Total pages in book: 195
Estimated words: 185573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 928(@200wpm)___ 742(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 185573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 928(@200wpm)___ 742(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
A soft moan escapes my lips as I curl my fingers into his tee shirt and attempt to drag him closer. I’m trying not to think about the consequences of such a dangerous move, but it seems to shock him back to reality. Without warning, his hands fall from my face, and he pulls away, his eyes wild and his breath ragged.
“What the fuck?” he growls. Then he turns his gaze on me, venomous and determined. “So that’s how you want to play this?”
“I’m not playing!” I shout at him. “When are you going to believe what’s right in front of you?”
He turns and shakes his head as he stomps toward the door. “The only thing I believe is that you’re a goddamn liar.”
Chapter 24
Madden
—PAST—
The thing nobody ever tells you is that life never actually gets better. The moments of good are small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The bad is what overshadows us. It’s the darkness that lingers behind us with a menacing reminder just how easily something can slip away.
It’s been five months since Bianca imploded my last shred of trust and turned my world inside out. The experience changed me, and not for the better. I sank into the bleakest hole I’ve ever been in, and crawling my way out hasn’t been an easy feat, especially when I faked my way through every step.
The counselors thought I’d done a complete one-eighty. They praised me for my transformation from the asshole who arrived at the ranch almost a year and a half ago. But the only thing that changed was I learned to bullshit my way through life like everyone else. I had a good teacher in Bianca. And those counselors ate that shit up with a spoon when I smiled and nodded robotically and talked about my so-called feelings.
I’m a real success story at the ranch. Another cog the machine spit out, shiny and new. I ticked all their boxes for reform and graduated with a diploma and a ticket out.
My mom wasn’t thrilled with the news. She sounded uncertain they would let me go, and I think she was hoping they’d just keep me until I was eighteen, and then she could say she’d done her best. Stefan isn’t happy either. I can see it in his grip on the steering wheel as he drives us back to Edinburg.
“Your brother wanted to be here,” Mom tells me to fill the awkward silence. “But his schedule has been jam-packed this year with his impending transition at TCA. Can you believe he’s graduating early even with all the training he’s been doing at the company? It’s such an accomplishment, and we are so proud of him. We’re having a barbecue tonight with a few of our close friends to celebrate.”
“Cool,” I mutter.
Stefan glares at me in the rearview mirror, and I smirk at him.
“We’ll have to start filling out some college applications for you,” Mom says.
“College applications?” Stefan snorts. “Not likely.”
“Maybe a trade school, then.” Mom wrings her hands together in her lap.
“Don’t worry,” I tell them both, staring at Stefan with a hatred that time hasn’t extinguished. “I’ll be out of your hair as soon as I can.”
Mom glances at Stefan and swallows and then looks over her shoulder to give me a shaky smile. She can’t say anything in her defense. We all know that’s exactly what she meant. The sooner I’m out of the house, the happier everyone will be. They can go back to pretending everything is perfect behind their veil of dysfunction, and I’ll be one less thing they have to deal with.
The conversation dies, and it stays that way for the remainder of the five-hour trip. By the time we pull into the gated driveway, I’m already fucking exhausted. But several cars are parked outside, and it looks like people are already gathering for the party.
“Why don’t you go to your room and get cleaned up,” Mom suggests when we get out of the car. “Dinner will be ready in about an hour. You can come down and say hello to everyone when you finish.”
I nod and traipse through the side gate over to the small cottage on the property. It’s separate from the main house and was actually meant to be used as a groundskeeper’s residence. But as I got older, Stefan decided it was the perfect place to hole me away from everyone else.
I open the door and toss my bag onto the bed, glancing around the space. Nothing has changed. It’s the same minimalist aesthetic Stefan maintains on every inch of his property. There are no decorations on the wall. Everything has its place, and it better be kept there or else. Even in the main house, only one family photo hangs in the entryway, and it doesn’t include me. They took that photo the summer I was visiting my aunt in Florida, a perfect opportunity to snip me right out of it.