Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 155405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 777(@200wpm)___ 622(@250wpm)___ 518(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155405 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 777(@200wpm)___ 622(@250wpm)___ 518(@300wpm)
He never got me alone again until the end of summer when he broke into my house while my mom was out with his dad.
He chased me to my bedroom and trapped me inside. I sank to the floor with my back against the door, shaking with intensifying fear every time he slammed his hand against the wood and I felt the reverberations on the other side. I was terrified the door wouldn’t hold, terrified of what he would do to me if it gave way.
From the moment he walked through the door, I feared he was there to finish what he had started that night at the party, but this time he wasn’t silent, so I didn’t have to wonder about his intentions.
This time, he told me exactly what he wanted to do to me when he got into my bedroom, so I knew I was right to be afraid.
I called the cops. It was the only thing to do.
I hadn’t wanted things to escalate to that point, but he left me with little choice.
I was so angry and afraid by the time it was all over. I’d reached my limit making excuses for him and going out of my way to avoid him when I hadn’t done a damn thing wrong. If jail was the only way I could assure I was safe from him, then jail was where he needed to be.
But his father is Hayden Atwater, the best criminal defense attorney in Baymont, probably in the whole state of California.
He knows all the right people, and he assured me that even if I pressed charges, he would make sure his son got out of it with no more than a slap on the wrist.
Kids in this town have gotten away with far more, so I knew he wasn’t lying.
Hayden convinced me that it would be the most beneficial if Landon believed I chose not to press charges against him. He thought it might buy me a little good will. Certainly more than if I insisted on pressing charges and lost.
He also offered to pay off my mom’s house as a “thank you” gift, but that was before he decided to hell with it and just proposed to her.
He’s a bit impulsive, but I really like Hayden despite everything. I understand wanting to protect Landon even when he doesn’t deserve it. I’ve battled the same impulse, and I’m not even related to him.
I could have never foreseen my mom falling for his dad. It would be amazing if Hayden were literally anyone else in the world.
But, unfortunately, he is Landon’s father.
Landon is the landmine built beneath their relationship, and I have to spend the rest of the year standing on it so it doesn’t explode and destroy everything.
I’m not feeling great that we’re not even a week in and Landon has already had to go stay with his cousin for a couple of days. Earlier at dinner, Mom was quiet, and I could tell she wasn’t, either.
A whisper of a memory replays in my head as I look at the three dresses laid out across my new bed. I remember helping Mom get ready for her first date with Hayden in her bedroom at our old house. I didn’t know it was with him, but I could feel her excitement, and I hadn’t felt it in so long. Mom is amazing, but she set her love life completely aside to focus on raising me, so I couldn’t remember another time I’d seen her sparkle the way Hayden made her sparkle.
He loves her so fucking well, and she deserves that. They both do.
I grab the middle dress off the bed and march to the bathroom with renewed will.
It’s just a party. Who cares?
It’ll be at Hannah’s house, and I’m the one who made the guest list, so I’ll know people there.
Most importantly, I’m not that awestruck young girl anymore. Landon can no longer surprise me, and I won’t follow him into any dark corners.
So honestly, what’s the worst that can happen?
Maybe I’ll even have a good time.
Chapter Ten
Parker
“Need help with that?”
Hannah looks up and offers a smile as I approach the drink table where she’s setting up for the party. “I’ve got it. We do still need one for the pool area, though. There’s a smaller tub in the kitchen. If you want to, fill it about ¾ of the way full with ice. There’s an open bag in the freezer.”
“On it,” I say, turning and heading for the kitchen.
Once I have a tub full of ice, I come back out to the main party room. Hannah has finished filling her tub, so I use the leftovers to fill mine. There are mini bottles of vodka and gin, and a couple of small bottles of water for anyone who wants one of those instead. Canned non-alcoholic beverages are plunged into a separate tub of ice, and Hannah made party punch distributed in two separate glass dispensers, one marked “designated driver friendly” that has colorful, melted sherbet mounds floating around on top.