Always

Chapter 63

After hours of just laying together, we finally fell asleep, our bodies curled against each other and soaking in each other’s warmth.  Surprisingly, I slept through the night, and suspected he did as well because when I woke up, he was still curved against my back, arm securely wrapped around my waist as he breathed lightly against the skin on my neck. 

At first I wasn’t sure what had woken me- I was so comfortable and warm that I would have very much liked to stay asleep for a few more hours.  A knock at my door alerted me to what had probably woken me in the first place. 

“Joey?” a voice called throught he door.  My body stiffened as I processed the voice, not the one of my mother, who I had been expecting.  This voice was male- my dad.

“Yeah, hang on,” I called quietly, not wanting to wake Harry.  I gingerly peeled his arm off my waist.  He grumbled in his sleep, subconsciously stretching out his arm and flexing, pulling me back down to him. 

I giggled quietly before tugging it off again and scooting away out of his reach.  I grabbed the first pair of sweats I could find and pulled them on before opening my door and quickly slipping out, unsure of how my father would react to seeing Harry in my bed.  Probably not well, despite his affection for him.

“Hi,” I said, closing my door and trying to control the shock I was feeling at seeing him, especially so early in the morning.  He shot a suspicious look at my door before switching it to me, raising an eyebrow before deciding to not ask. 

“Hey, um, can you talk?” he asked somewhat awkwardly.

“Yeah, sure, downstairs?” I offered, wondering what this was about.  Had he heard about Colt? I don’t really know what he could possibly have to say about that- he’d hardly known Colt even though I dated him for such a long time. 

He nodded in response, giving me a small smile as he turned to head down the steps.  When we arrived in the kitchen, he poured himself a cup of coffee, offering me one, which I declined.  I was already on edge enough from last night, the last thing I needed was to add caffeine to the mix. 

We sat down at the table together while he distractedly stirred sugar into his mug.  I waited patiently, staring at him while he stalled.

“So,” he said, looking at me briefly before dropping his gaze to the table top again.

“So.”

“So… I know you’ve noticed that I haven’t been here,” he started, looking at me nervously.  It was still so strange to see him this way- so tentative and quiet and different in every way from the man I remembered.  I blinked, nodding slowly but staying silent.

“Well I was away for work again, so nothing different, I just felt bad for not saying anything before I left.  I just thought you needed some space and you were dealing with Harry so I didn’t want to interrupt,” he explained, looking at me sheepishly over the mug as he lifted it to his lips to take a sip.

“Oh,” I said, unsure of what to say.  In all honesty, I hadn’t been sure what to think of his sudden unexplained departure, but I supposed that was the best explanation I could have hoped for.  “It’s okay, Dad, I understand.”

I did understand, but I was also too exhausted to bother working up any anger towards him when I innately felt none.

He looked relieved when I wasn’t angry.  “And… I wanted to tell you that I’ll be moving out,” he continued, grimacing slightly as he waited for my reaction, expecting me surely to be angry this time.

Again, I felt no anger.  I had figured he would- couples don’t decide to get divorced then continue to live together, after all. 

“Okay,” I said, my expression blank.  “Where will you move to?”