The Idiots Guide To Insomnia

•••Chapter 30

"When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew."

~William Shakespeare

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"So?"

"Hm?" I quirk an eyebrow at Tanner as I sip on my latte. The coffee shop is fairly empty, except for a young couple in the corner.

"Are you going to tell me what's been going on or not?" He smiles questioningly, but I can see concern written behind that disguise.

I sigh. "Promise you won't tell anyone? I just, uhm, don't want this getting around."

He looks at me pointedly. "Jenna, you know I'm not going to go spilling your secrets."

I look down before taking a deep breath. "It's my dad. He has been bugging my family for some time now."

Tanner's stare turns hard at my words, his expression turning angry. "What did he do?"

"Well, he's been calling my mom and I, and he even showed up on our doorstep a couple weeks ago, claiming he wanted a second chance."

"That man does not deserve a second chance. Not with anything." Tanner looks out the window with a set jaw, anger practically radiating off of him in waves.

"I know," I look out the window as well, my eyes watching the snowflakes as they fall. It's so peaceful outside, and for a second, I let all my worries fade away. However, the next words spill out of my mouth without thought. "But, the worst part about is that he wants custody of Lizzie."

"What?" Tanner snaps his eyes towards me.

I gulp, nodding my head as I try and hold back the tears. "And, m-my mom and I are trying to figure things out but I don't k-know what to do, Tanner." I furrow my eyebrows as I feel tears spring to my eyes. Why do you have to cry at everything, Jenna? Seriously, grow up.

"Hey," he grabs my hand. "Don't cry, okay? Nothing is going to happen to Lizzie, I promise."

I nod, not trusting myself to speak a stable sentence without bursting into tears.

"Why don't we go back to your place and watch a movie or something? It might help you take your mind off things." Tanner speaks softly, his eyes trained on my face.

I wrap my hands around my warm cup of coffee, muttering a quiet reply. "Okay,"

Tanner stands up, and much to my surprise, he offers me his hand, a hopeful expression on his face.

I don't meet his eye, afraid that he might see the blush on my cheeks as I take his hand and interlace our fingers. Sparks fly up my arm, and I look down at the floor, faintly hearing Tanner's chuckle as he leads me out the door and into the snowy afternoon.

"You know, when I was little, my mom used to say that every time it snowed, it was the skies way of saying hello." Tanner says from beside me, a smile on his face despite my depressing mood weighing down the atmosphere.

"Sounds like something your mom would say," I grin, my heart fluttering as Tanner traces the back of my hand with his thumb.

It's funny, because ever since I started realizing my true feelings for Tanner, little things he did that used to not affect me, now make my heart-rate pick up and cause my nerves to go ballistic.

I wonder if he thinks about me the same way.

I snap myself out of it, considering we haven't exactly talked about our relationship.