Bumps In The Road / Paul Lahote

21. The Proposals

Chapter 21

"Hi, Paul." I stood from my position on the cliff, feeling a gust of wind whip my hair over my shoulders, and turned to face him with a small smile.

"You better not be doing any more handstands on the edge" he grumbled, approaching me and casting his eyes over the edge of the cliff. I followed his line of sight and shook my head, breathing a small laugh.

"No, sir. I've been good." I teased, feeling a hint of satisfaction when the corners of his lips lifted into an amused smile.

"I'm sorry for the parking lot earlier...I didn't mean to make you feel like that." His eyes lowered to the ground with guilt and I could tell he was genuine. His shoulders sagged slightly and his usually confident barrier had crumbled to show his true emotions.

"It's okay, Paul, I was never mad at you. To be honest, I was distracted by something else." I tried to assure him as best as I could without giving too much away, also trying to avoid raising any suspicion that there was a matter occurring. But that wasn't going to be easy, and that was evident by the direction of this conversation.

"What kind of stuff?" He asked, his brows pulling together in confusion. My mind reeled for an answer and my gut dropped with the realisation that I'd have to make up a lie.

"The whole situation with Ryan and my mother. She has already given me crap about it over the phone the last few calls and I'm just feeling some pressure. But it's nothing, don't worry, please."

"Ignore her. Can you just talk to your dad or ask him to make her understand?" He asked, his eyes looking up to meet mine with curiosity. It was an innocent enough question, but little did he realise that he rubbed salt into a everlasting wound. It became aware to me in this moment that he was blissfully unaware of my background.

"My dad actually passed." There was a moment of silence as Paul registered my response. He stepped a little bit closer and gently enclosed his hand around my own, wrapping my skin in a coat of his warmth.

"My dad died, as well, a few years back now. A heart attack..." I let out a sigh at the news, but could relate to the feeling of nostalgia and sadness that swept over him.

"I'm sorry, Paul."

"Me too."

"How did that college meeting go today?" I wanted to move on from the subject just as quickly as I'm sure he wanted to.

"They didn't," he shrugged and pushed his hand through his hair, slightly frustrated. I frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean? You didn't go?" I questioned. He shook his head.

"Ever since I grew a tail most normal things, like college, have been taken off the table and it seems like a waste of time even entertaining the idea." I rubbed my free hand over his forearm and locked eyes with him.