Luminosity (Gravity Series #3) (The Gravity Series) by Abigail Boyd Page B

calming down now. I’d never seen them fight this intensely.
    When they came thundering back down the stairs, Hugh had a suitcase in his hand. The sight of it zapped my brain with a shock. He was serious.
    Claire was following right at his heels, her voice high-pitched and near hysterical. “You can’t leave, Hugh. What am I going to do without you here?”
    He whipped around, addressing her. She almost ran into him but put the brakes on.
    “You can do what you always do—lock yourself away. You don’t need me here to ignore me.”
    Claire’s eyes were huge and filled with emotion, though not tears. “Hugh….”
    “You and I promised that we would never get back into that again,” Hugh said sharply.
    Now a tear did slide down Claire’s cheek. Her voice was a whisper. “I gave up everything: my friends, my beliefs. It was easy for you. You didn’t have a choice.”
    He stepped back from her, peering into her face with surprise. “What does that mean?”
    Claire just gaped at him, as though she’d forgotten how to speak.
    He crossed the floor into the dining room, throwing on his coat and a baseball cap and shoving his phone back into his pocket. Claire was still standing in one spot with her shoulders slumped like a toy with dead batteries.
    I broke my stunned silence, realizing he really was going to leave. There had to be something I could do, something I could say, to stop him. I felt scared and helpless, not knowing what to do. “Dad, where are you going?”
    “I’ll go stay at the gallery for now,” he said, looking apologetically at me. “I’m sorry, Ariel. I just can’t take this anymore.” He grabbed me in a quick, hard hug. “But you’ll still see me—I’m not leaving you . I just need space from your mom for a while. You be very careful and get a hold of me, morning or night, if you need me. Understand? No matter what the reason.”
    “You can’t just leave,” I said desperately, feeling hot tears roll down my cheeks. Every cell in my body howled. “Please, I’m sure whatever it is with you and mom, you can work it out.”
    He looked hesitant, his brows pinching together. “This has been a long time coming. Just know that it has nothing to do with anything you’ve done. You didn’t do anything wrong. This is just between Claire and me. I’m sorry that I wasn’t paying better attention of how things were falling apart.”
    “But, dad, this is your home.”
    He pecked my forehead, resting his rough, stubbly chin there for a moment. “It hasn’t felt that way for a while. Goodbye, kiddo. I love you.”
    My stomach swan dove and I thought I would be sick. I wanted to scream after him to not leave. But I couldn’t say a word. He swept outside and jogged off towards the driveway.
    I broke out of my paralysis and tore through the door. I followed yards behind him to his car, not ready to let him go yet. He didn’t even slow down, shoving his briefcase into the passenger seat and jumping behind the wheel. It began to rain, cold drops stinging my eyes and wetting my hair. I banged on his window and he rolled it down.
    “Dad, please, can’t you just take a break and then come back?”
    He didn’t answer me. I could see him start to tear up himself and I felt a mix of guilt and anger. I stepped back and he raced backwards out of the driveway, disappearing on the road. I stood, heavy and heartbroken, feeling the rain drench my clothes and hair.
    I trudged back inside, wringing my hair out on the deck. The rain began to slow down to drips. I was holding the tears in now, my eyes burning.
    My mother was still standing in the same spot she’d been when Hugh left.
    “How could you just let him leave like that?” I asked her angrily. Years of keeping mum spurred me on. “You’re turning into a robot. I don’t know what mind control they’re performing on you at those meetings, but it needs to stop.”
    “He’s been cheating on me, and now you’re taking his side?” Claire asked,