Page 37 of Call You Mine
Then again, lying to the people I trust most feels just as bad.
We’re going to be spending four days together, sharing meals and rides—hotel rooms—and most of our plans are together.
They’re going to ask questions. They’re going to watch us. They’re going to notice every hesitation, every missed detail, every look that lasts a second too long or not long enough.
Keeping our stories straight already feels impossible, and we haven’t even established what they are yet.
And now with Georgie staying with me, I don’t know if I’m even going to be able to go.
“Maybe we should just tell them the truth,” I finally say, defeated.
I don’t know how much more I can put on my plate.
It feels like my life has turned into a constant balancing act—arms out, toes curled over the edge, making sure everyone else stays steady while I’m barely keeping myself upright. And lately, it feels like everything I’m holding is starting tosway. My footing is slipping, and all of it is threatening to topple over, no matter how hard I try to hold it together.
“Or,” Anderson offers, stretching out the word.
My head snaps up. “I like ‘or’”. I don’t even try to hide my desperation for a solution—one I don’t have to come up with all on my own.
“We can tell them we wanted to keep things a secret until they got serious,” Anderson explains, reiterating the one and only thing we have figured out right now. “I think that is the only explanation that won’t raise too much suspicion, especially from Rumi and Emerson.”
Nodding, I let his words sink in. He does have a point.
When I don’t say anything, he continues, “And we can tell them that with Georgie and you deciding to adopt her, we figured now was the time we finally told everyone because I’ll be helping you with all the CPS stuff.”
I roll my bottom lip between my teeth, feeling like a plan is finally starting to come together. “Rumi and Emerson both know about my decision to try and adopt Georgie, and they’ve been supportive,” I say, more to myself as I try to get my thoughts about all of this straight. “And wecouldtell them that we’re getting married because of the adoption case. That will probably distract them enough from the fact that I supposedly kept you a secret for the last eight months.”
Honestly, it’s all pretty believable, especially if you factor in how busy all of us have been these last few months. Plus, Rumi and Emerson know how I have been against relationships since Jett, so they’ll probably believe I didn’t want to tell them until I was absolutely sure about Anderson and our relationship.
And with the sprinkle of truth in there about Georgie and getting married to help convince CPS I’m stable enough to be her guardian, it makes me feel like we aren’t telling them lie after lie after lie.
“We’ll just need to convince them that not only are wetogether but have been since last summer,” Anderson explains.
I cross my arms over my chest, cocking my head to the side. “Do you put on these types of acts often?”
“Not since my soap opera got canceled.” Anderson quips, letting out a dramatic exhale.
“Aw, bummer,” I feign sincerity. “Is that why you went into firefighting?”
“Turns out I can’t mind my business when things are on fire.”
“That can’t be good for the hero complex.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “My therapist has been on me about figuring out a healthier way to direct my pathological need to take care of the people around me. It’s either being a firefighter or rescuing people off the clock, and I’m sure she’d tell me that isn’t a ‘healthy boundary’.”
A laugh bubbles out of me before I can stop it. The exchange is quick and light, but I think it holds more truth than he’s letting on—truth I needed to hear myself, from someone who gets what it’s like to give so much of yourself to others, barely having enough ofyouleft for you.
I clear my throat. “Anyway,” I start, drawing out the word, “how do we plan on selling this? They’ll be wondering how we kept this a secret from them for so long, and we’ll need to keep our stories straight while also putting on a believable act, not to mention CPS and their investigation into Georgie’s case and then the adoption process. There will be meetings and interviews and home studies and?—”
“Ava?” Anderson interrupts.
“What?”
“You’re spiraling.”
The observation—and his outright calling me out—stuns me for a moment. “No, I’m not.” My voice cracks on the last word. Clearing my throat, I add, “I’m planning.”
“That’s just spiraling with a clipboard.”
