Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
I opened my email, going over the last details of my living will with the lawyer setting everything up for me. He just needed one last signature and had sent over a digital form to sign. I clicked it, scanning the details we’d been over a dozen times in the last week.
Anything I had left over in my savings account would go to Maria and her foster care estate, plus my car, which wasn’t really worth much now, but maybe she could give it to one of the teenagers currently under her care.
I signed the document and double-checked the confirmation email stating I had. A little weight lifted off my shoulders knowing I’d done everything in my power to make things as easy as possible when I passed. Hell, I’d even given specific instructions for Maria to utilize anything she could from my apartment for the kids in her care.
Now all I had left to do was…whatever I wanted.
I clicked over to my bank website, checking my balances. Running the figures in my head, I had plenty to live off of for the next three months, even enough for a trip overseas, if I wanted.
Opening another browser, I searched for flights to Ireland. I’d always been fascinated with the culture and legends, and I’d read about the Giant’s Causeway more than once. The historic site not only captivated me with the stunning images I’d seen online, but in the legends surrounding it. Steeped in folklore, the place was rumored to be riddled with magic that couldn’t be explained, only experienced.
I’d always wanted to visit, to lose myself in the rich history, and who wouldn’t want to experience magic, real or imagined?
I let my mouse hover over a flight option, hesitating as a headache formed behind my eyes. The sky had transitioned to night outside my windows, leaving my room blissfully dark except for the lone lamp I had on my nightstand and the glow from my laptop screen. I closed my eyes, inhaling through my nose as I waited for the pain to be followed by the voices.
But nothing happened beyond the dull ache and a little turn of my stomach. My mind was peacefully quiet, except for my own internal debates as I finally looked back at my laptop screen. I could hop the flight tomorrow and be exploring the Giant’s Causeway the following day. Excitement climbed inside me, but something stopped the sensation dead in its tracks.
The image of a different kind of giant flashed behind my eyes.
Ajax.
The kiss, the way he’d been keeping me company since we met that night outside the hospital. The friendship we’d formed and the lines we’d crossed. Even when he’d confused the hell out of me and told me to stay away from him, that I’d somehow be safer if he wasn’t around. Which didn’t make any sense, because I’d never felt more safe when I was with him.
Ireland was tempting, but Ajax? He was an exotic locale I wanted to explore more than any other place in the world. I didn’t want to lose one second with him, let alone days, even knowing our time together had an expiration date.
I closed my laptop and set it on my nightstand before leaning back against the pillows on my bed. I was unusually tired today, even though I hadn’t done anything to wear myself out beyond my indecisiveness on what to do next. I could feel it all along my body, a heaviness I couldn’t shake, a hunger for something I most certainly didn’t have in my house.
Ajax.
I wanted more of Ajax, even if it was just his voice.
Reaching for my cell, I quickly dialed his number.
“Hello, Grace,” he said by way of answer, and it made a smile stretch across my face.
“Hey, Grim,” I said.
“What are you up to now?” he asked.
I stretched out on my bed, sinking deeper against the pillows. “I’m just lying in bed,” I answered.
“Lying in bed and thinking about me,” he said, his voice gravelly. “Sounds about right,” he teased, but he wasn’t wrong. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, especially after last night.
“Maybe I’m bored and you were the first person I thought of to call,” I teased right back. Sounds of metal clinking together echoed in the background, and I furrowed my brow. “Where are you?”
“Home,” he said. “Just about to go out on a hun…go out with some of my friends.”
I wilted slightly at that, not that I’d expected him to race to my place merely because I called.
“It sounds like there’s a sword fight happening over there,” I joked, and he huffed a laugh.
“My friends are messing around,” he said, but I could hear him moving through his home, finding a quieter space. “There,” he said after a few moments. “Now I’m on my bed too.”