by Toni Aleo
I think it’s a phobia, but I don’t know. It made me so nervous. Nico didn’t eat, he didn’t talk, and when people tried to talk to him, other than Chandler or me, I felt as if I had to save him. I learned so much about why you should make a donation if you’re a business owner that now I feel like I need to start donating. Problem is, I would probably qualify for a donation myself. I was stricken with worry for Nico, but I learned a lot from those amazing businesspeople, and I made some contacts. I didn’t have fun, though; I was too concerned about Nico. To make matters worse, he didn’t even come in or invite me over at the end of the night. He went home, and it killed me to see him drive away.
In the Google search bar, I type in “phobias.” For the next hour, I read every single phobia known to man between making subs and answering phone calls. I search levels of anxiety, and somehow, I find myself reading a piece about depression, which is a huge mistake because then I start diagnosing myself. I quickly click away from that, and just as I’m about to type “sensory issues,” Callie comes up beside me.
“Why are you searching sensory things?”
“I’m worried about Nico,” I say, but before I can hit enter, Callie turns the computer around to herself. “Hey!”
“Hey back,” she laughs, but I notice her jaw is a little taut. “I need to look up some stuff for school before I head over to the gym. You can wait. Plus, if you’re worried about Nico, ask Nico. It’s not like he wouldn’t answer you.”
I put my hands on my hips. “I don’t like the way you just take things from me.”
She shrugs. “Hey, you’re the one who claims me.”
I lean over, kissing her cheek. “Always will, too, you asshole.”
She giggles as I reach for the stack of envelopes. “But for real, what are you worried about?”
I start to look through the weekly coupons. “He was so off last night. He didn’t eat. He didn’t speak. He was just there. I could feel the fear coming off him in waves. He told me he didn’t think we’d stay the whole night, but we did, and honestly, I think it was because of Chandler. He has a way of speaking to Nico.”
“Made you jealous?”
“So damn much,” I admit as I tear out a coupon for toothpaste. We always run out of toothpaste since Callie uses it on the rips on her hands from the gym. Crazy person. “But it bothered me. I mean, I know there is something wrong—”
“No, there isn’t,” she snaps, and when I look over at her, she’s glaring at me.
“O…kay. No need to get defensive. I’m the one dating him.”
“There is nothing wrong with him. And you definitely can’t be like, ‘Hey Nico, what’s wrong with you?’ That’s shitty as hell.”
My jaw falls open a bit. “Whoa.” I hold up my palms to her. “I am well aware of how to speak to people, and what is up with the language?”
She slams the computer shut. “I don’t want you saying or thinking there is something wrong with him just because he doesn’t handle things like we do. He’s different but in no way wrong!”
Tears are gathering in her eyes, and I’m truly so confused, I don’t know what to say. “Callie, relax—”
“For real! Promise me you won’t use that phrasing with him.”
“I won’t.”
She storms out, taking my computer with her, and I’m left totally baffled. What the hell just happened? I shake my head and go back to my mail. Hormones, man, they’re out to get me. I don’t know if I’ll make it with her. Holy Grilled Cheese Jesus.
When I come to an envelope from the medical billing company that holds my mom’s account, I draw in my brows so much, they practically touch. Before I open it, I think real hard. I sent in that payment. Yeah. Yeah, I did. I tear the envelope open, praying it’s only a statement and not another bill. I pull out the letter, and my check falls out. Now, I feel not only my brows touching but my whole face folding in. What in the hell? I look at my uncashed check and then quickly open the letter.
Ms. Pearce,
Your check, #2809, was not cashed, as your account was paid in full on the ninth of the month. We thank you for paying off your account sooner than we had discussed, and we are returning your check to you so you can destroy it. We wish you well.
Account #18083: PAID IN FULL. ACCOUNT CLOSED.
I think I’m having a stroke. My heart is in my throat, closing my airway and suffocating me. My mouth is dry, and soon, my vision is blurry.
