Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95559 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95559 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
“Seen by whom? Kyler? That piece of shit? You’re believing him over me? Are you for real right now?” Adam starts pacing, running his hands through his hair as he does so.
“He has no reason to lie to me, Adam.”
“AND I DO?” Adam roars, striding up to me quickly and forcing me to take a couple of steps back.
“I don’t know, do you?” I fire back, the determination in my belly now turning to anger. “You can’t deny things haven’t been the same with us since I moved. You’ve been distant, hard to get hold of. We hardly see each other and it’s not as if I have a car and can drive to see you. You said you’d be happy to come visit me on the weekends and you’ve been twice. And one of those was when you helped me move.”
“And who’s fault is that? I didn’t ask you to move. I didn’t even want you to, but you did anyway, my feelings be damned. So, what am I meant to do? Wait here like a good little boy, until you come running back to me? Fuck that, I was lonely! So, while you were living it up with your new friends and playing house with Kyler I was stuck here. So yes, I found someone to keep me company. I found someone who showed interest in me, which is more than you’ve done for the past few months!”
Adam’s words shock me into silence and the tears build up in my eyes. I blink furiously to keep them at bay because they are not tears of sadness. They are tears of anger at how Adam’s changed, and how he’s admitted he’s found someone else. And while I thought the dagger to my heart would be an inexplicable pain I would never recover from, I actually feel it’s cut the ties holding the weights on my shoulders. I feel like I can breathe again, and the suffocation of a long-distance relationship has finally lifted. I swipe at my eyes and nod once before replying.
“Then I guess this is it,” I concede.
“What’s it?”
“You’re not happy, Adam. And honestly, neither am I. We’re different people. We live in different places. This isn’t high school anymore. Maybe it’s time we realize that.”
“So, what, we’re breaking up?” Adam asks incredulously.
“Yeah. I think we are.”
The lack of fight from Adam tells me all I need to know. He wants out of this relationship as much as I do. The couple we were in high school is different to the couple we are now. There’s a romance about high school sweethearts staying together, getting married, having a family and being happy and in love until a ripe-old age, but the reality is as life moves on, couples grow apart. The kid on the football field is not the man in his business suit, and the girl in her cheerleader’s uniform is not the woman standing here now. My once lifelong dream drifts away in front of me and instead of feeling the devastation I was expecting, I feel a sense of closure.
After a few minutes, Adam looks over at me, his eyes red-rimmed. “I hope he keeps you happy, Thea,” he says in a low-pitched voice, before he turns and exits my room, leaving me alone with my memories and a new chapter about to start.
sixteen
Kyler
With everyone gone, I invite my mom, Ally, and Lacey over to the house for Thanksgiving dinner. It won’t be much because none of us are the cooking type, but we’ll be together, and Lacey needs to have family around, especially during the holidays. Nolan joked I should pay Thea to make the meal, but I can’t imagine asking her to do such a thing, even if money is involved. I did, however, go through her cookbooks until I found what I needed and copied down the recipes accordingly. We’re having turkey, mashed (and undoubtedly, lumpy) potatoes, corn, green beans, rolls, and gravy. Granted, the gravy comes from a jar you heat up in the microwave but whatever. It’s food, and I’m sort of proud of what I created.
Lacey is having a field day, running up and down the stairs. She squeals in delight, and the sound echoes through the house. The last time I checked on my mother, she was sitting on the couch, watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and was doing her darndest to get Lacey to watch it with her.
Ally sits at the small table in the corner of the kitchen. She’s brought a tablecloth, napkins, paper plates, and cups, all decorated with a turkey. Even the plastic utensils she brought are orange and brown.
“Lacey really likes it here.”
I glance over my shoulder toward the doorway. “Yeah, she does. Too bad there aren’t apartments with staircases.”
“We can’t afford anything here, Kyler. We are going to have to move inland, more toward the capital where rent is cheaper.”