Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 29965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 150(@200wpm)___ 120(@250wpm)___ 100(@300wpm)
The sound of the taxi’s tires crunching in the driveway sounded, and Chloe set the goodbye letter to Dominic on the table. It was short and right to the point. She didn’t mention anything that they’d done, didn’t even mention the fight. A simple, “Thank you for letting me stay here, but I think my time here is done,” was all that needed to be said.
She made sure to let him know when her bus would be leaving, not so much because she thought he needed to know, but more so because she hoped—in the back of her mind—he’d come to her. Of course, she knew he wouldn’t.
Chloe wasn’t stupid, no matter what she’d done recently that might have indicated the contrary.
14
EIGHT YEARS LATER
The road beside Chloe’s car sped by like a blur of gray and yellow. Finally, after eight grueling years of school, she was finished. She was a physician. It seemed surreal, almost like she was locked in a dream, a very good one at that.
Now, she had another four years of internship to look forward to, to perfect her craft and learn even more, and she couldn’t wait.
She tightened her hands on the steering wheel and breathed out slowly. Why she’d decided to head up to the cabin was still a mystery to her. It might even be one of the worst decisions of her life, but despite that, she couldn’t stop herself from making the journey. She was going to the one place she’d told herself she wouldn’t go ever again.
But here she was, breaking that promise to herself.
She supposed the only saving grace was that Dominic wouldn’t be there. Or maybe that was one massive letdown.
In the past eight years a lot had changed. Her parents had decided to practice medicine in California. It wasn’t too much of a shock to Chloe, given the fact she knew they wanted to expand their profession and look into plastics. It wasn’t like she wasn’t used to being put on the back-burner, though. Hell, the majority of her life had been only about her grades and future professional status to them. If she looked good, they looked good.
Her parents had moved a year ago, but they rarely spoke, mainly just on holidays or birthdays, and even those conversations were stilted and awkward. They were much too busy with their own lives to care about hers anymore. A blessing, she supposed. Or maybe they were sick of everything, too, and moving was the only option they saw fit to rectify the shitty life they’d wrought?
The one person that was always in the forefront of her mind, though, was Uncle Dominic. When everyone had found out Clara and Dominic had divorced, surprise was the dominant emotion. Chloe knew that she, along with everyone else, had thought Clara and Dominic would last forever. There was no talk about Clara cheating on him, and Chloe knew that if she hadn’t overhead her aunt and uncle’s conversation, she would have never known either. The blame was squarely placed on Dominic and his “inadequacy to be a good husband.”
Chloe hadn’t spoken to her uncle in the past eight years. All of her information came from what she’d heard from others, eavesdropping, or inadvertently walking in on a private conversation. She wasn’t even sure why they cared anymore. After the divorce, it was as if they had never known him. And he hadn’t even been the one who’d betrayed Clara. He’d been the one who’d gotten the shitty end of the deal.
She’d heard through the grapevine he’d reenlisted in the navy and had gone overseas. And that scared the shit out of her. With the wars waging all over the world, she feared hearing the news that Dominic was gone for good.
She knew he beat himself up about what they’d done, and she wished she could take his pain away. If he didn’t feel guilty, why else would he have run away and became an active SEAL again? She thought of him every day—but to actually speak to him again, to see him again, after what had been said and done? That was all too much.
As the hours passed and her tires ate up the pavement, Chloe couldn’t help but think about where her life had taken her. Her fondest memories were the ones at the cottage she was now heading to, and how sad was that? A childhood where you were happiest at a place that wasn’t even your home, with a person who wasn’t even blood related.
Once she started her internship, she wouldn’t have time for anything else. During this break, before she started her residency, she needed to see the lake again, needed to see the little things that made up the memories she thought about the most.
When she’d asked about whether the cabin was empty, her aunt hadn’t even questioned her. It was hard speaking to Clara because of everything that had gone down. But that was life. She’d moved on—Clara as well—and now Chloe was focused on making sure she was happy.