Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69910 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69910 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“Are you?” Apollo asks softly.
“Yes, I’m happy. I was happy.” Even I know that’s not true. I was living a safe life where I never took chances. I used every excuse not to leave Dedind. Granted, some of them were legit. My dad needed me. He would be alone without me. Also, I didn’t have the money. But legit or not, all those reasons were excuses.
My dad might have missed me, but I didn’t have to go far. I could have taken courses online. I could have had a degree by now if I’d taken out student loans, and then I could be doing something else. Something I truly wanted to be doing. Have I ever known what that was? Or is that just an excuse as well?
“I…I can find happiness, and so can you.” Excuses or not, I can’t stay here. “I don’t need this house to do it. I don’t need your money. If you want to buy some of my dad’s company shares as an investor, I’ll convince my dad to sell them. That would make sure we have breathing room. If our dads could just get along again, or at least be civil, that’s all I need as well. Not…not all of this.” I look toward the house. The house of mushroom magic. But that’s what it is. It’s magic. Magic isn’t real. “I shouldn’t have thought of accepting your help in any other way than that before. This whole idea, it was a nice idea, but it’s not going to work. We just have to accept defeat and move on. But this place really is incredible. Maybe you could turn it into a wildlife rescue of some kind. I think any rescue would love to have a building like this. And helping fellow non-cats like possums, skunks, and raccoons is a good thing. All the others too. It’s the right location, that’s for sure.”
“It’s a great idea, Patience. You should do it when you take ownership.”
I don’t remember Apollo being this stubborn. And I don’t remember him being the guy who would ever kiss his best friend, either.
“It’s not going to happen. I’m going home, Apollo. Will you send me the papers when you have them ready?”
“For the house?”
“The divorce papers.”
“Do you think we could ever be friends again?” Apollo asks.
I close my eyes as that question rocks me back a step. “Not childhood besties style. Not the kind of friends we were. We were kids then. We’re adults now. It’s not the same thing.”
“It doesn’t have to be the same thing or the same style. I’d love it if it were a more mature friendship.”
“Not that kind!” I can feel his kiss on my lips. I can feel it all over my body.
“No, not that kind. I didn’t mean that kind,” he stammers. “I meant an adult friendship between two people who respect each other and go to each other when they have problems, who talk to each other and comfort each other, give each other advice, and help each other out. Ones who hang out because they have common interests.”
“Beyond our dads, I don’t think we have much in common anymore.” I carefully wet my bottom lip. I can still taste him. That kiss is going to haunt me forever. That kiss that was no fairy tale in front of this fairy tale house in this fairy tale place. He’s right. Short of the unicorn we used to talk about, it’s everything I dreamed of. All this is going to be embedded in my brain for an eternity.
“I’d like to prove you wrong about that.”
I came here to apologize, and it’s turned into this. I can’t accept the house. I can’t accept that kiss. “You can start by getting those papers drawn up and signing them. I’ll talk to my dad about letting you invest in the company. That way, you’ll get a return for your money. It makes way more sense to do it that way since he would never accept a donation.”
“His company is a non-profit.”
“Yes, I know all the money goes into paying salaries and into the research and more development, but we don’t…we don’t…”
“I can do it as an investment. It’s fine.” The hope in his eyes is killing me.
“And the papers?”
He wants to convince me to stay, but it’s wrong. None of this was right. It was the wrong time in the wrong way. I never wanted this marriage in the first place. I don’t care about possessions or money. He didn’t do this to impress me, but I don’t want to be the kind of woman who needs saving. I want to be able to save myself. And Apollo? He’s the salt of the earth. He’s the salt of the earth down to his feet, rooted in it, in this place that is undeniably his. I feel like I’m breaking his heart, doubly so right now, but we can’t just fall back into a friendship. We can’t fall into anything more than that.