37. Gigi
CHAPTER 37
Gigi
Here goes nothing.
Here goes everything.
“Mom, Vince.” I take a calming breath. Three of them, actually. Luke wanted to be the one to break the news to them, as well, just like he did with Andrew’s parents, but I said no. Maybe if it comes out of my mouth, it will soften the blow for my mother. Luke’s family might be cool Christians with their rock bands and bake sales, but Mom? Despite her getting pregnant with me and the divorce, my mother was raised an old-school Catholic. I’m lucky if she doesn’t take out her bottle of holy water and DIY an exorcism here at home. “Maybe you’ve noticed that ever since Luke and I came back for summer break, we’ve been close.”
“And I’m so happy for you both,” my mother gushes. “I was always sad that you were an only child. Now you have a brother and a sister.” Well, shit.
Scratching my temple, I let out a nervous chuckle. This is not funny. Not fucking funny at all. But I can’t stop and Luke is gawking at me like I’ve gone insane. I clear my throat. “Uhm, okay, let’s start this again,” I say, causing everyone to look at me in confusion.
Congratulations, Gigi. You’ve made it worse.
“Honey, what is going on?” Mom asks. “Can this wait until tomorrow? I’m sure Vince would like to get some rest, and I have to be at the hospital in a few hours.”
“Luke and I are together.” There. I said it.
Mom’s eyebrows reach her forehead. I think she’s shell-shocked because she’s not saying anything. She doesn’t even look disappointed; her face is blank.
A pale Vince is the first one to react. “Together as in a couple?”
“Yes, Dad,” Luke answers.
“For how long?”
“Since spring break.” I don’t miss the different tone Luke is using with his dad in comparison to the one he used with his aunt and uncle. I bite my bottom lip as I think about how this news will probably worsen their already strained relationship. I just want Luke to be happy and I wish I knew how to make this better.
“Your uncle Mike will have something to say about this,” Vince grumbles. “They’re not going to be happy.”
I want to tell Vince that they already know, but Luke beats me to it. “We talked to them first,” is all he says. Whatever he wants to do with his career, I hope he’s not planning on becoming a diplomat.
Before Luke rattles his father some more, I interject. “Luke and I went to Marble Crest to visit Andrew’s grave and to have coffee with them. We decided to break the news to them then. We thought it would be best for them to hear it from us than other people.”
“And I’m the last one to know, huh? You’re dating my wife’s daughter, and I don’t even get a phone call first as a common courtesy,” Vince huffs as he turns his gaze away from the both of us, looking outside the window. He’s not even addressing me. All of his frustration goes to his son. My heart aches for Luke, remembering the story he told me about his childhood.
Earth to Mom? She looks like she might be mute. I think I broke my mother.
Next to me, I feel the tension seeping out of Luke. He pins his father down with a glare but decides to say nothing. Proving my point further that he sucks at diplomacy, Luke opens his mouth. “We don’t have that kind of relationship.”
Lucas Palmer. Straight shooter. And when he wants to be, mean. I have been on the receiving end of this crap. As much as I think Vince is far from perfect, that must have stung. I don’t need to complete my bachelor’s in psychology to know that this conversation is not about us dating anymore.
“It’s wrong, son,” Vince sighs, shaking his head. He gestures his hand toward me before letting out a frustrated exhale. “She’s Andrew’s girl. Think of what people are going to spread around town.” Stab my heart, why don’t you, Vince?
Luke barks out a bitter laugh. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s about to kill his father with his bare hands by the way murder is written all over his face. I always thought Luke hated me in the beginning; I was wrong. Luke was only annoyed by my presence. This is what it looks like when Luke despises someone.
“Isn’t that rich coming from you, Dad? You’re really going to tell me what’s wrong and right?” Luke stabs his own chest with his finger as his tone gets angrier and angrier. “ I should think about what other people are going to say? Really?”
“Luke, calm down,” I try to warn him. Defuse the situation. But it falls on deaf ears.
“Look in the goddamn mirror,” Luke sneers, completely ignoring me. I don’t like the glint I see in his eyes when he turns his head to face my mother. “Does Bianca know about you, Dad?”
I see Vince’s face turn a shade of red, exactly like one of those cartoon characters that would have fumes coming out of their ears.
“Luke, don’t do this right now,” I warn him again, knowing there is only a 2 percent chance he might listen. Luke is on a mission at the moment, and it’s to obliterate his father. I can’t say I blame him, I just wish my mom was not the collateral damage.
Luke actually turns to me, breaking out of his angry trance. I use the moment to mouth Think of happy thoughts, Luke to him. Again, and again, and again until his face softens. He gives me a slight nod before turning to face Vince again. “Accept it, or don’t. Do what you want, Dad. You always do, anyway.”
I rush to the door when Luke starts marching out of the house like he might catch fire if he stays a minute longer. I catch up to him just as he’s yanking his car door open. “Luke, where are you going?”
“I’m going for a drive.” Gone is the gentle and loving Lucas Palmer I have gotten to know these past few months. This one in front of me is reminiscent of the Luke from before we were together. Closed off. Brooding.
“Let me come with you,” I say, certain that I can make him feel better. He just needs a long hug. Intimacy.
“No.” He must notice the change in my mood, because the tone of his voice softens, giving me a glimpse of the Luke that I have grown to love. Luke cradles my head as he pulls me into a hug. He kisses my temple, but he gets in his truck anyway, still not extending me an invitation to come on his stress release. “I’ll be back, Gi. I just…” Luke pauses. “This isn’t about you, okay? I just need a minute to be alone.”
Alone . Something that Luke never asks of me. To leave him alone.
“I love you, Luke.” The words sound different this time. Not a confession. Not a promise. A desperate plea coming out of my mouth that he won’t do anything reckless. I already lost one Palmer boy. “Promise me you’ll drive safe? Don’t do anything stupid?”
Luke shoots me a lopsided smile that calms my heart. “You know I always do, Gi. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
As he drives off with the windows down, I hear him tell me he loves me, too.
Watching Luke’s truck get smaller the farther away he is, my brain starts doing its thing and overthinking. Vince’s words echo over and over again like a broken radio. It’s wrong. That’s what he said. That’s what Luke’s father thinks of our relationship. I can’t believe we got away with being together without anybody telling us what we’re doing is wrong until now. Our friends just thought it was hilarious and Andrew’s parents, by some miracle, didn’t react as badly as I thought they would.
Luke’s dad has spoken the words aloud now, and I can’t unhear it.
Think of happy thoughts, Gigi. Picture the ocean. Picture the park. Picture Luke. Picture Luke. Picture Luke.
Tears sting my eyes, because the only image that’s playing in my mind is Vince’s disappointed face. It’s wrong.