Page 105 of Eight Weeks
I smile, knowing he can’t see that. “I’ll call you back when I talked to my dad, alright? I still haven’t gotten to do that, but I think it’s about time.”
“Okay.”
“Aaron?” He hums, letting me know he is still listening. “Don’t drink too much, alright?”
“I promise.”
“I love you.” It’s no surprise to anyone how easily those words roll off my tongue when said to him. I think deep down I have always known it was either going to be Aaron I fall in love with, or nobody. “Don’t say it back.”
“Okay.”
We say goodbye, and I hang up because he wouldn’t if I didn’t. To my utter surprise, I feel lighter now that I have talked to Aaron, even if it lasted a whole two minutes only.
Hearing his voice never fails to ease my nerves so much more than I think possible. Every time I believe it won’t work, it surprises me when the sound of his voice alone makes my heart beat faster with love for him, and my anxiety vanish into thin air.
“Dad!” I call out, knowing the first room he’s about to enter is the kitchen to get himself an after-work-snack before mum cooks for dinner.
I can watch him stop in his tracks by the door to the living room, a little shocked to hear me call for him. I would be too if I were him.
“Yes?” He drops his bag by the door, walking into the room.
“Can we talk?”
My father nods carefully, slowly coming closer. “You’re not like pregnant or anything, are you? Because if so, you should ask your mother for advice, not me.”
Bemused I shake my head. “No, I am not pregnant, dad.”
He blows out some air, being visibly relieved. My dad takes a seat on the armchair next to the sofa, looking at me without saying a word.
Just spit it out right? Get it over with.
“Do you believe I pushed my grandpa down the stairs and killed him?”Maybe a little too straight-forward?
To not drag this out too much, here’s a little summary of how our talk turns out.
My father ends up saying he never thought I murdered my grandpa, what turned out to be true as it wasn’t my fault. Someone seriously should have told me this years ago, would have prevented a lot of sleepless nights and trauma for me.
The reasons my father and I haven’t been getting along all these years is apparently because I just shut him out, which I did. I did because I thought he blamed me for the death of his father-in-law. And, well, I love holding grudges, apparently. I’m still a little mad he made us move in the first place, but I suppose it’s time I finally let go off of it.
Moving to Germany has been hell for me at first, but my life here turned out to be great anyway. Apart from the cheating boyfriend, the father I didn’t exchange a word with, and the sister I thought hates me.
And maybe the schools. They’re shit too.
But aside from that, my life here was great, so there is no need to keep on holding a grudge for something that did turn out to be okay.
Besides, I am dating Aaron now, aren’t I? So my dreams did end up coming true even if I was an ocean apart from him for thirteen years.
“So, uh, dad. We might have to talk about me moving…”
58
Aaron
“but I know now I found the one I love”—I GUESS I AM IN LOVE by Clinton Kane
Who would have thoughttrying to get to a stupidly small village by public transport would be an Olympic sport? Not me, that is for sure.
But now that I have been in Germany for six hours, currently still waiting for my stupid bus to take me to Sofia’s village, I am starting to believe I should have rented a car. Though, apparently, I am not allowed to drive here because I don’t have an international driver’s license.