“What in the ever-loving fuck!”
“What? I live here.”
I glance at Callie, and she’s still clutching my laptop while glaring at me. I turn the letter toward her, crumpling it with my hand. “The account is paid in full.”
She looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “I need more than that.”
“Mom’s bill. Paid.” I’m hyperventilating. I lean on the counter as she snatches the paper from me, and when I hear her gasp, I assume she got to the paid in full part. I keep blinking, trying to make sense of how this happened. After I recover…somewhat, I stand up straight and pull my phone out of my pocket. I dial the company’s number and, when they answer, demand to know who made the payment. Callie watches as I yell into the phone. “I need to know who paid this.”
“Ma’am, it says the account was paid in full with cash.”
“Cash!” I screech. “Who in the hell has $300,000 lying around? I sure as fuck don’t!”
“Ma’am, I don’t know. We took the money and applied it to the account they requested.”
“Who was it?” I roar. “I want a name.”
I hear typing, and I just know the lady is about to hang up on me. “There was no name left.”
Why do people just take money without getting a fucking name?
I slam my phone down, and before I slam my head too, I make sure I didn’t crack the screen of my phone. One of these days, I will, and then I’ll be really screwed. Or probably not… My fairy godmother from Walt Disney World will just buy me a new one! Or hell, Santa will bring me one. Easter Bunny might have one up his ass! “What the hell is happening?”
“I mean—”
“No, ma’am. I don’t want you to be all ‘this is great’ or a ‘this is a blessing.’ This kind of shit does not happen!”
Callie’s eyes widen, and slowly she shuts her mouth, looking away. I don’t snap at her often, but right now, I can’t help it.
“I need to know who is doing this.”
The door opens, and Callie turns just as I cut my eyes to the entrance. “Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” My sperm donor crosses his arms over his chest, and I let my head drop to the side while staring at Callie. She looks back at me, and I hold out my hand to him. “See? Do you see?”
Without being asked, Callie heads toward the back, but I know she’s not gone. She’s within earshot to hear everything since she’s a spy disguised as a gymnast. Hell, I might as well send her out to investigate; she could figure out who is sending this money.
“Listen, I don’t have time for this—”
He holds up his palms. “Just want to talk.”
I exhale very dramatically. I don’t want to talk. “What?”
I hadn’t noticed he was holding a manila folder until he hands it to me. “Here.”
I take it, and my hands are shaking. Here it is. The papers that take Callie from me. I open the folder reluctantly as he says, “I talked to Callie a couple days ago.”
My eyes widen, and I’m about to fly off the handle when Callie’s voice comes from the back. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to kill me.”
I close my eyes to keep in the tears. I can’t lose her. I take a few cleansing breaths before I reopen my eyes to focus on the paperwork.
“I’m leaving town for good this weekend, and I asked if she wanted to go. She told me no—she wouldn’t and couldn’t leave you.”
I stop reading to meet his pain-filled eyes. He looks clean and sober, and that surprises me.
“I haven’t
done right by her or you since losing Willow, and I apologize for that. There is nothing here for me anymore. I’ve realized that, and all I do is hurt you two. So, I’m leaving, and those are the papers to make it official that I’m not Callie’s dad anymore. She’s better off as yours than she ever was being mine. She’s the one who said that. She’s the one who said if I wanted to apologize, this was how to do it.”
Talk about emotional overload. A sob leaves my throat, and I bend over, pressing my hands into my knees as I try to draw in breaths. This can’t be happening. Is it real? I look up, and he’s still standing there, watching me with no emotion whatsoever. I want to think this man loved me, us, at one time, but it’s hard to believe he did. Ever. I feel Callie come up beside me, wrapping her arms around me, and I cuddle her hard into my chest. I cup the back of her head, holding her as I cry.
