Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
It burned like the hottest fire to witness it in person.
It would have been one thing if I’d been there to watch him grow. To see his heart callous over and harden. But I hadn’t been there. He wouldn’t let me.
“I…” I shook my head as tears welled in my eyes. “I’m sorry… You have to know that I would never hurt you on purpose.”
His jaw ticked, but he cut his gaze to the side.
Desperate, I took a step toward him, the tears finally escaping. “Ramsey, please. Can we just talk? Or maybe you just listen. Anything?”
He flinched and then shook his head. “I can’t do this. I gotta get out of here.”
“Ramsey, please!”
Suddenly, a man in a uniform came strutting out of the building, walking straight to the gate. “Hey!” he yelled. “Everything okay out here?”
Head to toe, Ramsey turned to stone. To a stranger, it would have only been his posture that changed. But I saw it, and being so close, Nora felt it.
A wave of panic crashed into him, momentarily washing away his anger and stealing my breath. His Adam’s apple bobbed and then his face fell tragically blank.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as Nora and I exchanged knowing glances.
“It’s fine,” I chirped in my telephone voice, the one I usually reserved for obnoxious clients.
Nora moved first, hooking her arm through Ramsey’s. “Yep, all good. We were just leaving.”
The officer swung his gaze over the three of us, seemingly convinced when Ramsey started walking with Nora and slowed only to snag his trash bag of belongings off the ground.
I swear I didn’t breathe again until Ramsey was in the back seat, his seat belt on, and Nora pulled out onto the main highway.
Well, that’s not totally true. As I used the rearview mirror to watch him sitting in the back seat, his elbows on his thighs, his head hanging down, not peering out the window with wonder, reveling in his newfound freedom, a pang of guilt hit me so hard that I wasn’t sure I’d ever breathe again.
Suddenly, for the first time in twelve years, eight months, three weeks, four days, thirteen hours, and eighteen minutes, I was terrified that this wasn’t a fight I could win.
Twelve years earlier…
“Thea,” my dad called, knocking on my bedroom door.
Confused and still half asleep, I mumbled an unintelligible, “Go away.”
“Thea, honey, you need to get up. There are some police officers here that want to talk to you.”
I sat straight up in bed, my heart lurching into my throat as memories from the night before came crashing down over me. My watch read six forty-five and the sun was barely peeking over the horizon, but Ramsey’s side of the bed was blisteringly cold.
“Thea? Did you hear me? You need to come out here and talk.”
Oh my God, Ramsey had told them. He’d told them about Josh. I’d begged him not to say anything. He had no right. I wasn’t ready to even think about what had happened much less talk to my dad and a bunch of strangers about it.
“Thea? Are you—”
“I’m coming,” I croaked. “Give me a second to get dressed.”
Bruised and aching from head to toe, I swung my legs over the side of the bed.
What the hell was I supposed to tell them? Maybe I could lie. It’d be Ramsey’s word against mine. It’s not like he was actually there or anything.
I walked to the full-length mirror in the corner of my room and peeled my pajamas off. My wrists and my arms were black and blue, and so were the inside of my thighs. I had a bite mark on my shoulder and one on my breast. None of which had come from Ramsey. Bile crawled up the back of my throat and I fought the urge to throw up.
Summer still lingered in the Georgia air. I wasn’t going to be able to pull off long sleeves and jeans without ringing alarm bells, so I put my pajamas back on and snagged a hoodie from my laundry hamper. As I tugged it over my head, I practiced my lies:
“Nothing happened.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think Ramsey must be confused or something.”
My stomach wrenched when my dad knocked again.
With my pulse thundering in my ears, I opened the door and flashed my father the best smile I could muster, which admittedly wasn’t much. Things with my dad had gotten better over the years. Or maybe I’d gotten used to the distance between us. He liked to know where I was going and when I was going to be home. Which at least showed he cared. But he rarely asked questions or told me no. Really, it was more like a roommate situation rather than a father-and-daughter relationship.
Concern like I hadn’t seen my dad wear since the day my mom was diagnosed with cancer was etched in his face. “Are you okay?”