Deep Surrendering: Episode Seven by Chelsea M. Cameron Read Free Book Online Page B

comparison wasn’t even close.
    I didn’t pay attention to what I was eating or the movie. I was too busy thinking about what could be wrong with my mom, what I was going to do about it, and how close Fin was to me. One of those things was not like the others.
    When I finished eating, I slipped out of bed. “I’m going to go call my dad,” I said.
    Fin nodded and went back to watching the movie.
    I walked out to the living room and sat on one of Fin’s chairs as I called my parents. My dad picked up on the second ring.
    “Hey, Dad. It’s Marisol.” I don’t know why I had to announce myself. He knew who I was. Guess I was nervous.
    “Hi, Marisol.” He didn’t sound happy to hear from me. “You forgot the check, you know.”
    “Yeah, that’s part of the reason I called. The other is that . . . I’m worried about Mom. Really worried. You can’t tell me there isn’t something going on, and you can’t shut me out anymore.” There, I said it. At least I’d gotten it out.
    Dad sighed. “I’m taking care of it, Marisol. You don’t need to worry.” His reaction was totally predictable. My father, who had stood so long behind my domineering mother was now the one who’d taken charge. I knew he had it in him, but I never banked on him using it against me.
    “I’m sorry, but that’s not good enough,” I said. “I have a right to know what’s going on with her. She’s my mother. And I want to help, if I can.” He didn’t say anything for a while, and I looked at my phone to make sure the call hadn’t dropped.
    “Dad?”
    “I’m here,” he said, his voice tight. “Marisol, I’ve got this under control. You have a life of your own, and you don’t need to be dealing with this.” Breaking back into my family was going to be harder than I thought.
    “But she’s my mother. I know we don’t always get along, but I love her, and if something is seriously wrong, I need to know, Dad. Please.” The tears came again, and he seemed surprised by them.
    “Okay, okay. I just didn’t want to burden you. I know how much you hate coming out here, and I didn’t want to interfere with your life.” Yeah, well, I hadn’t really helped in that situation. I’d always felt little stabs of regret for the way my relationship with my parents had deteriorated, but now it was full-blown.
    Yes, I fought with my mother, but it wasn’t all on her side. Maybe this was some sort of wake-up call.
    “You can tell me, Dad. I’m asking you to, as your daughter. Please.” He and Mom were the only family I had. Our other relatives were either dead or lived so far away we rarely had contact. I’d always relied on my friends to give me what I needed in the way of family.
    “Oh, Marisol. Don’t say things like that.”
    “I’m sorry.” Why was I apologizing? “Can I come over, maybe this weekend? We can talk.”
    He let out a long breath. “Sure. I’ll let you know what time is good.” A tiny bit of relief sunk into me. I was going to figure this out and deal with it. And Fin was going to figure himself out, and then we could be together the way we wanted to be. Everything was on its way to working out.
    “Great. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye, Dad. Give my love to Mom.”
    “I will. Love you, too.”
    I looked down at my phone. That was one of the most intense conversations I’d had with my father in years.
    I walked back to the bedroom slowly and found Fin waiting for me.
    “How did it go?” he asked, turning the movie down as I sat back down on the bed.
    “Good, I think. I’m going over this weekend to figure things out. I don’t really get along with my parents, you know. My mom less so than my dad. She and I push each other’s buttons, and we always just end up fighting. I like to blame them for the fact that we aren’t close, but it’s my fault too. And I was just thinking that, maybe, this is sort of a wake-up call and somehow we’ll figure out how to be a family.” It sounded corny. Like a line