Page 40 of Isolation

Milo’s actions right before we got caught were despicable. He wants to believe that my physical reaction is consent. Fine! We have had sex plenty of times. I will pretend it was one of those times when we had a consensual relationship, and blank it from my mind. Call it charity.

The look on my religious father’s face, who believed that I was still a virgin, left me feeling humiliated. But okay, I can deal with that too. All fathers have to find out someday that their little girl is all grown up.

The physical pain and limited mobility after falling down the stairs have been more than challenging over the last couple of weeks. I can get over that too. After all, it was my decision to run.

However, the only thing I cannot get past is what that moment did to Reid.

If Milo knew how Reid felt about me and was behind it in any way, honestly, I don’t know if I can maintain this new found civil relationship of ours, despite Tessa’s condition.

“My turn,” he declares instead of answering my question. It’s the second time he has dodged this question.

“Your turn?”

“I assumed we were taking turns asking questions.”

“Okay, what would you like to know? Any topic except how Ispaced outthe other night,” I use my fingers to make air quotes around the wordsspaced out.

Milo doesn’t say anything, which means that’s the only topic he wants to discuss.

We sit around in silence for a little while longer. When he speaks again, I almost jump from the sound of his sudden voice.

“I have this brilliant coder at work. No one in the office wants to sit next to him because he doesn’t wear deodorant. I didn’t want to fire him for poor hygiene, so I promoted him to find an excuse to give him a private office, away from others. Now I am starting to think he is a genius.”

Growing up, we used to tease Milo about how he acts like an old man. In retaliation, Milo would tell “dad jokes” to embarrass us in public.

One time we went to a diner. At the end of the meal, our waitress came up to us.

“You wanna box for the leftovers?” our waitress asked Milo.

“No, but I’ll wrestle you for them,” was Milo’s response.

Soon the jokes morphed into short stories. Milo would tell us ridiculous “dad jokes” anytime we needed cheering up, or if we were mad at him, or just because.

It never worked with Reid, but Mia and I ate it up. We could never stay mad at Milo after one of his “dad jokes” even if sometimes we were laughingathim rather thanwithhim. This story is an example of the first.

My lips curve up. Noticing my smile, Milo tries another one.

“There is a woman at work who uses her time of the month to get time off. She’d go into such graphic details about her cramps that her male supervisor would get uncomfortable and just give in. I have had enough experience with you and Mia. I have no shame in walking to a grocery store to buy tampons or using words like heavy flow. So, I asked the supervisor to direct her to me the next time she tries to pull that stunt.”

I can’t help but ask, “What happened?”

“I gave her the time off.”

I let out a hysterical laugh this time. Milo doesn’t miss a beat and tells me another one. And then another one.

When dusk finally settles, Milo stands up and grabs my hand to pull me to his side. I fall in step next to him, so we can head home.

Days of suffocatingly tense mood is slowly shifting into something familiar and lighthearted. I let myself bask in the affection as he tells me more “dad jokes” while we walk home.

CHAPTER 5

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Raven

Breakfast has officially become the only meal when we come together in the Sinclair home, and most likely, it’s because it’s the only meal I am able to prepare with my limited cooking skills.

Other than Milo and Tessa, no one in this household knows how to cook. Since they are both preoccupied, it’s been a lot of take-outs and eating separately.