Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
The young woman with the baby kept Reid’s attention. She watched how she doted on the boy, showering him with hugs and kisses, and not making a big deal when he fell. He didn’t cry but showed her his hand, which she kissed, apparently making it all better.
Reid barely remembered her mom, and of what she did remember, she wasn’t sure if they were her real memories or stories she’d heard over the years. Countless times, her grandmother or one of her aunts would start a story with “When your mom . . .” or “Your mom used to . . . ,” and those stories had somehow turned into moments Reid remembered as happening. The mind is funny that way, creating falsehood and blurring the lines between what’s real and what’s not.
Sort of like how Grayson felt with his heart. There was very little scientific proof to back up his claim, or others’ assertion that cellular memory existed. Reid had done her own research after Grayson told her about Boston. She searched every keyword she could think of, read every article, and scoured the bookstores for reading material on the subject. Very few existed, which scared her in ways she hadn’t imagined. Her mind told her Grayson was imagining things or making up answers for whatever validation he sought. It also made her think that he could become a test subject, for that matter, and she didn’t like that. What he felt was personal to him and his experience, and she wasn’t sure it needed to be shared. At least not with the outside world.
While she sat there, her phone rang, pulling her from her musings as she watched a stranger interacting with a child. Grayson’s photo filled her screen. Her finger rested on the silence button as she contemplated whether she wanted to talk to him or not. If she sent him to voicemail, he’d continue to call or text. She answered.
“Are you okay?” he asked her.
She thought for a moment at the open-ended question. Physically, she was fine. She wasn’t hurt or in any danger that she knew of. Emotionally, she was a wreck and confused, and she didn’t know how to process everything Grayson had told her. Reid wanted to support him, but she thought he’d gone too far.
“I’m okay, Grayson.”
“Where are you? Can I come to you?”
She said yes before she could stop the word from coming out. Every fiber of her being wanted to be with him, near him, even though her heart and mind conflicted with one another.
“I’m at the park. Where the playground is.”
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
He hung up. It would take him ten to get there. She called Melanie. When she answered, she told her everything as fast as she could. All Reid wanted was a little bit of advice on how to handle the situation or move forward.
“Wait, did he hook up with her?”
“No,” Reid told her. She believed Grayson when he’d said he hadn’t cheated, and she had no reason to say otherwise. Even before they were dating, he’d rarely dated other women, and the few times when he had gone out, he’d end up crashing at her place or calling her when he’d arrived home far too early for a date to be over.
A cheater he wasn’t.
What he’d done was so out of character for him that there was no way she wouldn’t forgive him, but it wouldn’t be easy.
“What do I do?” she asked Melanie.
“Shit if I know,” she told her. “I mean, my first inclination is to kick his ass out, but what if this is real, Reid? Like, what if what he’s feeling is a legit thing?”
“That’s what I’m worried about. What if he wants to be with them? He has a history with her, and now there are these two girls who lost their dad, who apparently have a hold on Grayson. Where does that leave me?”
“I don’t know, sweetie. But you definitely have to talk to him. Let him know you’re scared. Maybe you should go with him to one of his therapy appointments. A third-party professional will be able to give you more advice than little ole me. I’m the ‘dump first and ask questions later’ type, which is why I’m the old maid of honor at your wedding.”
Reid smiled at what Melanie said. “He’s coming this way,” she told her friend. “He called, and I told him where I was. As much as I want to stay mad at him, I can’t. But I’m scared.”
“Grayson loves you, Reid. I highly doubt he’d do anything to jeopardize your relationship. And if he does, he’ll be looking for that new heart at the bottom of the Potomac. Believe me, this would be a surgery he’d feel because I wouldn’t put him under.”