Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 139803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 699(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 139803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 699(@200wpm)___ 559(@250wpm)___ 466(@300wpm)
“If you’re planning on talking to Meghan, you better think carefully about your words before you speak them,” Axel snapped at Vincent. He didn’t look away from his phone, highlighting something important as he did so.
“Meghan, I’m sorry,” Vincent told me. I kept my eyes locked on whatever Axel was doing, not wanting to face Vincent right then. I was angry, sad—fucking conflicted. I wanted to hate him, wanted to so damn badly, but I couldn’t. I hated that a part of me still thought of Vincent as a friend.
But to me, this didn’t just feel like some kind of bump in the road.
This was something a lot bigger. I couldn’t just shrug it off and pretend like everything was okay.
Because it wasn’t okay. Vincent had said hateful, cruel words to me and about me. That wasn’t something I could brush off, push aside, or move past.
“I’m sorry that I never tried to understand you. I’m sorry that I never tried to learn and come to know the person you are today. Medication doesn’t make you weak, and it certainly doesn’t fuck you up. You’re doing so much better than you were in school. You’re practically glowing, and it’s because you’re learning to heal.”
I played with Axel’s hair, still not wanting to look up at Vincent. I was worried that I would burst into tears if I did.
And Axel and Julian were already pissed enough with Vincent as it was. I was afraid if I began to cry, my men would lose their shit.
Vincent drew in a deep breath. “And Meghan, you’re not a slut.” My bottom lip trembled as tears filled my eyes. “You never could be. It’s so clear that both Axel and Julian worship the ground you walk on. I had no right to judge something that I didn’t understand. So, I’m sorry.”
I finally looked up at him.
And when I did?
I burst into tears.
Axel instantly moved off the floor and sat beside me on the couch, gently positioning me on his lap after. “You hurt me so bad,” I cried. Axel soothingly ran his hand over my hair. “Ever since you visited me in the center, you looked at me differently—almost as if I was crazy.”
“I know, and I’m sorry,” Vincent apologized for the umpteenth time. “I had no idea how to deal with who you had become. The girl I knew let everything roll off her shoulders and danced like there was a fire under her feet.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” I swiped at my cheeks. Axel pressed a kiss to my temple. “I never let it roll off my shoulders. I just buried it all until my mind couldn’t take it anymore, and I spiraled.”
Vincent stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t a better friend, Meghan,” he told me quietly. “I never really knew who you were.” He drew in a deep breath as he prepared himself to say his next words. “But I want to know who you are now. I want to try to reestablish our friendship.” He roughly ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ve lost everything, Meghan, and the thought of losing you, too—the one person that I knew I could have always relied on—I can’t do it. Please, just give me a chance.”
I curled my fingers into Axel’s shirt, holding onto him as if it would hold me together.
“I can’t make that decision right now,” I told him, my voice breaking.
“Okay,” he whispered. “Just—please think about it, yeah?”
I nodded. “Okay.”
As soon as he walked out of the house, I fell apart.
* * *
✶ ✶ ✶
* * *
Dr. Gresham’s warm, inviting face popped up on the computer screen. My eyes were still red and bloodshot, and I knew he noticed.
“Let’s talk about what has you so upset,” he started, not even bothering with normal pleasantries.
“Vincent came to Massachusetts a couple of nights ago,” I informed him. Dr. Gresham nodded, silently showing he was listening to what I was telling him. “I was really angry about it at first, but then, I started feeling sad about everything that had happened between us—the friendship that was lost.”
Julian set a cup of decaffeinated coffee in front of me before he pressed his lips to my temple and silently moved back to the crockpot where he was putting together chili for dinner.
“Were you two able to perhaps talk, clear the air a bit?” Dr. Gresham asked me.
I sighed and shrugged. “He apologized and asked to try to rebuild our friendship.”
Dr. Gresham steepled his fingers together and rested his chin on them. “And your response to that?”
I shrugged again, looking down at my cup of coffee for a moment. “I told him that I would have to think about it,” I told him honestly.
Dr. Gresham smiled at me, which was not the reaction that I had been expecting. “I’m extremely proud of you, Meghan.” He beamed.