Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 90598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90598 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
I slide my now-empty suitcase under the bed. In my flurry of packing, I left like half my clothes in my closet in California. Yet another thing Malia is going to deal with for me. She’s been great since the breakup, even though I haven’t seen her in person. I called her from the airport and asked her for her help. She didn’t hesitate to get everything taken care of. I’ll miss her the most out of everything in California.
She and Spencer, but I’m not ready to think about him yet.
Abby knocks on the open bedroom door and steps inside.
“Hey! You look settled.”
“Yeah. Thanks again for letting me stay here. It’s only temporary, I swear.”
“I know, you’ve only said that like a thousand times. It’s no big deal. There was nothing in this room, anyway. Just the bed and dresser in case I ever had guests.”
I laugh. “I think I slept in here at least once before.”
“Probably after a night out, even though you could’ve walked to your apartment.”
“It’s too bad they filled it already. Would’ve been nice to go back to somewhere familiar.”
“You never know. Maybe you’ll decide to go back to California instead of staying here.”
I shoot her a look. “I already told you that’s not happening. That chapter of my life is over, and I’m ready to move on.”
“I think there’s more to the story, though, and you’ve admitted it wasn’t some sensual kiss. Why don’t you give Spencer a chance to explain what happened?”
I huff and flop down on the bed. Shiloh moves to snuggle up against me. He must not be that mad about the transcontinental flight.
“There’s no denying the photos are real. Whether the kiss meant anything or not, it happened, and he never told me about it. It was obviously a secret he felt was worth keeping.”
“But …”
“No buts!” I say, cutting her off. “Spencer and I wouldn’t have worked out, anyway. We started as a fake relationship and had all those issues. I’m too jealous a person to be with a celebrity. It was a silly fantasy I was living out, but it wasn’t going to be my reality. Spencer and I were bound to break up eventually. Those photos simply sped things up.”
Abby frowns. “I think you two were good together.”
“You never even saw us together except for in magazines.”
“But, like I told you before, you seemed so much happier when you were with him.”
“Except for all those times I wasn’t. We kept getting into ridiculous fights that could be fixed with a conversation, but we were so bad at communicating that it went on for way longer than it should have.”
“That’s a part of a relationship. You’d only been together for a few months. You would’ve gotten better over time.”
“Doubtful. Do you really think we could’ve learned to be better to each other? I don’t buy it. I mean it when I say this was for the best. I’m happier now.”
“You are not.”
“Okay, fine, but I will be.”
“You’ve been miserable all week. You don’t like the weather here and miss your cute little California apartment. You hate that you’re going back to Frills East on Monday. Even Shiloh doesn’t seem happy about moving back here.”
“That’s because I’ve kept him shacked up all week. I’ll start taking him back to the dog park he used to like. He’ll get used to it again, and so will I.”
“But you don’t have to!” Abby says. “You can be happy back in California. Even if you don’t talk to Spencer again, don’t you think it would be nice to stay and live your life? It’s not about Spencer; it’s about you. I hate seeing you like this.”
I force a smile. “I won’t be like this for long.”
“No, you’ll figure out a way to pretend to be happy until you think you actually are, but you won’t be. You always wanted bigger things than what you can get here.”
“I tried the bigger thing, and it didn’t work out. If this is about not wanting to share your space, I’ll find something soon, I promise.”
Abby sighs. “You know it has nothing to do with that. I’m happy to have you back. I missed you while you were across the country. But I’d be happier missing you than seeing you every day forcing yourself into your old normal. The normal you hated so much that the second Rebecca gave you the option to move away, you jumped on it.”
“And I couldn’t even make it a year.”
“It was almost a year.”
“But not quite.”
“If you go back within a few days, you could keep the countdown going. Call this a mini-vacation.”
“Honestly, Abby, it’s not up to you. I want to stay in Massachusetts. I’m done with California.”
“I know that. I just don’t want you throwing away something real because you’re afraid. It’s your M.O. You did the same thing with your ex.”