Every Part Of Us

12. Not a kidnapper

I let myself relax. As Connor continued to joke around with me and the afternoon went on I didn't let my mind ruin any of this.

I was happy and I pushed all those thoughts deep down and just fucking relaxed. Whenever one of those thoughts popped into my head I forced myself to ignore them.

Just like I was doing now. As Connor was bickering with Jet about some contestant on survivor, who apparently Jetson liked and Connor thought was annoying. My brain wanted to supply me with memories of Connor from before. It was hard to fully replace that version of him in my head with the sober one that was in front of me.

But that didn't mean I wasn't trying. It would take time but I knew that eventually there wouldn't be any force needed. Being Connor's friend would come just as easy as it had when we first met.

I blinked out of my own thoughts at the sound of my phone going off. I glanced down to see my dad's contact lighting up my screen. It wasn't common for him to call me, it's not like he never did but it was usually short calls to let me know if his schedule changed. We mainly talked on those times we'd catch each other as he was coming home and I was getting ready to head out.

It worked for us.

So it was sort of a surprise to see him calling me. I stood up from the couch and made my way out of the living room giving myself some privacy since I wasn't sure exactly what the call would be.

"Hello?" I answered.

"What the fuck is this?" He asked frustration all in his tone.

I let out a sigh. I obviously had no clue what he was talking about. But it also wasn't a surprise I did something to annoy my father. While I loved the guy and I knew he loved me we tended to butt heads.

"I wish I knew." I replied.

"You can't just disappear and leave some bullshit note. Are you serious? You write going to see a friend I'll see you when I get back. You do know that sounds like some kidnapper wrote that shit and is currently chopping you up into little bits."

"I'm not being chopped up into little bits, I'm fine. And if I was getting chopped up into little bits I think that would mean the person was a murderer not a kidnapper."

"You might want to stay with this friend a little longer because when you get home you might end up in little bits." He grumbled.

I knew that was just his way of telling me he cared. I'd learned the language of my father years ago and it was easy to translate all his joking frustrations to love.

"That's a threat, I don't think you can threaten your own kid,"

"I'm your dad I can do whatever the fuck I want."

"I'll be back home tomorrow to get rid of all the sharp objects in the house." I told him.

"I've got work tonight so I'll probably be asleep when you get on the road but call me if you need anything. I'll keep my phone next to me just in case."

I let myself smile. All the unserious shit my dad said and it was stuff like this that reminded me just how good of a dad he really was. All growing up it was sometimes hard to remember that because of how much he worked but he had tried his best and that's all that mattered to me now.

"Ok I will." I nodded even though he couldn't see me.

And just like with all the other phone calls I'd had with him he never really did the whole goodbye thing. He just said alright and hung up before I could get another word in.

I think I got my inability to say the right things in social situations from him. I got a lot of things from my dad though.

Somehow taking a step out of the living room with Connor had made it harder. When I turned to walk back in I felt that hesitance again. That feeling I usually felt with Connor.

It was stupid but I let myself take an extra second to put off walking back in a little longer. I wanted to rebuild this but somehow walking back in seemed so much harder now that I had taken a step away.

"Need a push?"

I turned at the sound of a voice and the second my eyes met the familiar face a whole new wave of emotions hit me. I felt that rush of excitement but the anxiety quickly squished that all down.

There had been a part of me that drove here just to see Reid. Even if I had needed to make things right with Connor I had chose now just to be able to see Reid. After weeks of texting and late night phone calls I had wanted to actually see his face.

And now he was right in front of me. It was exactly what I had wanted and still my body buzzed with nerves.

"I didn't know you were here." I blurted out.

"I'm here almost every day."

His words reminded me of everything going on. He'd told me about his argument with his brother, the way things were strained between them. He'd sounded sad when he talked about it and now I couldn't stop myself from searching his face for any of that sadness.

"Things with your brother still not good?" I questioned not being able to help myself.

"Is that why you're here? You wanted to come check on me." A wide smile spread across his face and I couldn't stop as my own smile reflected his own.

"I'm on an apology tour." I shook my head not ready to admit his words were the truth.

"I'm assuming it's going well since you're hiding over here." He teased.

I let my teeth grit together as some of that anxiety rushed back. I wanted to scratch out all the bad parts of my brain. The pieces that made this so hard. I felt that initial instinct to snap, to say something I knew I would regret. Usually I wouldn't care because I'd learned to accept I wasn't cut out for making friends. But with Reid I felt myself really wanting to try.

"I'm not hiding."

"Right." He extended his hand out towards me. "Come on then."

I pushed through all the parts of myself screaming to walk away. To stay right where I was in that safe spot away from everyone. I didn't listen to anything but that soft voice telling me I wanted to follow Reid, I wanted to spend more time with him.

So I let my hand fall into his and let him lead me back towards the living room.

A/n:

I've been feeling very inspired lately to write. I've gotten back into it and it feels really good to have fun with my books again. Writing this story has been hard at times but Adam and Reid have my heart. I just hope that you all are enjoying what I'm putting out for you.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
-Cora Leigh