Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 61082 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61082 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
“You’re right.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “I usually am.” She smirks.
Jerome comes running in, and Merci picks him up, which I am thankful for because I’m too sore.
“Let’s get you bathed. Then I’ll shower, and we can pick some movies and order pizza.” I clap my hands.
“And is Daddy coming?” he asks, his eyes wide and hopeful.
“Not tonight,” I tell him, trying to force a smile, but it’s quite difficult.
“But I will be back tomorrow, and maybe we can get ice cream.” Merci claps, tickling him and carrying him to the bathroom. “Let’s get your stinky bum in the bath, mister.”
“I’m not stinky.”
She leans and smells his shirt. “Pewww, the stinkiest,” she says, scrunching up her face, and he throws his head back and laughs.
I don’t know how to take this.
How to take having such a great support system, Joey included. Thanks to him, I have all these new friends. Friends willing to help me and even get themselves hurt for me. I’ve never had anyone like that in my life.
It’s nice and never something I dreamed of having. It was never on my radar. I guess people who grow up without it aren’t expecting it. Or hoping for it, either.
I did neither.
I always thought I could do everything by myself.
How wrong I was.
Now I know the support of those you least expect means the most.
I’m not sure where my life is heading, and I’m absolutely not sure about Joey. But I think he will always be in my life.
It’s simply a matter of figuring out in what capacity.
She’s standing out front of my shop, a cigarette in her hand and a sour expression on her face as she leans against the building. It’s been three days of staying inside and not dealing with the outside world, but it was time for me to get back to living. I own a shop now, and Jerome needs to return to school.
I had turned my phone off and told Merci I was doing so and that if she needed me to pop around as I don’t live far from the shop. She didn’t come by, though. She had everything under control. I told her not to come in today and enjoy her day off, but I plan to pay her because she does so much for me.
My sister’s eyes go wide when she spots me. She puts the cigarette out on the ground and offers me a fake smile as she walks toward me. I stay rooted to my spot, not sure how to take her.
I was hoping for a good day—I didn’t expect to find her here.
“Adora.” She says my name as if we’re friends, as if she hasn’t betrayed me and caused me so much pain, especially when all I have done all her life is try to help her. To save her from this thing my father called a life. The one I was suckered into. I didn’t want her to suffer the same fate as me.
She says my name again, and I would walk away from her if I could. I don’t want to deal with any more drama than I have to. She stands in front of my doorway, blocking my entrance.
When I ask her to move, she gives me a sad smile.
It makes me sick.
“I just want to talk.”
“Talk? Don’t you think you’ve done enough of that?” I bark at her. She takes a step back, and I manage to get to the door and unlock it.
“I’ve just been so fucked-up.”
“You’re telling me.” I huff. “Fucked-up is a damn understatement.”
“I wanted to believe him, to believe he was an okay person. I wanted to believe he loved his kid more than you. That it was the reason he was here.”
I laugh at her, and it’s as fake as the fictional stories I read.
Opening the door, I walk in and shut it behind me, but that doesn’t stop her. She pushes it open and follows me straight in without an invitation, despite it saying ‘closed’ on the sign.
“He wanted you, not his son.”
“Correct,” I say, struggling to keep my voice steady. “Now, if that is all, I really do need to work.”
“Can I have a job?” she asks.
Ha. She’s unbelievable.
“No,” I say incredulously.
“I really want to try.”
“You have deceived me, hurt me, and lied to me. I don’t want you working for me, Abigail. Maybe you were right before when you said we should go our separate ways.”
“I don’t want to. I want to stay with you. I want to try. I promise it’s not a lie. I know I’ve fucked up badly. The day after, I was coming down from some heavy drugs that Scott had given me, and I could barely make out what we spoke about. But I knew it was about you. I knew I had given him the address he was after. I didn’t want that. I don’t want to hurt you anymore. I want to move on, which is hard to do. But I get it… I’m a spoiled princess who doesn’t know any better.”