He sighed. He did know, but it didn’t make it any easier. He’d always struggled trying to understand it, trying to see how to help her. “What happened to the kids who spent every day together? Doesn’t she remember that?”
“Of course, she does. But in her life, really in all our lives—even yours, Rome—there’s a before and an after. She’s stuck in this in between place along with my dad. Neither have moved on to the after. Maybe it’s PTSD, maybe something else, but we have to have patience. We have to love her.”
He did love her. He always had. She was his family, the girl convincing him to break the rules when they were kids, the one he’d have followed over a cliff. In his after, that hadn’t changed, but she had.
Jesse put a hand on his arm. “I know you care about her. She’s like a sister to you too. We just have to believe she’s making progress and help her in whatever way she needs.” He picked up two cups and walked into the living room.
Roman waited a moment to get a handle on his thoughts. Most people didn’t think he had a thought in his head, not the airhead hockey player who was always making jokes. He wasn’t supposed to worry about anything. The rich kid who could do whatever he wanted.
He hoped Cassie still knew him well enough to see someone else, someone who cared about her.
Running a hand through his short blond hair, he pushed out a breath before re-entering the living room.
His cup no longer sat beside the chair. Instead, a suspiciously similar one tilted against Cassie’s lips.
For the first time in a while, she smiled his way, an ornery glint in her eye.
“It’s okay.” He sat in the recliner. “I tend to backwash when I drink.”
Her face twisted in disgust, and she spit the coffee back into the cup before setting it aside.
Settling his eyes on the TV where a hockey commentator shared his opinions, Roman wiped the smile from his face. He wouldn’t let Cassie see how much her reactions got to him.
Once upon a time, he thought that girl was perfect. She’d been smarter than the rest of them with a wicked sense of humor and a nose for trouble.
Not to mention adorable dimples even the kid-version of himself could appreciate.
Over the past many years of silence and the crumbling of their friendship, many things between them had changed.
But that wide-eyed wonder he’d developed as a kid, the image of her he had in his mind… that never had.
It was dark by the time Roman pulled up outside his palatial home. His house belonged in an exclusive part of Gulf City like Wentwood, not the much smaller neighborhood it sat in.
Where the Carrigan house was large, the Sullivan house was grand. Even the pond behind his house—a staple in Florida—was larger than Jesse’s, and also more desolate. No other homes could be seen across the water. Only the birds and alligators inhabited the area along with Roman.
Which was why he was surprised to see his parents’ cars both in the driveway as he walked up the drive from his parking spot on the street.
That couldn’t be good. They weren’t due back for another few days at least. All the jokes and the “I don’t care” attitude he showed to the world disappeared when he stepped through the front door of his own home.
The hall was dark save for golden light spilling out the door of his dad’s office. His footsteps echoed through the house, but that was probably just in his own mind. A foreboding feeling sliced through him as he peered through the doorway to find both his parents seated on the couch along the back wall, bookended by two tall, oak bookcases.
“Um, hi?” He stood in the doorway.
“Roman.” His mom looked up with a soft smile. “Come in, honey.”
“It’s late, son.” His father looked at his expensive watch.
“I didn’t expect you to be here.”
They nodded in understanding. His parents weren’t bad people. They weren’t even bad parents when they were around. They ran a financial services company with offices in Estonia, New York, and London. Their Tampa office was small potatoes compared to the others.
Their biggest flaw was their dedication to their work. It came at the detriment of their relationship with their son.
“Take a seat, Roman.” His father held an apology in his voice. Roman became well versed in their various tones. “We need to talk to you.”
Roman sat on the corner of his father’s antique desk. He knew whatever they wanted to discuss was serious because they didn’t chastise him.
“I’m listening.”
His mom sighed. “I’m not sure exactly how to tell you this, boyo.” She sent a pleading look to her husband.
“We’re moving.”
His dad’s words bounced around in Roman’s brain, refusing to take hold. Moving. Moving. Moving.
Dread built in the pit of his stomach. “What do you mean moving?”
“Our offices in Estonia are expanding, and we’d like to oversee the project for the next year.”
“So, I won’t see you for an entire year? No more coming back and forth?”
His dad met his eyes. “Son, we can’t leave you here alone. You’re not even eighteen for another two months.”
Roman shot to his feet. “You can’t be serious.”
The meaning of their words finally hit him. His parents weren’t moving to Estonia. They all were.
His mom stood. “It’ll be a new start. The country is beautiful and safe. They have wonderful schools and lots to see and do.”
“But I’m a senior. You want me to pack up and move only months before graduation? What about my friends? What about hockey?”
“They have hockey in Estonia.”
“But my team is here.” He couldn’t believe the words leaving their mouths. Now, out of all the times they’d abandoned him, they wanted to do what was right. “Can’t you just leave me here until graduation? I’ve been fine on my own every other time you’ve left.”
His mom reached out to take his hand. “Roman, we’re selling the house.”
He yanked his hand back and stumbled away from her. This was it. Soon it would all be gone. His senior year. His team. The Carrigans.
What would he have in Estonia? Parents who were never around and a foreign country surrounding him.
“No.” He backed away.
“Roman.” His father approached him.
Roman shook his head. “This isn’t happening.” He turned on his heel and marched through the dark house, climbing the stairs to a room that wouldn’t be his much longer. He closed the door, expecting his parents to have followed him.
But true to form, they let him be.
They only decided to be parents when it would upset his entire life.
Perfect.
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About Michelle
Michelle MacQueen is a USA Today bestselling author of love. Yes, love. Whether it be YA romance, NA romance, or fantasy romance (Under M. Lynn), she loves to make readers swoon.
The great loves of her life to this point are two tiny blond creatures who call her “aunt” and proclaim her books to be “boring books” for their lack of pictures. Yet, somehow, she still manages to love them more than chocolate.
When she’s not sharing her inexhaustible wisdom with her niece and nephew, Michelle is usually lounging in her ridiculously large bean bag chair creating worlds and characters that remind her to smile every day - even when a feisty five-year-old is telling her just how much she doesn’t know.
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Also by Michelle MacQueen
The Gulf City High series
Jesse and the Ice Princess
Roman and the Hopeless Romantic
Spencer and the Younger Girl
Nate and the Invisible Girl.
Redefining Me:
Dating My Best Friend
Dating the Boy Next Door
Dating My N
emesis
The Invincible series:
We Thought We Were Invincible
We Thought We Knew It All
Discovering Me:
Dating Nashville
Dating Washington
Dating Texas
The New Beginnings series
Choices
Promises
Dreams
Confessions
Jesse and the Ice Princess (Gulf City High Book 1) Page 17