Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 126840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
We had new additions on that desk. Core bought them.
Seriously, he was getting into this settling down thing.
And I was really loving he was.
The tray was new. As was a charging station that hid cords for our phones. An attractive desk caddy, which held pens and scissors and stuff. And a letter holder with different sections, front for my stuff, middle for Core’s (always empty), back for bills and other we-type things (which he mostly dealt with, but he kept them there until he filed them away so I could see them and arrange to pay my half).
I couldn’t say I went through my section daily (as in, I didn’t check it yesterday), but I didn’t allow it to get out of hand.
Since Christmas was close, I had to go through it more often because of Christmas cards.
And front and center in the letter holder, there was what I knew was a Christmas card that had a forwarding label from my old apartment.
I recognized the handwriting.
I nabbed it, grabbed the letter opener from the caddy and slit it open.
I was tense because I thought I might see a perfect-couple picture collage of Bree with Bryan.
I didn’t, but apparently, Bree took a vacation to the Grand Canyon since we parted ways.
A folded piece of paper had come out with the notecard depicting a selfie of Bree against the backdrop of one of the great natural wonders of the world with Season’s Greetings, xo Bree printed at the bottom.
With trepidation, I unfolded the paper.
I was about to read what was on it when Core greeted, “Hey.”
I turned my head to watch him walking toward me, appreciating the movement of his slim hips in his faded jeans and the stretch of the thermal across his chest.
Most especially, I appreciated the tender look in his beautiful blue eyes that were resting on me.
“Hey,” I replied.
He arrived, put a hand on my hip and gave me a kiss.
“Good time with the girls?” he asked.
“Yes. We’re having a New Year’s Day Smoke at the clubhouse. A big thing, kids, extended family and friends invited.”
He smiled. “Sounds ace. What’s a smoke?”
“You and Beck are in charge of smoking a lot of meat to feed the throng.”
His smile got bigger.
My man liked to feed people.
I waved the paper I held in the air. “A letter from Bree. It came with her Christmas card.”
His smile died and was replaced with a stormy expression. “That bitch sent a Christmas card?”
“I may be reading into things, but it seems she’s spending her friendless hours taking solo vacations.”
He cared nothing for that, I knew, when he asked, “What’s the letter say?”
“I haven’t read it yet.”
He raised his brows and dipped his chin to the letter to indicate I needed to get on that.
So I got on it.
Hellen,
I don’t know how to start this. I miss you and have been wanting to reach out to you, but I didn’t know how.
I thought Christmas was the perfect excuse.
We have a lot of history and so many great memories. I consider myself lucky you were assigned to be my roommate our first year in college. I’m not lying when I say I knew right away that we were going to be friends forever.
Because of all of that, I want you to know that I’m open to hearing your apology…
“Say what?” I snapped at the paper.
“What?” Core rumbled.
I kept reading.
…I know your pride might make that hard to do, which is why you haven’t reached out.
But I care about you, I love you, I miss you, and I’ll forgive you.
You were with another guy, it was serious. I hear it’s even more serious now. That you’d be with someone new and break Bryan and I up out of spite isn’t…
I didn’t finish it.
I looked to Core. “She’s on about me breaking her and Bryan up out of spite and wants an apology.”
My wise Core translated: “In other words, so she can live with the shit she pulled, she’s twisted how things actually went to a version that makes her the victim.”
“In other words, yes.”
It was an awful thing to realize about a person, especially one you cared about, but it seemed Bree had a penchant for finding ways to be the victim.
There were red flags with Christos, of course.
And if I dug deeper into our history, examining her bad breakups with guys that were always filled with drama, I would see it wasn’t the growing pains of a young woman finding her way in relationships.
It was Bree.
“Official,” Core stated. “We’re putting that jewelry to better use. We know people who struggle to get shit they need, like food and money to pay rent. Turn that jewelry into cash, we can do some good with it.”
Bree had never contacted Kyra to look at the pieces Core nabbed for her. Since they held meaning, I’d set them aside because, regardless how she’d behaved, I believed she should have them back.