Chapter Fourteen

I FELT UNEASY WHEN I took my place at the family table. The rest of the Mitchells had only just finished eating when I arrived, but a steaming pile of noodles and sauce was waiting for me. Somehow they’d known I would come down eventually. I was eager to tell them the good news about Stephanie, but wanted to at least get something choked down before I starved to death. Dean didn’t give me a second look as I began to dig in.

I found my eyes traveling to Tracy Mitchell between chews. She had that motherly look if ever there was one. An optimistic style of hair, a touch that spoke to the heart, and eyes that smiled as genuinely as the one across her lips. She was the first one to break the stiff silence.

“I got a phone call today, Nolan.” The way she said the sentence didn’t sound right, like she was talking in some sort of secret code. Even though her statement was directed at me, Rick replied to her. I continued shoveling in pasta.

“Really? Who was it from?”

That’s when it sank in. I stopped eating. Not again.

Tracy went on. “It was Dr. Vance.” She paused a second, as if I didn’t know who that was.

I’d never met the guy face-to-face, but I was sure Dr. Vance was a decent guy. It was the person he was linked to whom I detested. My mentally unstable dad.

Tracy played with her silver necklace, obviously nervous about the conversation she had just started.

“Nolan, he really wants to see you,” she said, a little more firmness in her voice.

I took a swallow of ice water and wiped my face with my cloth napkin.

“Forget it,” I said, putting my focus back on my food.

This was, I thought, maybe the third time Vance had called that month? It was more often than usual.

“He says it would be beneficial for your dad’s state of mind and maybe for you as well to come to terms with everything.”

I suddenly lost my appetite. Hadn’t I had enough issues for one day? I crossed my arms and slowly shook my head.

“Think about it, Nolan. Your dad just wants to reconnect with you,” Rick chimed in, trying to sound casual.

“Like I’ve said before, I want nothing to do with him,” I responded.

“Dr. Vance says your father’s been working so hard,” Tracy said, her eyes shifting to her husband. A dead silence hung in the dining room. Then things got worse.

“Nolan, you’ve got to do something.” Dean finally said, but the words were grounded and didn’t come with as much bite as they had upstairs.

But I’d had enough, and I didn’t hold back with my own bite. “What do you know, Dean? Your dad isn’t some blathering idiot in a straitjacket.” Dean had no idea the extent of the scars—physical and mental—Dad had left on me.

Dean wasn’t backing down from his argument. “You have to get serious about this,” he said, and then it dawned on me that he wasn’t referring to a visit with Dad. I swore. If he had blabbed to Rick and Tracy, he would be sorry.

It was too late. Dean shifted his attention to his parents and spoke. “Nolan had a nosebleed at school today.”

My mouth fell open. I could not believe he just flat-out told them. These were my problems and I would deal with them myself. Did he realize what this would do to me? A burning anger ran through my body, but above all, I felt sadness. What had happened to Dean and me? Why had he betrayed me like this?

I shot to my feet, my chair tipping over, and fired back words at Dean. “What did you tell Kate Huddy?”

Wide-eyed, Dean whipped back around at me, confusion written on his face. “What are you talking about, Nolan?”

Tracy’s voice jumped in between us. “Boys, please,” she said, almost in tears. She and Rick had never seen Dean and me like this. Her wet eyes looked at me. “Nolan, are you okay? Does something hurt?”

Rick too was on his feet, arms spread, trying to get control of the argument. “Hold it, you two,” he said. The room seemed to settle a bit, but I didn’t take my glare off Dean. Right then and there I should have read his mind. Then I would have known everything, but something held me back.

“Nolan, what’s going on?” Rick said, questioning me a second time. I felt like I was being attacked by a ravenous pack of wolves, unable to defend myself. All three of them were on me, waiting for my response. I didn’t know what to say.