Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
I also wished I had a husband with half a brain.
Alas, it was what it was.
The car squeaked lightly as I pulled into the garage, turned off the car and hit the button on the white remote. I glanced into the rearview mirror just in time to see the garage door descend then stepped out of the car, locking it behind me.
I spent the afternoon at Cherry’s with the Vixens, Amber, and sweet little Tom as they discussed the grueling schedule that was to come with the release of their highly anticipated third and new album.
The good news was the schedule wouldn’t fully come into effect for three whole months. The bad news was that I would have to explain to Connor that I would have to leave town for a while and it was already making my stomach turn. I wasn’t sure how he would take the news. Also, I wasn’t sure how I was taking the news. With therapy, the progress he was making was phenomenal. All I could keep thinking about was, what if I were the reason he relapsed?
With a light sigh, I internally scolded myself for thinking so negatively and used my key to enter the side of the house. I walked into the small hall by the kitchen and called out, “I’m home.”
No answer.
Weird.
My slides walked me past the living room and into the foyer. Looking up the staircase, I yelled out, “Connor?”
But again, no response.
Hmmm.
It was a rare thing for me to be home alone. We always had people over, at all times of the day. Noah and the guys or Micah and Amber. The Vixens were always welcome too and quite often, we had Beth or Ettie or Pearl or all three sitting on our deck, drinking imported beer and shooting the breeze. Sometimes when the wind blew right, Cherry would come by. And that meant a lot. As much as she hated Connor for what he had done to me, she was reaching out for the sake of our friendship. It showed me how important our relationship was to her and I loved her for that.
With such a full house, I’d almost forgotten what it was like to be alone which seemed silly considering that less than a year ago, I’d basically been solitary my entire life.
Little did I know when I took the job with Left Turn that I would learn a small but important lesson. Once you had the company of some great and funny people, alone just wasn’t enough anymore.
The silence bothered me so I busied myself. Being that nobody was home, I started to undress on the way to the ground floor bathroom.
Screw it.
I was going to have a nice, relaxing bath. With bubbles.
Why stop there?
Yeah. Who knows how crazy I’ll get?
I might even light a candle or two, or have a glass of juice in there.
So that’s exactly what I did. I put my hair up into a knot atop my head, sat in the bath a while and relaxed before the shit storm I had a feeling was coming when I told Connor The Vixen’s good news. And somehow during that half hour, if it were even possible, my anxiety managed to go from a barely-there acoustic riff to a squealing electric guitar solo. One that made every amp shake and whine.
Ugh. Cool.
With a towel around me, I stepped out of the steaming bathroom and made my way into the kitchen for a glass of cold water. My focus shot, I sipped on it slowly, silently stressed about things I had no control over, as one did. But when I arrived next to the dining room table, my semi-wet feet stopped suddenly, squeaking on the polished floor boards.
The back door was open.
My brow furrowed. “Um…”
I thought back. Had it been open before I went to bathe?
No. I would’ve noticed.
The pit of my stomach grew heavy and my heart beat hastened. “Connor?” My voice shook.
I took a slow step toward the open door and cleared my throat, this time trying not to sound as scared as I felt. “Connor?”
Another step forward.
Mouth dry, I stilled as I heard rustling in the back yard.
Where is your phone, dummy?
Oh no.
It was on top of the pile of clothes I’d left in the bathroom.
Holding the knot of the towel together, I was just about to head back and retrieve said phone, when the doorway filled and my breath left me in a whoosh.
Petrified, I stared at the intruder.
The intruder stared back at me, unflinching.
On shaking legs, I began to walk backward.
The trespasser followed my every step, matching them in distance and pace.
When my back hit the island, I didn’t hesitate to swiftly climb it and stand in the center of it. And when I opened my mouth, a shaky, “Help,” left me. Actually, it was more of a squeak. Also, I was sure no one had heard my desperate cry.