Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27599 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27599 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 138(@200wpm)___ 110(@250wpm)___ 92(@300wpm)
He nodded in agreement. “You sleep much last night?” he asked, lifting his mug of black coffee to his lips to take a sip of the scalding liquid.
I shook my head. “You?”
He shook his head as well. I ran a hand down my face. “The fuck do we do here, Blaze?” I asked him. “She wanted this. We both know it was the best decision for her. But I know it’s fucking killing her inside.”
He nodded. “We need to ground her, and then she needs an appointment with Tinsley to talk through everything in her head. Our normal methods won’t work—not with how far she’s come in her recovery.”
I knew he was referring to what we used to do—he would bring her pain, and I would soothe that ache.
He was right. That wouldn’t work anymore. She was becoming stronger and learning how to stand on her own. She needed to work through this in a healthy way. The only thing we could do was stand beside her and hold her hand while she sorted through the shit in her head.
Which I fucking hated. I wished like hell I could take away her pain and make it my own.
Montana stumbled into the kitchen at that moment, looking exhausted and beaten down. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face red and splotchy.
Immediately, I tugged her into my arms. She dragged in a ragged breath and wrapped her arms around my back, squeezing me to her. “Any better today?” I quietly asked her.
She shrugged. Blaze rested a hand on the back of her neck, gently squeezing. She relaxed at the possessive hold. I rested my chin on the top of her head. “I’m going to call Tinsley and set you up a virtual appointment,” he told her.
She sniffled. “I already did,” she whispered. Good girl. She leaned her head back and turned her face to look at Blaze. “I knew I needed to talk to her. That’s why I’m up so early.” She released me and swiped at her cheeks, which were wet from her tears again. “Can someone make me a cup of coffee?”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead and then grabbed a mug. “What time is your appointment?”
“In like five minutes,” she said, sitting at the table and pulling her phone out of her pocket. She yawned and logged onto her Zoom account before propping her phone up on its kickstand. I set her cup of coffee in front of her and then worked on making breakfast. Blaze took a seat beside her and rested his hand on her thigh.
A couple of minutes later, Tinsley logged on. “How’s it feel to drink regular coffee again?” Tinsley immediately asked.
Montana laughed a little. I relaxed at the sound, meeting Blaze’s eyes over her head. Things would be okay. It would take time, but the fact that she could manage a laugh—however weak it was—meant she would be okay.
With time, Montana would heal, and she could become more involved in our son’s life. But until then, I knew Madeline, Blake, Blaze, and myself would make sure we loved that kid extra on the days she struggled.
Everyone coped with depression differently, and I knew the lows Montana hit could be ugly. And I knew those lows wouldn’t ever go away. They would continue to happen.
And Blaze and I would always be there for her when they hit, promising her she was strong, capable, and loved.
“I want you to try something new,” Tinsley said, grabbing my attention again. Even Blaze was looking confused. We tried to give her as much privacy as possible during her virtual sessions while still supporting her, but like fuck could we ignore that.
“Okay?” Montana wearily asked. Couldn’t really blame her. The last time she’d tried something new, I’d found her a sobbing mess on the living room floor as she tried to write in a journal.
“I want you to try writing your story,” Tinsley told her. “Just write everything you went through, how it affected you, and how you healed from it. Do you think you can do that?”
Montana slowly nodded her head. “Yeah,” she whispered. She cleared her throat and nodded her head again, more determined this time. “I can do that.”
Blaze pressed a kiss to her temple, whispering something in her ear. Montana smiled at him, though pain still resided in her eyes. “Good. We’ll talk in two days and see what kind of progress you’ve made on it, okay?”
Montana nodded. “Thank you, Tinsley.”
Tinsley laughed. “Don’t thank me, Montana. All the thanks I need is seeing you continue to do better for yourself.”
EPILOGUE
Montana
“So, this book,” Gracie, the talk show host said, finally diving into the reason I was on her show, “I don’t have words. It wrecked me. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much in one sitting. You’ve been through so much, and you’ve overcome it all.”