Sparks ✔️ EDITING

C H A P T E R 28

"Okay, okay. Mason and Jak-," I started.

"Both like you?" He finished.

"How'd you know? Oh. Wait. Father instincts, right?"I teased.

"No actually, anyone can see the way they both look at you. You don't need father instincts to see that."

"Does everyone in the house know?"

"Your grandma, mom and I know. I don't know about the others," he shrugged."So let me guess. Mason told you that Jake likes you, and then he told you that he also likes you and now you're here."

"Pretty much. But I don't even know if Jake truly likes me," I replied.

"You haven't asked him?"

"I haven't seen him since I left the beach house to see Mason," I stated.

"I'm going to give you some advice."

"Oh gee, here we go," I laughed, rolling my eyes.

"Alright, alright, I won't tell you," he defended.

"No now you have to tell me."

"In my eyes, you're afraid to like someone because you're afraid to lose them. And my guess, is that you're more afraid to lose Jake than you are to lose Mason. Which means, you like Jake more that Mason because you rather lose Mason over Jake. The thing is, you don't know if you'll live the rest of your life with neither one of them and that scares you. But honey, people come and go. I had a girlfriend before I met your mother, and I thought I was going to have a happy family and married life with her. Then she moved across the country and we broke up. Couple months later, I met my future wife, your mother and in my gut, I knew she was the one all along. You need mistakes in your life to make the high points in your future visible. So if you want to date Jake, and I know you do, date him. And if Mason doesn't stick around to continue being friends; he was the mistake and Jake is the high point," he explained.

"Wow, you're really good at this father instinct crap," I laughed.

"It's a gift," he shrugged.

"But you're right. I don't want to lose either of them, but something about Jake is just... better."

"Then there's your answer. This is what you needed to convince yourself ever since you met him. Mason was just an obstacle and it doesn't mean you two need to stop being best friends, but it's time for you and Jake to become something more," he finished.

"And you're okay with me dating a guy?"

"Yes, because every father knows, that a guy/girl is going to come into their child's life and you need to let them be. You can't be the one to hold them back. If Jake makes you happy, why would I stand between you? But now if he hurts you physically or mentally, I'll go into father attack mode. But Jake is a good kid, I trust him."

"Thanks dad," I smiled.

"No problem nugget, now... race you to the top!" He screeched, getting a head start.

"Cheater!"

"Don't hate the player, hate the game," he laughed.

***

"You okay?" I asked my father as he stopped to take a breath on the way down.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit dizzy," he replied, sitting on the ground.

"Do you need water or something?"

"No I just need to rest," he replied.

Something was off. Ever since my father came back home, my mother and father have been keeping something from me. I don't know if any of the guys remember, but when Payton slapped me and Mason was starting up the car to pay a visit to her; I begged him not to, and we got out of the vehicle. But as we did, I saw my mother and father talking on the porch; it seemed pretty serious.

When my father needed to sit down, the flashback of that day came back. My father might say it's nothing, but I have a feeling he told my mother something and it's related to this incident. He never took a break during the past few times we hiked up and down the hill, so why now? Why would he keep something from me? Why doesn't he trust me? How can I figure out what's going on with him?

Wait...

His journal.