Page 77 of The Perfect Secret
“You don’t want me here?”
“Of course I do. I’ve missed you. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want. But your dad needs to know you’re safe.”
Hannah suppressed a laugh at Tess’s dramatic sigh as the teen texted her dad. Her phone buzzed immediately.
“Was that him?”
Tess nodded and stuffed her phone in her pocket.
“Do you have photos from your art show?” Hannah asked.
Tess’s face brightened. “Most of them.” The three women sat on the sofa and looked through the pictures. Tess’s talent impressed Hannah, and she complimented her. A knock on the door interrupted their study of the artwork. Hannah rose to open it and stood face to face with Dan.
Her mouth went dry. Her heart thudded in her chest. His wood, musk and spice scent wafted around her and created a longing deep in her soul.
“Where’s Tess?” Dan looked past her into the apartment.
Hannah swallowed. All desire fled. He’d thrown her away. No matter what reason Tess gave, the sooner Hannah got over him the better. She stood back and pointed down the hall, and followed him as he rushed toward Tess, unsteady, but faster than she’d ever seen him move.
“She’s in the living room.”
When he stopped at the entry to the living room, he wobbled. She reached out a hand to steady him.
He shook her off and barked at Tess. “Come on, Tess, we’re going home.”
“No.”
“Tess.” He ground out the word between clenched teeth. Hannah sucked in her stomach at the anger he tried without success to bank.
Tess glowered at him and folded her arms against her chest, sinking into the sofa as if she planned to become one with the chenille cushion. “I don’t want to go anywhere with you. I want to stay here.”
“You’re fifteen. What you want doesn’t matter.” His hand shook. He clenched it at his side.
Hannah’s eyes widened. Under normal circumstances, she’d disappear with her grandmother into the kitchen, to give them the privacy they needed. Dan would understand it. He might not acknowledge it, but he’d realize her motives. However Tess wouldn’t. She already thought Hannah abandoned her by not going to the art show—an unintended casualty of the breakup with her father. What would Tess think if Hannah walked away now?
Tess’s eyes filled with tears. “I hate you.”
“I know.” Dan remained motionless except for the tic in his jaw.
With a mutinous look on her face, Tess flung herself off the sofa and marched past her father out the door. Hannah watched them go. As Dan reached the door,Bubbepressed something into his hands. He stiffened and left.
“What did you give him?” Hannah asked her grandmother.
“Help.”
He gripped the pamphlet Sylvia had given him as he sat in the cab next to Tess.Next tomight be a slight exaggeration. Tess huddled against the opposite door, leaving as much space as possible on the ripped vinyl seat. He had a feeling if there werea way for her to melt into the door, she would. Actually, if there were a way for her to throw him out of the cab, she’d probably do it.
Once inside their apartment, he forced his fist open and looked again at the pamphlet. Narcotics Anonymous. Crumpling it between his fingers, he threw it in the trash. He didn’t need their help. He’d conquered his addiction. He was fine.
As long as he paid no attention to the paralyzing fear he’d felt when Tess disappeared. Assuming she’d gone to Lexi’s, he’d waited ten minutes, giving her a chance to calm down before he’d walked down the hall and knocked on Lexi’s door. When he found out she wasn’t there, the building tipped. He’d had to use all of his strength to remain standing. Flashbacks from when he’d found the apartment ransacked years ago clicked through his mind on an endless loop, broken only by the concern of Lexi’s mom. With a brief nod, he’d limped to his apartment to figure out what to do next. In the thirty minutes it took for Tess to text him, he’d crafted a plan to find her that would have been the envy of SEAL Team Six. Only when her text dinged had he calmed down. Now, he told himself for the fifth time—or was it the sixth—he was fine.
Someone disagreed with him, though, because throughout the rest of the week, the damn pamphlet, wrinkled but readable, reappeared in the strangest of places—the kitchen counter, the bathroom mirror, under his pillow. Each time he found it, he threw it away. Each day, it reappeared somewhere else. The most creative place was his pants pocket.
He let it continue because he knew this was Tess’s way of communicating with him, and if she was communicating, he wouldn’t stop it. Especially since she’d given him the silent treatment for the past four days. But when he opened his briefcase in the middle of a meeting at work and found it, he putan end to it. After a quick trip to the shredder in the mailroom, he knew he’d won.
He had a sneaky suspicion it was a pyrrhic victory.
That night for dinner, he brought in Tess’s favorite—Thai food. She picked at it and wouldn’t look at him.