Second Chance Boyfriend

love you.”
    My heart eases. I’m reassured by her sweetly spoken words. “I love you too.”

 
     
    Chapter Eighteen
     
     
    Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
     
    Drew
     
    “So she’s moved in with you.”
    “It’s temporary,” I’m quick to tell Dr. Harris. I know what she’s thinking. What everyone will think, though it’s not like I know a ton of people. We’re moving too fast, Fable and I.
    But it’s been almost a week since her mom abandoned her and Owen. I just can’t kick her out. They have nowhere to go. Besides, I like having Fable living with me. Owen and I have come to a somewhat uneasy truce. I know he’s not my biggest fan, but the kid is polite, keeps his room clean and doesn’t give me any trouble. Not that I believed he would.
    He’s a good kid. Fable’s raised him right.
    Doc is tapping away at her iPad. Probably noting how worried she is that I’m living with Fable. “Are you all getting along?”
    “For the most part.” I can’t lie to her. “There was tension at first, most of it coming from Owen. He’s hurt that their mom did this.”
    “Understandable.”
    “He blamed Fable at first.”
    “Also understandable. We sometimes look to put the blame on others because we don’t want to believe the truth.” She looks at me pointedly. “We also tend to blame ourselves.”
    I know all about that. I get it. “They’ve hashed stuff out, but it’s still a little tense between them. So that means it’s a little tense between Owen and me. But overall, he’s a nice kid. I feel bad for him.” I remember being a teen. My entire world changed in a blink of an eye. I lost all my innocence, my childhood forever.
    This betrayal by his mother has taken Owen’s childhood away from him for good.
    “Has the mother resurfaced at all?”
    “Fable finally received a text from her a few days ago.” And it had infuriated her. Only two sentences, it sent Fable into a funk that had her stewing the rest of the night.
    I’m so sorry. Someday I hope you’ll understand.
    Fable deleted it immediately, calling her mom every horrific name she could think of.
    “Your relationship is already a delicate one. Doesn’t this situation put unnecessary stress on the two of you?”
    “If we can get through this, we can get through anything, don’t you think?”
    Dr. Harris offers me a kind smile. “One would think. Such a momentous move while in the early stages of your commitment to each other can also turn everything sour. Are you afraid of that? Of losing her after finally getting her back?”
    I’m always afraid of losing Fable. The fear stays in the back of my mind 24-7. Most of the time I push it aside and focus on the present day.
    “She needs me.”
    “And you need her, don’t you?”
    “I do.” I take a deep breath. “You won’t want to hear this, but I’d prefer if they lived with me. I like having her there. We don’t spend every waking moment together since she’s working full-time lately and I’m in school, but I like…” My voice trails off.
    “You like what?” Dr. Harris asks.
    “I like having her in my bed every night. Waking up with her every morning. Just knowing she’s with me gives me a sense of peace I can’t remember ever having in my life.” I rub my thumb against my knee. “I don’t want her to leave.”
    “She will eventually. It sounds to me like Fable is a very independent person, right?”
    “Yeah.” I don’t want to talk about her any longer. I don’t want to think about her leaving me, even if it is just to live on her own.
    As if she can sense me closing up, my shrink changes the subject.
    “Have you heard from your dad?”
    “He called right before I came inside. I didn’t answer.” I feel guilty for sending him straight to voice mail but I can’t deal with another rant. And that’s all he does when he calls.
    Rants about Adele and how much she wronged him. How badly she humiliated him among their friends and his colleagues. He’s the laughingstock of the country club, she’s flaunting her young piece all over town. On and on it went.
    I’m over it. I’ll be there for him but he still hasn’t filed divorce papers. I know deep down inside he’s waiting for her to come crawling back and beg for his forgiveness. Fool that he is for her he’ll probably take Adele back.
    I can hardly stomach the thought.
    “He still doesn’t know?”
    She’s referring