Beyond The Waves

Ten | Motherly Instinct

WESTON DID NOT break his promise and bail on me. At six-forty-five, he knocked on my front door while I slipped on my shoes and prepared to attend the place I knew would put me in a foul mood.

"We're not wine-pregaming?" the displeasure in his voice was evident.

I pulled locked the front door behind me. "Nope, not tonight."

"You sure you wanna go? It is not too late to back out."

"Did you say blackout? That wasn't on our list of things to do tonight, but I'll consider changing plans."

He released one short laugh, and my cheeks immediately turned crimson from the sound. Another laugh. This was new, and it was an advancement. I wasn't sure what had changed within him in the last two days, but I didn't mind his sparse smiles and laughter.

Nevertheless, I could not pretend I was going to this meeting solely for myself or out of the kindness of my heart.

I couldn't get Zoe Lincoln out of my head since I overheard the two women talking in the cafe. She and Wes had a history, not that it was any of my business, and I was curious how their relationship went south enough for the whole town to shun him.

It seemed people were associating us together now, which I didn't mind, but it was not like we were romantically involved. He wasn't making his rounds. Hell, the guy smiled at me for the first time in three weeks.

However, Zoe was an entirely different story.

She was the only child of the Lincolns, and Nora was nothing short but protective over her only daughter. Unlike her mother, Zoe was kind and soft-spoken in high school and was favored by default because of her family's status.

I hadn't known Zoe well, but she and Wes seemed like an odd pairing, and how they knew each other was beyond me.

I watched him in my periphery, his fingers drumming on the steering wheel to some radio song. His head bobbed along, too, barely noticeable, and my heart hastened.

At that moment, I must've looked at him too long and closely because I saw an entirely different man sitting beside me.

The lines on his face were soft. His tired eyes, having seen so much sickness, were also gentle. The rigid, reserved man I met on my dock and in the doctor's office was nowhere to be seen. Was this the true Wes? Was there a genuine version of myself I had yet to show him, or had he already seen me?

I gulped deep breaths when we pulled into the lot. Thanks to the adrenaline and preparation I had before coming, I was not nearly as anxious as the last meeting. I knew I would hear about my dead parents tonight, so I put my game face on.

"If you wanna leave at any point, just give me a look, and we can go," he said, following the flock inside.

"Alright."