Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 653(@200wpm)___ 522(@250wpm)___ 435(@300wpm)
She stopped, blinking as if she hadn’t realized.
I nudged her gently. “What is it?”
She swallowed, her eyes lowering, and she looked away.
I caught her face, bringing her back to me. “Same page, Sam.”
She flushed before closing her eyes, but I caught the flash of pain there. Her hands curled into fists on my lap. I felt her pain before she even said a word. “I thought he would’ve called. I sent him a message.”
He.
Shit.
I caught one of her hands in mine and laced our fingers. “Your dad?”
“Garrett, yeah.”
I tugged her down and curled my hand around her, anchoring her to me. “I’m sorry.”
Her body shuddered. She twisted her fingers into my shirt and tugged hard. “It’s stupid. It’s so fucking stupid. He—he decided he didn’t want to be part of my life after all. I thought…” She turned away, her chin trembling. Her voice grew hoarse. “I don’t need him. I know that. And I know what he said, that he needed to prioritize his family and then he’d be in touch, but it’s bullshit. Yes, I had Analise. Yes, I have David and Malinda. But fuck. Fuck. He’s my dad. He was starting to actually become like a dad to me. I have room for two dads. Why couldn’t he have room for two daughters?” She whispered the last sentence.
He’d broken her heart.
“Sam,” I murmured, sliding my hand up into her hair. I angled her head to meet my eyes. She resisted, closing her eyes, but when I didn’t let go, she groaned and relented. Her eyes opened.
There. The pain swam right there, on the surface. It was too much for her to push down. Tears welled up in her eyes and she tried blinking to stop them. She wasn’t fast enough.
“I’m sorry,” I told her.
She blinked again, but more tears appeared. She couldn’t hold them back. “She’s here.” Her voice was rough.
“What?”
“My sister. She’s three hours away, Mase. She’s going to college in Cain. What’s wrong with me? He doesn’t want to know me, fine. Fuck him. But did he have to keep her away too? She’s my half sister. And I have a brother. I don’t even know what he looks like anymore.”
“How’d you know she’s at Cain?”
She hung her head, pressing her forehead to my chest.
“Tell me.” I lifted her chin, tipping her head up. When Garrett took himself out of Sam’s life, Maddy had been young. The reason he gave was a lie, saying it was too hard for him to raise his family. He needed to give all of his attention and love to his new daughter and son; he was being pulled in two separate directions. Sam was an adult. She’d been loved growing up. She was thriving now. He hadn’t had a hand in that, and since he hadn’t, it was easier to step away from her than it was his other two children. Sam never understood his reasoning. I hadn’t either.
If he’d owned up to being a piece-of-shit dad, that’d be different. Sam didn’t need him, not in a literal way. But she’d loved him, and I hated him for turning his back on her. I wanted to destroy him. Sam asked me not to. She pulled me back. But the thought reappeared in my head.
“I think Sharon made him choose,” Sam said.
I could barely handle it. I’d give anything to take away her pain.
She let out a deep breath, both of her hands now fisting my waistband. “I don’t know why. She said she was fine with me, but she could’ve changed her mind. Or she was lying from the start, not really okay with him having a daughter that wasn’t hers. If that’s the case, I…” She tucked her chin down and looked away, so fucking defeated. “I’ve been cyberstalking my sister’s social media. I know I shouldn’t. It’s like I’m torturing myself. I don’t check it all the time, but once a month. I’d do the same for my brother if he had social media. I don’t think he does.” Another tear rolled down her cheek. “I don’t even know what he looks like anymore. She doesn’t put up pictures of him. Why is that? That’s weird, right? Or she does, and I can’t see them. Is that a thing?”
“I could have my PI look into him.”
“You have your PI looking into this other thing. She’s probably busy.” She shook her head. “And no. I said no back then. Garrett chose not to be a part of my life, so fuck him.”
“My PI has a team. She could get one of her colleagues to look into your siblings.”
Sam’s eyes glazed over, the pain completely taking her until she squeezed them shut. She swallowed and shook her head. “No,” she choked out. “No.” She said it again, more clearly. “I’ll wait until they’re adults.”