Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 71768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71768 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
The shirt dropped from my hands and fell in a flutter against the floor as I hung my head. “I think sometimes, even adults need a bit of a fairy tale.”
“Then.” She walked up next to me, so close I could smell her flowery perfume. She grabbed my hand firmly in hers, not gently, but in a way that said, I’m here, I’m always here. “I think that Brooks probably knows you’re in his closet stealing his clothes and being emotional. I think Monica is both crying and laughing over our antics with their kids. But most of all, I think that they’re looking at us, smiling and saying… Good job. Survival of the fittest.” She grinned. “Because that was them.”
“That was them,” I repeated with a small smile, wishing we could stay in this moment forever. I had no idea what it meant, but it was something, and something was better than whatever the hell I’d been trying to navigate for weeks.
I would take something with Colby over nothing any day.
And that’s when it hit me.
Colby.
She made me want to jump off the nearest roof while at the same time I was scared that if I got too close, I’d want her to stay with me, like this, forever.
What a fucking terrifying feeling that was.
“Yes,” I said again. “It was definitely them.”
And now it was just us.
Me and her.
Her and me.
Us.
She stared at a shirt with “Mama” in pink glitter across the front. “Do you think Viera would want to maybe keep this?”
I opened my mouth, then shut it and shook my head. It was all I was capable of doing as I took the shirt from her hands and put it into the box between us. Colby had said she would try to get most of Monica’s stuff out of there so I didn’t have to deal with it—which meant I needed to start on Brooks’s side of the closet. The mood was morose, heavy, as I started going through his suits.
They were expensive.
And in pristine condition.
I knew that he’d be happy that they would one day help someone maybe get a job or give someone confidence.
With each suit I pulled off the hanger, I would get a whiff of his cologne, and then I would get hammered with memory after memory.
College.
Our trip to Thailand.
His wedding day.
I didn’t realize I’d stopped folding until Colby put a hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t I just finish all of this up.”
Not wanting to be the weak link, I shook my head no and kept on working in silence.
Once the closet was nearly empty, I moved over to the row of shelves in the back and grabbed another box sitting next to the linens. It broke open as soon as I pulled it forward, spilling the contents onto the floor in one big bright and traumatic heap.
“What the hell?” A buzzing sounded from beneath the pile, and then I looked back at the broken box.
In giant red letters it said “Burn Box.”
“What’s that noise?” Colby walked over, and immediately her cheeks turned bright red. “Oh my gosh. I totally forgot about this!”
“What is that sound—”
I picked up the towel that had fallen on top of the items making noise and recoiled so fast I knocked the rest of the towels off the shelf.
Colby burst out laughing as I stumbled backward and fell onto my ass. “Are those sex toys?” I asked.
“What else is shaped like a—”
“Don’t finish that sentence!” I pointed an accusing finger at her. “Make it go away!”
She just laughed harder, more tears running down her face. “Monica and Brooks liked it dirty!”
I was seriously going to cut off my own ears.
“Please, Colby. I’m begging you. Make them disappear. I will never unsee this!”
Colby reached into the pile.
“That’s not even close to being sanitary!” I swatted her hand away. “Don’t touch anything, oh shit, I think I’m going to puke.”
Colby fell back onto the floor laughing. “This is my favorite moment ever!”
“It’s not funny!” I said, momentarily horrified.
“Oh, it’s hilarious.”
“At least turn off the vibrator!”
Her grin took on a wicked quality. “Nah, I think it adds to the current mood, right?”
I glared, and she switched it off with a sigh and a red face.
“Why the hell would they need this many sex toys? There’s at least seven different types of… devices.”
Colby grinned. “Huh. I never knew you were such a prude.”
“I’m not! It’s just, it’s my sister! And nobody wants to think about those… things.” I cleared my throat. “You know, with their sister, and can we stop talking about this now? I’m already going to have nightmares for life.”
As if ignoring me, Colby kept talking. “It’s funny, we always had these ridiculous conversations where we went over what to burn or what to take care of if anything happened to us.” Tears filled her eyes. “But this? I never imagined this.” She swiped her cheeks. “She was good, you know? Hilarious. Just such a good person.”