“What the fuck?” The deep, throaty sound of Nico’s voice makes me look up quickly. He’s staring at my dad as if he will rip his head off without notice, but then he comes over to me, wrapping his arms around Callie and me. “Are you okay? What happened? I’ll kill him if he did—”
“We’re fine,” I somehow get out, and he studies us. He looks us over, and I continue to shake my head. “I promise. We’re fine.”
He looks back at my dad, and I follow with my gaze, but my dad isn’t there.
He is gone.
And hopefully forever.
Jaylin stands at my counter, looking over the paperwork as I pace angrily in front of her. Nico is sitting on a barstool watching me and probably thinking I’m a crazy person.
“This is insane. All of it. I mean, I’m ecstatic to have that man out of our lives and not having to worry about him stealing my money or Callie, but come on. Insane, right?”
Jaylin doesn’t look up at me. Instead, her eyes move over the paperwork as she nods. “Callie asked for this?”
“She said she told him this was the way he could apologize to us for treating us like garbage.”
She looks up at me through her lashes and seems impressed. “Did she now?”
“Yeah.” I want to take great pride in that, but there is a lot going on right now.
Later, I’ll be proud and happy that my sister chose me over a drug addict.
I’m anxious out of my mind, so I keep pacing. The paperwork could be bogus, and he could be using it as a way to get us to beg him to stay. Not that it would happen, but I don’t know, it’s a theory. I feel like I have to keep moving. My whole body is shaking.
“Aviva, it’s okay. No matter what, Callie loves you,” Nico reminds me.
“I know, and I swear, I’m good with that. But I don’t trust him. You know how he is. All those times he stole from me, all those times he threatened to take Callie from me, how he blamed me for my mother’s death…”
“’Cause you are cancer,” Jaylin says sarcastically, and I hold out my palms to her.
“Exactly!”
“I know,” Nico says, reaching for me. And of course, I go to him. He draws me between his legs, kissing my temple before he wraps his arms around me tightly. “I don’t trust him either, but I’ve got you and Callie. Jaylin and I won’t let anything happen to you two.”
Jaylin continues to read as she nods. I look back at Nico, cupping his jaw in my hand. “Thanks.”
“Listen, I don’t want you two staying here tonight. Since the shop is closed tomorrow anyway, come stay with me. You and Callie can stay in my room, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
My breath catches. “I can’t kick you out of your room.”
“I’m kicking myself out. Clearly I should have put furniture in my guest room. But I need to break in my couch. I don’t even sit on it.”
I smile. “You’d do that for me?”
He strokes my cheek. “I’d do anything for you.”
I lean in, pressing my mouth to his. He eagerly accepts my kiss and basically steals my breath. When Jaylin clears her throat, I pull away, looking back at her.
I can’t read her face, but I know I’m okay. No matter what, like Nico said, they have my back. I’m strong. I’ve got this. But still, I squeak when I ask, “What?”
“The papers are legit. A cheap, shitty lawyer downtown did it, but they’re legit. He’s relinquished his rights to Callie, giving them solely to you.”
I almost faint, I feel it, but Nico’s arms tighten around me, holding me close to his chest.
“It’s all real, Vee. She’s yours if you want her. I can get the paperwork started.”
My lips quiver and I nod. “Yes. Please.”
“I thought you’d say that, so I’ll get that in the works. It shouldn’t take too long.”
I wipe away a tear. “Can we make sure she names her first child after me?”
Jaylin snorts as Nico chuckles against my jaw. “Nope. She’s naming it after me. My name goes both ways,” she says with a wink. “Like I did in college.”
I laugh out loud as Nico whistles, impressed. With a grin on her face, she picks up her phone, typing something, and then looks up at me. “As for your mom’s account, there is no paper trail whatsoever. Whoever did it wanted to make sure you didn’t know. No contact info, nothing. Just the money, to the cent, was deposited.” She holds out her hands, dropping her phone. “I couldn’t find who did it if I wanted.”
