Twenty-Nine
Tanner
The airport bustles with tourists rushing to their gate. The clamor of footsteps roars in my ears. I feel like a zombie amongst all these happy, smiling faces. Grant Banner will arrive any minute now. Maybe I should try practicing how to smile.
My phone rings. It’s Careena. “Hey, Tanner,” she says. “Duke wanted me to ask if you’d heard anything from your bio dad.”
“Um…” My fingers tap my thighs. I hate lying to my family, but they don’t know the meaning of space. They’d just crowd me. Smother me. I need to process this on my own, figure out how I feel about it. Then I’ll tell them.
“Tanner?” Careena says. “You there?”
“I haven’t spoken to him yet. I’ll call you when I do.”
“Wait.” She pauses. “It sounds like you’re at the airport.” An announcer screams into a mike
