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ChapterThirteen

MEREDITH

It’sa couple of weeks before I finally feel comfortable in my own skin again, and only when Logan isn’t around. Luckily, he’s been leaving early, so at least in the afternoon, I can work in peace.

Thank God it’s Friday, and I have a weekend away from Logan to try and get my bearings back.

On the way home from work, my phone buzzes in my pocket.

I pull it out, look at the caller ID, and answer.

“Hey, Dad.”

“Meredith. I wanted to invite you to dinner tonight. Grayson and Lillian and the kids will come by later, but I thought you and I could talk first.”

“Is... is something wrong?” Panic rises in my chest.

What if they’ve found out about Logan?

“No, nothing at all, sweetheart. I just want to see you. I miss you.”

“Me, too.”

Living in that big mansion with my mother can sometimes be suffocating, and being with my dad here and there brings me some breathing space and time I really need.

“Then I’ll see you soon?”

“I’m leaving now.”

We hang up, and I head home first, changing into a simple sundress and letting my shower-damp hair hang down my back.

When I arrive, my father smiles, gesturing for me to come in.

After I walk inside, he hugs me tightly, and I press my face against his chest.

Suddenly, emotion rises in me and my eyes water.

I miss my dad. It wasn’t an active choice that I made, staying with my mother, not at first. And I’m not happy. Ever. But I’m not totally miserable some of the time. Depends on the day.

“I should tell you that I know your secret,” he murmurs close to my ear, and my heart starts racing, trying to escape out of my chest through my mouth as I pull away.

“What secret?”

He snorts. “Come on, Meredith. I know you’ve gotten a job. I keep tabs on my little girl.”

Oh. The job.

I frown. “Are you going to ask me to quit?”

His eyes widen. “Oh, no. Nothing like that, sweetheart. Birds always leave the nest sometime, don’t they?”

“Try telling that to Mother,” I mutter, and guilt weighs me down for bringing her up.

He clears his throat. “I know, I’m sorry about that.”

“She’s just so controlling.”

He sighs. “Yes, she is, but maybe in your case, she has her reasons, honey. I don’t know if you know this, but when you were a baby, you weren’t well.”