Second Chance Boyfriend

to Adele and me. I shake my head.
    “So she hasn’t said anything?”
    “Not that I know of.” Cold fear grips my gut at the mere thought.
    “Have you ever considered beating her to the punch?” When I frown, Dr. Harris continues. “Telling your dad before she does?”
    “No way.” I shake my head. “I could never work up the nerve to tell him that.”
    “It might be easier coming from you. Being honest with your father might take an incredible load off your chest. If he hears it from Adele first, she’s won. You’ve allowed her the chance to tell him, to make up whatever story she needs to tell to make herself look better.”
    I study her, let her words sink in. She has a point. I’m way too chickenshit to broach the subject with him, though. “I’ll consider telling him first,” I say only to appease her.
    She smiles. “I’m glad.”
     
    * * * *
     
    The moment I leave Dr. Harris’s office I check my phone. Two missed calls from my dad and one from Fable. I call her first.
    “You’ll never believe what happened.” She sounds excited. Happy.
    “What?”
    “I think I found the perfect apartment. Oh my God, Drew, it’s so nice. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms at a newer complex. The rent’s reasonable and the deposit isn’t too outrageous. I went and checked it out with Jen and it’s beautiful. They already ran a credit check on me and said they’d hold the apartment for me, but I have to come up with the deposit by Friday.”
    Shit. She’s leaving me. “Where’s it located?” If it’s in a bad part of town, I refuse to let her move there.
    “Here’s what’s even better about the apartment. It’s not too far from your place. Like about two miles away, tops. On the other side of the shopping center with the grocery store you like to go to.” She laughs. “I don’t have any furniture but I don’t care. We’ll figure something out. I can shop the Goodwill.”
    “Let me help you,” I say automatically because I can’t not make the offer.
    “No,” she says softly. “You’ve helped me enough already. The money I’m making at The District is outrageous. The tips have been amazing. That’s what I’m going to use for the deposit to secure the apartment. I have some tip money stashed at your place but not enough.”
    “You don’t deposit your tips in the bank?”
    “No. It’s mostly all ones and fives. I like to keep my cash in the pocket of an old sweater. Did you know I had almost five hundred dollars stashed in that sweater in my closet when my mom went through the house? Thank God they didn’t find it.”
    She’s happy she found a place and I should be too but I’m not. I don’t want her to leave. How can I tell her that without sound cloying or overbearing? “Are you going to my place now?”
    “In a little bit. I have to go by and pick up my check. Then Jen will drop me off. Where are you?”
    “Headed home,” I say as I walk toward where I parked my truck.
    “Oh, good. Owen should be there. He just called me and said he was being dropped off.”
    “Is moving going to change where he goes to school?”
    She sighs. “Yeah. He doesn’t mind, though. Says he wants a change, though he’ll miss his best friend. I promised him they could get together whenever he wants.”
    “It’ll work out,” I reassure her.
    “I hope so. I’ll see you soon, okay?” She hangs up before I can tell her I love her and I stare at my phone’s screen, wishing I had said the words.
    Being with Fable has turned me into a complete sap.
    My phone immediately starts ringing again. This time it’s my dad. I answer it, steeling myself for the inevitable spew of words over his hatred for his wife. “Hey, Dad.”
    “Where’s Adele? Have you seen her?”
    I stop in the middle of the sidewalk, causing someone passing by to bump into me. “Why would I see her? Where is she?”
    “I don’t know. We…talked this morning. Then we started to argue and she brought you up. Said she needed to see you and took off in my fucking Jag. Have you seen her? Did she come there?”
    “Of course I haven’t seen her.” Dread creeps over me. Making my head spin. “Why would she want to come see me?”
    “I haven’t a clue. She said she had something to tell you.” He pauses. “Don’t turn her away, okay? Please? Hear her out, whatever she has to say. I’m sure she’s going to you to ask if you would help convince me that the two of us belong together.” He sounds smug, funny considering