Total pages in book: 173
Estimated words: 163802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 819(@200wpm)___ 655(@250wpm)___ 546(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 163802 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 819(@200wpm)___ 655(@250wpm)___ 546(@300wpm)
I groaned, dropping my head in my hands. “Promise me you’ll say those exact words at my trial.”
She busted up. I was clearly not going to get any sympathy from this source. “Anyway, what about Lily? I know first graders don’t have a half day today, but she should be out here with us all the same.” She leaned back, breathing in the crisp, autumn air. “She can finally meet Taylor while I ply her with cupcakes and cement my new title of favorite auntie.”
“Uhh, first off, that title goes to me,” I corrected. “And second, the guys freaked out when I took her out of school with the principal’s permission and three heads-ups to all of them. I don’t want to deal with the freakout when they find out I pulled her out for no other reason than just to hang out at the park. Alex— No, they all think I’m trying to pull something and being nice to Lily is part of the con.” I huffed out a breath. “I want them to trust me with her, so I’m not going to push it.”
“Okay, okay. I understand.” She slid a maple bacon cupcake my way. “I guess that’s one of the many good things about solo parenting. I don’t have to ask a co-parent’s permission for something I want to do with Taylor. I just do it. Whereas you’ve got three co-parents clocking your every move.”
“Yeah,” I said softly, “except I’m not a co-parent. I’m not her parent at all. So my moves should be clocked.”
She paused her fussing to squeeze my hand. “No, you’re not Lily’s mother, but what you are is her family. And matter of fact, you’re Rhodes’s, Micah’s, and Alex’s family now too—and that word scares you. Family was never something safe for you. Something healthy.”
I stiffened, throat tightening.
“And that’s where all this fear, guilt, and hesitation is coming from now. You think they’re right to protect Lily from you, because someone fucking should’ve protected you from your family. You can’t let yourself accept that you and Micah were both adults who had a good time, because I stupidly said your keeping the truth from them makes you like Sue in their eyes, and the whole planet should’ve been protected from Sue.
“But you’re not your father, you’re not your mother, and you’re for damn sure not your sister, so ignore what I said before and listen to what I’m saying now.” She leaned over the table, taking both of my hands as she whispered, “You’ve got your family back—a real one. A better one. So don’t fall into the trap of thinking they’re better off without you, because that’s not coming from you.
“It’s coming from them.”
I looked away, eyes stinging. There were downsides to having a best friend who can see right through you. And that was her ability to make you cry at the worst times.
I roughly cleared my throat. “I’m not sure your advice applies to a family that’s already breaking up, but thanks for saying it anyway. It was nice to imagine, even for a second, that I’m already where I belong.”
“But you are—”
Sue’s purse buzzed, giving me an excuse to pull away from Courtney and go digging inside it. Sue’s designer purse. Sue’s Chanel dress. That I took from Sue’s room after waking up in Sue’s bed next to Sue’s family. How am I ever supposed to feel like I belong here with this family when her ghost carved her initials into all of them?
I picked up Sue’s phone, dropped it, then fished around until I found the true source of the buzzing. Satan flashed on the screen.
“Ugh,” I groaned, flinging my head back. “He will not quit! He’s calling like five times a day now, and it’s bullshit. He doesn’t get to play the dutiful, loving boyfriend after torturing and blackmailing me for months.”
“Gimme that.”
“Wha— Wait! No! What are you—!”
Courtney put her finger to her lips, silencing me better than a shout. She answered the call without so much as a by your leave—leaving me internally screaming for her to hang up. “Hello, who am I speaking to?”
“Who the fuck do you think!” Yes, Dan shouted that so loud, I heard it loud and clear without her putting it on speaker. “I’ve been calling for almost two weeks, so you better tell me who the fuck you are because I’m reporting you to whichever flea-ridden hick calls himself the sheriff of your town!”
I rubbed my temples, irritation cracking my jaw. I still couldn’t believe I ever thought I was in love with this guy.
“I’m sorry you feel that way, sir,” Courtney replied, putting on a deep, serious voice for reasons unknown. “Our priority these last couple weeks has been to find, notify, and release Ms. Kim’s body to her immediate family, so that she may be given the peaceful goodbye she deserves. I’m sure you understand that we could not release any information to any other party before those priorities were taken care of.”