Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 66134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 331(@200wpm)___ 265(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
“Wherever you are, I’m going to find you,” he said, his tone intimidating.
Refusing to allow the prick any more airtime to terrorize my sister, I grabbed Valerie’s phone and disconnected the call and quickly restricted the new number.
Despite Valerie’s bit of bravado, I could see that she was shaking, her eyes filled with shock as we stood there on the sidewalk and pedestrians walked around us.
“How?” she whispered, shaking her head in confusion. “I blocked his number.”
“He clearly used a burner phone to try and trick you.” I tamped down my anger and forced a calm I didn’t feel. “You’re fine, Valerie,” I reassured her. “No one at our old apartment knows where we are, and we’re safe in the new one.”
She swallowed hard and wrapped her arms around her midsection. “I just want him to leave me alone.”
My heart ached for her. “Don’t respond. Don’t answer any more calls from a number you don’t recognize. He’ll get bored and move on.” I knew it wasn’t a promise I could stand by, but it was all I had right now to try and keep her from completely freaking out.
“I know,” she said, though she didn’t look completely convinced. “I just want it to be sooner, rather than later, so I can move on with my life.”
“You already are.” I smiled at her. “You’ve already got a new job, and we are not moving back to the old apartment when I’m done with Caleb. We clearly can’t afford a place at The Cortland, but I can now afford a building with security and a doorman in a safer area.”
She nodded, finally looking more reassured and mollified. “And I can help pay the rent, too, now that I have a new job with a better salary than the one I had before.”
I forced a smile for her benefit. “We’ll figure everything out. I promise.”
Her phone pinged, and Valerie visibly startled, until I checked her messages to see that her rideshare had arrived and was waiting at the curb a few car lengths up. I walked with her to the vehicle and she slid inside.
“Text me when you get home,” I told her.
“I will,” she promised.
I watched her car drive away, then obsessively checked my messages, waiting to hear from her. I didn’t relax until she finally assured me she was safe in our apartment.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Caleb
On Saturday, a week after Alyssa had caught Stevie and I together in the kitchen, I took Owen to visit my mother. These visits were never pleasant for me but I tried not to let my strained relationship with her affect her spending time with her only grandchild. As I sat across from Cassandra, she grilled me about Alyssa, as my ex had already told her everything that had happened with Stevie, embellishing the situation and turning it into something sordid.
She didn’t bother disguising her disapproval of my life, not that I gave a shit what she thought of anyone I dated. Luckily, Owen was playing ball in the nearby backyard with my mother’s corgi, oblivious to the grown-up tension.
“I just don’t understand why you won’t at least try and reconcile with Alyssa,” my mother said from her seat on the patio. “She’s trying so hard. She’s completely clean now and Owen should have both of his parents under one roof.”
I slanted her an incredulous look. “First of all, there will be no reconciling with Alyssa, ever. There’s too much that happened between us that I will never be okay with. And she should be drug-free, for Owen’s sake if not for her own.”
My mother’s lips pursed. “She made a few mistakes. Everyone does. That doesn’t mean they can’t be forgiven.” Her pointed look let me know she wasn’t just talking about Alyssa.
A muscle in my jaw clenched. “Like Lance?” I asked, since I refused to have any type of relationship with my sociopathic twin. “You’re making excuses for Alyssa the same way you do for him. Lance is in prison for a reason.”
She huffed indelicately. “One simple mistake shouldn’t ruin his whole life.”
One simple mistake? More like half a dozen violent crimes, but I didn’t bother correcting her. “So, it doesn’t matter how many lives he’s destroyed?”
My mother opened her mouth to speak, and I immediately cut her off. “Never mind. We’re never going to agree on this issue. Not on Lance, and not on Alyssa.”
I abruptly stood up, having reached my limit of patience. “Owen and I need to go. I promised him I’d take him to his favorite pizza place for lunch.” I glanced out to the backyard, where Owen was still tossing the ball for the dog. “Hey, buddy! Time to go.”
He came running over, and I honestly hated that there was nothing about these visits that Owen enjoyed. Cassandra wasn’t the warm, loving grandmother he deserved and even the hug that she gave him now was stiff and more obligatory than a true affectionate embrace. It was times like this that I missed my father, who was dead and gone. Growing up, he’d been so much warmer and more affectionate than my mother, and he would have adored Owen.