Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 131209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
“Brooke, I don’t know. Jesus. I don’t… I never thought… I mean…”
I nodded. “Yeah. I get it,” I said, understanding his babble.
“Landon, Landon, are you up there?” I heard a female voice say.
“Yeah! I’ll be down in a second, babe,” he hollered from the stairs.
“Awesome. Let’s add her into the equation. We could all be one big, happy family. It’s like a fucked up version of the Brady Bunch. What are the odds? Seriously? What are the odds of this happening?”
“Fuck… if I know,” he justified.
“Where’s your bathroom?” I questioned, not being able to deal with him standing in front of me any longer. I was in the home he shared with his wife and children, and the man that I loved was downstairs, with his ex-wife and child.
This shit was right out of some book or movie.
He nodded toward the door behind me; I turned around before giving it a second thought.
“Do you love him?” he called out, stopping me dead in my tracks.
I didn’t answer, I couldn’t.
“It’s okay to love someone, Brooke, Devon’s an amazing man. My sister fucked that up, not him. You deserve to be happy.”
“Do I?” I murmured loud enough for him to hear.
“Brooke, all I ever wanted was for you to be happy. I didn’t care if it was with me or without me. You can’t keep punishing yourself over something you can’t control. It has nothing to do with you.”
“You don’t know me, Landon.”
“That’s rich coming from someone who doesn’t know herself either.”
I closed my eyes, taking in his words, and opened the door, before he could say another word. I turned on the sink and splashed my face with water. Avoiding the mirror like it was disease infected, but my eyes landed there anyway.
Except this time, it wasn’t my reflection staring back at me.
It was my father’s.
<>D<>
“God… what a small world. How do you know Brooke?” Christine questioned, not taking her eyes from the direction they left.
“I met her through a friend,” I said, shocked as shit by the turn of events.
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? What kind of answer is that? She either is or she isn’t.”
“It’s confusing.”
“That’s Brooke,” she stated.
I finally looked at her. “What?”
“Devon, Brooke is broken, she’s been broken, God… since I can remember. She’s fucked up. You think I was bad; I’m not even close to her. She nearly destroyed Landon. It took him years to forget about her. Even now, he looks at her the same way he used to. His wife might not notice, but I sure as hell do. She’s going to hurt you.”
“Like you did?”
“Oh, come on! That’s not fair.”
“Keep your voice down,” I ordered, stepping closer to her.
“Devon, I don’t want to see you get hurt. Please.”
“I’m a big boy, Christine. I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you?”
“It’s fine. Can we enjoy the rest of the day without any more drama? I think I’ve had enough to last me a lifetime.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” she cautioned before leaving.
Brooke came back shortly after.
“Are you okay?” I asked, pulling her hair away from her face.
“I don’t know anymore,” she whispered and it nearly broke my heart.
“What can I do?” I asked, rubbing the side of her cheek.
“Nothing. Let’s just enjoy the day.”
I kissed the tip of her nose, and tried to ignore the thoughts that were looming.
<>B<>
I separated myself from the guests and Devon. He was playing with Ethan in the bouncy house. I walked into the kitchen, and served myself a glass of whiskey; taking it down in one swig.
“Still a whiskey kinda girl, huh?”
“You taught me.”
Christine laughed, and sat on the chair in front of me at the kitchen island.
“This isn’t where we fight, is it?” I asked, expecting anything at that point.
“I have nothing to fight about.”
“Then what do you want?”
She grinned. “I just wanted to have a few words with my childhood, best friend and the future stepmom of my son.”
“It’s not like that, Christine.”
“It is to him.”
“You don’t—”
“Yes, I do. See here’s the difference between you and me, Brooke. I can see that he loves you. He never looked at me like that. Ever.”
“Well, I wouldn’t either considering you fucked the help.”
Her eyes widened.
“I don’t want—”
“You’re right,” she interrupted, still maintaining her glaring stare. “I did fuck up. Royally. You don’t know him, Brooke, not like I do. I may not have been the best wife to him, but I do love and care for him. He is the father of my child.”
“I know…”
“Don't push him away, like you did with Landon. Some of us don’t get that second chance, but for you, Brooke, your second chance at happiness and love is right out there. I see the way you both look at each other.”
I bit my cheek.
“I’m Ethan's mom, don't fuck this up. Being a part of Devon's life makes you a part of Ethan’s. And I don’t want to see my son get hurt. He’s attached to you, too.”