Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
My stomach didn’t feel right again.
Ditch your family shit.
Just a short while ago, it wouldn’t have even fazed me to hear it. But now a thread of anger moved through me hearing her talk about my family like they were meaningless.
“We’ll see,” I said, my tone flat.
“We definitely will,” she said before we hung up.
I sucked in a long breath of air, navigating over to Instagram to see the photo Sam had tagged me in. I expanded the caption, ready to see what Max had been talking about.
I was shocked to see that Sam had written something long under the photo.
Me and my stepbrother Fox after hiking one of the easier trails at the Grand Canyon. This family trip has become something I’d never imagined. I feel like I can do anything when I see beauty like this. It had been so long since I’d left my hometown of Amberfield, but it was necessary, like a reset button for everything in my life.
I am growing, healing, and learning so much on this trip, even though I miss my friends (and the tavern!) back home. I am so lucky to be here, even with this cocky knucklehead of a stepbrother. Xxoo, Sam
It was so heartfelt. Certainly more than I’d have expected under an Instagram photo, and certainly a stark contrast to the way Maxine had just been talking to me.
Sure, Sam wasn’t a city boy. But he was incredibly genuine, even online, where so many people ended up being fake. I idly scrolled through his Instagram feed again, realizing that every single photo he posted felt the same way. It felt real, in the same way that the photo of the two of us had felt real to me.
Sam was comfortable expressing exactly who he really was, even to the public world. He didn’t have to worry about crafting his image because his image was the real him.
I looked at the comments under the photo, and my heart squeezed in my chest.
You are radiant! Hell yes, Sam!
You deserve every moment of this. You work so hard, love.
Yaaas! Thriving! Can’t wait til you’re back.
Fucking gorgeous. You, the view, and the hottie you’re next to.
His friends were supportive, too. That had always been the thing that Sam had and I didn’t. People loved him for who he really was. Meanwhile, I was only now just starting to even acknowledge who I really was, outside of the world of finance.
I tapped a quick comment under the photo. It was the first Instagram comment I’d ever left before.
After I showered I hopped out of the RV to find the whole family gathered around a fire pit, a sight that was becoming familiar at this point. Jim and Laura had just busted out the marshmallows.
“It is definitely time for s’mores,” I said. “I’m starting to think I can’t go a single night without them.”
“Then you better get ready for tonight’s,” Logan said, grinning. “We aren’t making them with chocolate.”
“Oh no. Are we out?”
“We’ve got something better,” Sam said, picking up a stack of Reese’s candy and fanning it out. “I hit up a vending machine near one of the gift shops. We’re doing peanut butter s’mores.”
“Sam, this is why I love you,” Logan said, going over to snatch a packet of the candy from Sam’s hand.
“I might not have many good ideas, but when it comes to s’mores, I am the master,” Sam said, getting up and distributing a package to everyone. “I’ve made s’mores with Kit-Kats. Twix. Even a Butterfinger, once.”
“Okay, that one just sounds impossible,” Logan said.”
“Turns out they don’t melt that well,” Sam agreed.
I was surprised that when he sat back down, he chose the open spot on the camping chair right next to me.
“You doing okay? That shower was long,” he said.
“Timing my showers now?” I asked, giving him a sly smile.
“Just wanted to make sure everything was good,” he said. “And I saw your comment on my photo. Thank you, Fox.”
“Oh, so that’s why you’re talking to me again?” I said as he popped two marshmallows onto his stick. “Because I left a heart emoji on the photo?”
“Please. We were talking before.”
“I thought you only spoke to me earlier because you wanted to get a selfie with each of us in front of the view.”
He gave me a look, a twinkle in his eye. “And why on Earth would I be mad at you, Fox?”
I was suddenly hyper aware of the fact that the rest of the family was surrounding the fire pit, too, and if they wanted to, they could have heard everything we were saying. Luckily, Laura was in the middle of a heated discussion with Cathy about why dark chocolate was better than milk chocolate, while my dad, Jim, and Logan all talked about a snake they’d seen on the hike earlier.