Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
“What’s wrong?” she asks, sitting down on the edge of my bed.
“It’s over,” I say cryptically.
“Hard to believe, I know. But you hated high school. I figured you’d be happy as pie.”
“I’m not talking about school,” I sigh, sitting up. “Kane and me. We’re done.”
“Oh, Renee,” she turns toward me and pats my leg. “Are you really surprised?”
I scowl at her. “I guess I’m the idiot for thinking we could be more.”
“You’re not an idiot, Renee. I just figured you knew it wouldn’t work out. I mean, your dad would have a cow.”
“You seem to concern yourself a lot with my dad,” I mutter.
“What?” she asks, confused. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“If you had the opportunity to be with my dad the way I was with Kane, would you take it?”
“Renee!”
“Would you?”
“You’ve gone crazy,” she huffs.
“I know you have a crush on him.”
“He’s an amazing guy, Rey, and he’s cute… so yeah, I have a little crush. Would I sleep with him? No way… my parents would flip out, and you…” she rambles before tightening her jaw. “It’s inappropriate, Renee.”
“Thanks, Chastity,” I sigh, standing up and walking to the door.
“I’m sorry, Rey. I just think it’s better this way.”
I don’t respond as I walk out of the room and head downstairs. I put on a phony smile and pretend to pay attention to what people are saying to me, but I couldn’t care less. Daddy comes over to me, and I hug him, needing the comfort of his arms.
“Thank you for all of this and for the car… and for being the best father and mother I could have ever wanted,” I say, overly emotional.
Dad scratches the back of my head as I cry into his shoulder. He begins to cry too, for different reasons than mine obviously.
“Oh, Kane said something came up at one of the construction sites. He’s really sorry, but he had to take care of it right away,” Dad explains.
I nod my head silently, and Chastity makes her way over.
“Want to help me with the cake, Chastity?” Daddy asks her, touching her shoulder.
She looks at his hand and then at his face.
“Uh, sure.”
They head into the kitchen together. I know Chastity would jump on the opportunity to be with my dad if it ever came up, no matter what she says. Or maybe I’m just trying to make myself feel better about Kane. What the hell am I going to do about this baby?
20
Kane
I feel like the scum of the earth for leaving Renee’s party the way I did. But what choice did she leave me with? I’d stolen back the journal days ago, knowing I needed to end things sooner rather than later. My plan was never to have our affair go on for so long, but once it had started, I couldn’t stop it. Every day got a little more difficult, and every day, I’d pretended we could continue on without any consequences.
The truth is, I crave Renee. Worse–I need her. There is no way I’m going to let my feelings for her get in the way of her life, though. She should be focusing on her future. What kind of a future could she have with me? I’m more than twice her age.
Colt would never be able to get over our affair, and I won’t allow her to outcast herself from her father and the town she grew up in for me.
Over the next couple of weeks, when I get home from work, I lie on the couch drinking beer, trying to numb the pain. I can’t sleep, and I’m lucky if I’m able to stuff down a meal. My mind keeps replaying the past eight months. Hell, I’ve been thinking about the last almost nineteen years with Renee! Her birthday is in a couple of months, and I haven’t missed a single one yet.
Every smile, every laugh, and every bat of Renee’s big beautiful eyes are on constant rerun in my mind. But the memory that really tears me up inside is the one from her graduation party. The look on Renee’s face when I’d told her it’s over, right there in the room where it all started, breaks my heart.
It’s Friday night, and I’m on the couch trying to take a nap. I’m so fucking exhausted, but I can’t turn my mind off or change its channel from Renee to something else… anything else!
The phone rings, and I see Colt’s name on the caller I.D. I’d already sent several of his calls to voicemail over the past couple of weeks.
“Hey, man,” I say, trying to sound casual.
“Finally, I caught you. Been busy at work, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s been crazy. I’m exhausted,” I say, my groggy voice making that evident.
“You sound it. Sorry, buddy. I’m calling because I’m taking Renee and Chastity into the city to see a Broadway show tomorrow. You want to come?”