Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 83221 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83221 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
He brings the subject back to potential vacation spots, though he’s leaning toward Vancouver. I stare at my father, still wondering how he managed to wreck my life when I was a teenager.
After all these years, I should be over his betrayal. And, maybe, I could have gotten over it had he not married my girlfriend and had children with her. They live two houses down from me, for fuck’s sake. There’s no forgetting or moving past it. It’s a constant reminder every damn day. Every time I see Gemma—a spitting image of her mother. Every Sunday when I see Jamie as she flits about the kitchen, happy in her role of the beloved wife of Nathan Park.
But things are changing.
I have Willa now. She’s the distraction I’ve needed. The push in the right direction so I can heal my heart of all this hatred for my father and Jamie. Willa is innocent and sweet. Loving and kind. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.
Simply put, she’s not capable of hurting me.
She wouldn’t.
She just wouldn’t.
Relief floods through me because I know it to be true. Willa’s not like Jamie. It’s time to acknowledge that and believe in it. Hope curls around my heart and tugs.
With Willa, I can move past all this shit.
Finally be happy.
As Dad prattles on about how expensive his wife is, I find that I’m not boiling over with rage like usual. A wave of calm washes over me.
It doesn’t matter anymore. This thing with Willa is already so powerful. Life-changing. I can feel it from my head all the way down to my toes.
She’s quickly becoming my everything.
And my past, in comparison, is absolutely nothing.
Fucking nothing.
Willa
“…and then he asked me out, but I told him no. I had to do it, right? Right?”
I blink away my Callum daze and meet Gemma’s questioning stare. She gnaws on her plump bottom lip as though she’s second-guessing everything.
“Um, right,” I say, though I have no idea if it’s the right thing to say or not.
She sighs heavily and relaxes. “Not only would Dempsey give him shit, but my dad wouldn’t allow it.”
“Your dad seems strict.”
“You have no idea. Mom is really cool and if it were up to her, she’d let me do more stuff. But it’s Dad who keeps me under his thumb. I hate it. It’s so unfair.”
I reach over and take her hand. “You got to come here and have a sleepover.”
“Freedom. Finally.” She grins in a slightly wicked way that reminds me of Callum.
She flips through the apps on my television, searching for another movie to watch, and continues her babbling. It’s nearly midnight, but I’m still buzzing with energy from the text exchange me and Callum shared earlier. I’ll need to come off this high if I ever have a hope of falling asleep. I’ve blocked the door from any unwanted intruders, but I still can’t believe Levi hasn’t tried to peek in on what I’m doing. I’m grateful but wary.
“Did you hear that?”
Gemma puts a finger to her lips, eyes wide and dancing with mischief. I listen for the door, but there aren’t any sounds coming from that direction. Before I can relax, I hear the sound too. At the window.
For a split second, my heart thunders so hard in my chest I can feel it in my ears. I have an awkward encounter already playing in my head of Gemma discovering her much older brother is coming to the window of her new friend.
He won’t.
He knows better.
Gemma tosses the remote control onto the bed before climbing off and sauntering over to the window. She pulls the curtain aside. Two figures loom in the darkness.
Levi? Darren?
But it’s not them.
It’s more of the strikingly beautiful Park family. Not the Park I want to see, but lovely to look at nevertheless. Spencer steps closer, smirking, and Dempsey waves, grinning.
I’ve never had friends like this. Sure, there’s been a person or two I’ve talked to or even liked, but never this. Friends showing up at the window at midnight and one of them staying the night.
“Hold on,” Gemma whispers. “We’ll open the window.”
As soon as the window is up, Dempsey climbs through first. I get a whiff of weed coming off him. He’s dressed in a black hoodie, black jeans, and black boots. Typical Dempsey. It’s Spencer who doesn’t look like his usual preppy self. He’s also wearing a black hoodie, dark jeans, and black boots. They’re closer to looking like twins tonight than Dempsey and Gemma.
“Speedy,” Spencer says to me, eyes flashing with amusement. “Cool room.”
I follow his gaze to the K-pop posters on the wall. My cheeks burn hot, but I shrug it off.
“What are you two doing here? How did you find my house?” I ask, changing the subject. “Stalkers much?”
Dempsey holds up his phone. “I can track Gemma.”