Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Where are you going with that tray?” my aunt asks, and he looks over his shoulder.
“It’s for me,” he lies. “I am doing that taste-testing thing.”
“Tell them to come out,” my mother says, taking a sip of her coffee.
“Okay, I will say,” Gabriella starts, walking into the room and grabbing a coffee, “I told her to call you yesterday.” Zoey and Zara both gasp. “Hi, Auntie.” She walks over to my mother first and kisses her cheek, and then to my aunt and kisses her cheeks. “You went out looking like that?” She points at their hair being on the top of their heads all sideways and the fact they are in pj’s.
“Who else is there?” My aunt avoids her question.
“We don’t count,” Sofia says. “We were with Gabriella when she got the call, so we are here.”
“Collateral damage.” Ryleigh laughs, coming into the room. “You’re my favorite mother-in-law in the world.” She looks at my aunt, who rolls her eyes.
“You can’t be mad at us,” Sofia says. “It was up to Zoey to call you.”
“Wait a second.” Zoey puts up her hand. “Nash is the one who told her to come over here.”
She points at Nash, who just shakes his head. “Wow.”
“I love you,” Zoey tells him when he walks out of the room, “with all my heart.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” my aunt asks, and I look at her.
“Nope,” I answer her honestly. “I think I’m still a little numb and probably in shock.”
“Well, you can always change your mind,” my mother states hopefully. “Why don’t you take the time away to think about it?”
There is not enough time in the world for me to change my mind, but I don’t say that to her. “Maybe.” I shrug my shoulder and reach for a coffee, taking a sip.
“Where are you doing this soul-searching?” my mother asks me.
I look over at Sofia, who just smiles and nods at me. “I’m going to go and stay at Sofia’s house.”
6
ZARA
One Week Later
“Welcome aboard, Ms. Petrov,” the flight attendant says when I walk up the steps to the plane.
“Thank you.” I smile at her as I enter the plane and head for the single seat on one side. I’m shrugging off my jacket when my phone rings. “Hello.” I put it to my ear, not even looking to see who it is.
“Hey,” Sofia says, “just calling to wish you a safe flight.”
I smile, sitting in the seat and buckling my seat belt before looking out the small window. “Thank you.” I take a deep breath in.
“Just a heads-up, my grandfather is going to meet the plane, but he’s under strict instructions not to tell anyone you are there for at least three days.” I smile. “But then I’ll have to tell my mother.”
“That sounds good. I don’t think anyone is going to bother me anyway.”
She laughs. “Oh, you poor, poor child. Keep telling yourself that. I’ll call you tomorrow and give you tonight to settle in.”
“Thank you so much,” I tell her, “for everything.”
“Hey, anytime,” she replies before she disconnects and the door of the plane is shut.
“Well, no turning back now,” I tell myself, ignoring the way my chest is tight as we start moving slowly. Only when we are taking off and my back is pushed deeper in the seat do I let go of the breath I didn’t know I was holding.
The past week has been like I was in a daze, really. After my aunt and mother left Zoey’s place, I refused to let everyone hover over me, so I forced everyone to get back to their lives. The three listened and headed back to get ready to leave, since that was their original plan. Zoey, of course, didn’t listen to me and is the only one who didn’t. She worked from New York all week long, leaving only this morning when I was leaving.
Once everyone left Zoey’s place, I got dressed and went to my house. The house was dead quiet, and even when I was walking in, I felt like my skin was going to crawl off my bones. Nash came with us, opting to stay outside and watch to make sure we were okay, letting only Zoey come in with me. I walked through the house like I was a stranger, like I didn’t spend the past two years making this my home. I walked to the kitchen finding it full of red roses, with a note in the middle of each bouquet. I ignored them all and left them untouched as I walked up the stairs, exactly how I did the day before, wondering if he was going to be in there.
The door was open, and I noticed the bed had been stripped and all the blankets had been changed back to what I put on before I changed it out for Christmas. I thought I was going to throw up, but I avoided looking at it longer than I had to. Instead, I walked to my home office, grabbing my backpack and putting my computer in there, along with my notebooks and planner. I then grabbed the suitcase in the hall closet and ended up going to my closet and packing literally everything. I packed every single piece of clothing I had in four suitcases and five garbage bags. Something my aunt would cringe over if she saw the way I just shoved shit into them. By twelve thirty, I was walking out of the house with all my things, which were now in the guest room at Nash’s New York apartment, minus the luggage I took for my stay at Sofia’s place. I still have no idea how long I’m going to be there. It could be four days, or it could be a month. Everything is still up in the air. I’m going to be working remotely, which isn’t going to be that much of a stretch since I did everything remotely anyway.