, Tippy. Vi’s sleeping and it’s too late for me to call my aunt. Maybe I could —”
“No, Leo,” she lets out a painful laugh. “You can’t leave your daughter just because I’m sad from a phone call.”
It kills me hearing her minimize her feelings like that, just like it kills me that this is basically just proving her point from the other day at the hot springs.
I’m faced with the impossible choice: my daughter or my love. I have never resented Violet, but in this moment, I wish things were different. I wish there was some way I could be there for Serena while she’s hurting.
“Okay, baby. I can’t come over, but can we switch to video so I can see you? Let me be here for you somehow.”
“Okay.” She sniffs back a tear, then the line goes quiet. I sit back down, quickly switch over to video, and call her back. Sure enough, when her beautiful face fills the screen, her cheeks are red and her eyes are shining with tears.
“Hey, talk to me. What did your dad want?
“He wants to come to town and meet up with me.”
“Now? When did you last see him?” Frowning, I try to remember the last time I saw Serena’s dad. It was before we broke up, obviously, so my memory isn’t clear. But from what she’s told me, after her parents’ divorce, it sounds like he made himself scarce.
“He came to graduation, but that’s it. He was gone right after and I haven’t seen him in person since.” Serena casts her eyes downward, but the hurt in her voice is obvious.
Damn. My heart breaks for my girl. Close to twenty years without seeing her own father. I can’t imagine going more than a couple of days without seeing Violet.
“So why now, after all this time? What could he possibly have to say to you?”
Serena’s watery eyes meet mine through the phone screen as she lifts her shoulders in a shrug. “I don’t know. My mom told me the other day that Dad left because he had a gambling problem or something. Not sure why he stayed away this whole time, so maybe that’s what he wants to tell me.”
“Holy shit. Seriously?”
She nods. “Yeah, apparently he almost blew through my dance school money.”
My head tips back against the couch. “Damn.” I lean forward again and look at her carefully. The tears have stopped, but she still looks, I don’t know, lost somehow. “I wish I was there to hold you.”
“Me too,” she says softly.
I exhale slowly. Being torn in two directions like this really fucking sucks. “Want me to stay on the phone until you fall asleep?”
A small smile crosses her lips. “Like we used to do in high school?”
“Yeah,” I chuckle. “Except this time we’ve got video calls.”
Her head dips down slightly, then she looks back at me. “I’d like that.”
I stand up and stretch my free arm, letting a yawn break free. “Okay. I’m gonna get ready for bed, then I’ll call you back. Deal?”