Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
I didn’t have to look at Josh to know his brows would be pulled together, that he’d have questions, because nothing got past Josh when it came to me. He just got me.
“Wow…that’s great,” I forced myself to say.
“I’m tired. Are you guys ready to go? I’m working urgent care tomorrow,” Nat said, and I wanted to kiss her. She was a nurse; the best nurse. I was so lucky to have this amazing woman in my life.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I am too. It’s been a long day.”
Griff frowned but didn’t say anything.
“It’s my turn, right, babe?” Josh said as he took money out and paid. God, I had the best friends in the world.
We went to Nat’s apartment, which wasn’t far from the bar.
“Who’s Chase?” Josh asked as soon as we walked in.
I buried my face in my hands. It was stupid, this obsession I had with him. God, I didn’t know why I let him get to me the way he did.
“The guy Kellan’s been in love with since he was fourteen years old,” she answered for me.
I couldn’t breathe. God, I was going to die too. Why couldn’t I breathe?
“It’s okay. I go’chu, Twerp.” Chase’s strong arms went around me, holding me so I didn’t fall. He helped me down easily until we were both sitting on the floor, his grip on me so tight, I thought he was keeping my pieces together so I didn’t shatter and fall apart.
My parents were dead. Dead. Gone in one night, taken from this world.
Hot tears streamed down my face, and Chase wiped them away. I didn’t even have it in me to be embarrassed. I ached too much. Was too broken. How could we go on without Mom and Dad?
“Griff’ll be here soon. He’s doing the best he can,” Chase told me.
Griff had a three-hour drive ahead of him, three hours where he would rush here, to get to me. Three hours knowing our parents were dead. “Oh God. He shouldn’t drive. What if something happens? What if he wrecks?” I lost it even more then, crying loudly as snot ran down my face. I couldn’t lose Griff too. What if I somehow lost Griff?
“Hey, he’ll be fine. There’s no one in this damn world who’s stronger than your brother. He’ll keep it together because that’s what Griff does.”
Suddenly another wave of sadness sucked me under. This one wasn’t for the loss of our parents, but for my brother. He’d left Havenwood. He was off at college, following his dreams and not taking care of his baby brother anymore. What would happen now?
Griff would come back, that’s what would happen. He would have to come back to take care of me. “What about school? I don’t want Griff to have to leave school. He needs to stay. It’s his dream.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt guilty for them. Was it okay to also worry about my brother when I’d just been told my parents had died? “I don’t want him to come home, but then, what will I do?” I asked, as if Chase had all the answers. It was stupid, but it always felt like Chase knew everything, like there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do.
“You and me both know there’s nothing that can stop Griff from being here for you, but I get it. I know you want him happy and…hell, Twerp. I’ll help take care of you. Come on, you know that.”
Chase was right. He was that kind of guy. If there were no Griff, Chase would take care of me like his own. He would work his ass off to try and raise me, to give me more than he’d ever had. He’d be a better surrogate family than his real family was with him. There was nothing in the world that would make me think differently. Chase took care of his own, and because Griff was his best friend, I was Chase’s too, and that made something unfamiliar flutter in my belly.
As soon as the feeling came, it was washed away by sadness. My parents were gone. I started crying all over again.
“I’m so sorry, Kell, so damn sorry.” Chase hugged me, speaking like he would do anything to fix this.
“What are we going to do?” What if they wouldn’t let Griff keep me? How would we survive?
“We’ll figure it out, okay? Don’t worry about that right now. Me and Griff’ll figure it all out.”
And when Chase said it, somehow, I believed him.
CHAPTER TWO
Chase
I couldn’t believe I was back in Havenwood. What in the hell had I been thinking?
The place didn’t hold the best memories for me.
Alcoholic dad: check.
Struggles to make ends meet: check.
Verbal and sometimes physical abuse from dear old dad: double check.
Judgment from almost everyone in town outside of the Caines: check, check, check.