“Can you usually find out?”
Jaylin looks at Nico, a smirk on her face. “I can do anything. I’m that good.”
He nods. “I’ve always liked you.”
She grins as her gaze meets mine. “I won’t stop looking, but… I mean, I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s not a bad thing. It’s actually a great thing. Imagine how much you’ll be able to save now. If you think about—”
“I know, it’s a blessing,” I say dryly, and she laughs.
“Please don’t go around saying it like that. People will think you’re ungrateful.”
“I didn’t want it! I can pay my own damn bills.”
She gathers her things. “Well, you don’t have that one anymore.” She holds up the folder. “I’m taking this with me. I’ll call you as soon as I know a timeline. And if you do get a call from your fairy godmother, let her know I’m in serious need of a dude like Nico but a whole lot whiter.”
Nico scoffs. “I’m Canadian.”
“That is pretty white,” she teases with a wink, and I lean into him.
“Love you,” I tell her.
Her loving gaze meets mine. “You too.”
She goes out the door, shutting it behind her, and I sigh deeply as Nico glides his lips along my jaw. “Are you okay?”
“I am. Just a little overwhelmed.”
“I can tell.” He kisses my cheek. “Anything I can do to help?”
“I like where we are right now.”
“Me too.”
I cuddle into him, closing my eyes. “How do you feel today?”
“Fine? Why?”
“After last night—”
He quickly shakes his head, holding me closer as if to keep me from asking. “Oh no, I’m fine. Last night was nothing. Let’s forget that.”
I take in a deep breath, and the words are right there.
Tell me why you acted like that.
But I can’t right now. I don’t know if it will start a fight, and where I am right now, deep in his arms, protected from everything, is right where I want to be.
Everything else can’t matter.
Or I’ll ruin it.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Nico
Callie is highly upset.
“It’s unfair!” she complains from the back seat. “Amelia gets to go to Barcelona, and I want to go to Barcelona! She is going zip-lining, and she gets to dance in the streets. I am so very jealous.”
If I weren’t a little nervous, I would tease her. Thankfully, Aviva has it covered. “Oh no, are you? I couldn’t tell.”
“It’s not even fair, Vee! She gets to go, leaving me to train by myself w
hile knowing she’s in the one place I want to go. She wouldn’t even have known it existed if it weren’t for me!”
“Yes, because Barcelona didn’t exist until Ed Sheeran sang about it,” she says sarcastically, and I chuckle as she strokes her thumb along my palm.
“Exactly!”
Aviva glances over at me, annoyed, and I smile. I can tell she’s nervous about meeting my family, but she has nothing to worry about. They’ll love her, and they’ll absolutely adore Callie. I’ve been worried about her since the whole thing with her dad happened, but like Jaylin said, it was handled quickly. Callie is legally Aviva’s now, and it thrills me as much as it thrills her. Callie hasn’t known it any other way, so she’s just being Callie. Which, right now, means driving us crazy about Barcelona.
“We can go. Like, with them. She said Chandler said we can go as long as we don’t talk to them. I am totally okay with that.”
I snort. “Chandler would be the main one talking to us.”
“Right?” Aviva laughs, and I bring her hand to my lips. “That’s enough, Callie. Let it go. We aren’t going yet, but maybe we can get some cool suggestions from them.”
I hear a loud and very dramatic sigh before Callie mutters, “Fine.”
“Don’t act like that in front of Nico’s family. We want them to like us.”
I give her a side-eye as Callie says, “Who cares if they don’t like us? Nico does.”
“Motherf—” Aviva mutters, and I laugh. “Calliope, don’t make me kill you.”
“I think you’re supposed to ground me before you jump to murder. I think there is, like, a stepladder with the whole parenting thing.”
Aviva turns in her seat. “Are you trying to piss me off?”
“I want to go to Barcelona!”
I look in the mirror. “Are you on your period? You’re being a whiny brat.”
