Page 96 of Worth the Fall
Alan thought about it. “I think you’re right,” he nodded. “Thank you, Ally, for real. I don’t know why I felt like dumping my emotions on you, but I’m really glad you couldn’t sleep.”
I chuckled. “Me too. You’re okay?”
He stood. “Yes, yes, I’m good. Thank you. Sorry, you can go…do whatever you were gonna do.”
“Running,” I answered, gesturing toward my shoes.
He shook his head. “Running is freakin’ torture. Are you sure you’re okay?”
If wereallywanted to get into emotional dumping, I could tell him that I’m running because I have to face my crazy mother today, but I didn’t want to dive into all that right now. “Oh yeah. I really enjoy it.”
“You’re nuts, get outta here,” he waved goodbye, throwing in a smile.
~~~
I was going to vomit.
It was going to happen.
I was so nauseous I was actively looking for a place to barf so I wouldn’t get it all over Colton’s truck.
“Left up here?”
“Yep,” I said shortly, taking long, deep breaths to calm my stomach.
He reached across the middle console and took my hand. “Are you okay?”
No. “Yeah, I just think I ate too much breakfast,” I lied. I had pushed the incredible diner breakfast around until the waitress took it away.
Breakfast would’ve been fun, a good time with the loud Nash family, but I was so preoccupied with the overwhelming anxiety of seeing Mom that I couldn’t hold a conversation.
Jo had put her hand on mine midway through the meal and gave me a “you good?” look, to which I had smiled and nodded.
I’m sure she didn’t believe me.
“Man, I definitely did,” Colton laughed. “Two omelets and a breakfast burrito?” He groaned, stretching his stomach. “And let’s not even talk about the hashbrowns!”
“Oh gosh, please don’t talk about the hashbrowns,”I moaned in my head.
I did not want to vomit, I did not want to vomit, I did not want to vomit.
But for real, those boys could put food away as I had never seen before. It was an incredible sight.
They all ordered enough to feed me for a week and ate in record time, chugging at least a gallon of chocolate milk.
Yes, all of them ordered chocolate milk with their breakfast. Jo had laughed at them and called them children the rest of the meal.
I probably would’ve teased Colton about it, too.
I couldn’t wait to get this stupid meeting over with so I could start enjoying my time with the Nashes again.
“Turn right at this stop sign,” I said, peering out the windows at the all-too-familiar scenery. “And then left into the…the park.”
The word I was not able to get out was “trailer.” I couldn’t tell Colton to pull into the trailer park.
I looked at Colton to see his reaction, but he hadn’t changed his face. “It’s this one…on the right, behind the green car.”
He looked nice, dressed like a “meet the parents” date. He was in a brown pearl snap shirt and had combed his hair under a straw cowboy hat. I even watched him use a lint roller and spray on cologne before we left.
