Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92668 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92668 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
If being an adult was what was waiting for me out there, maybe I’d just stay here instead.
Especially if that meant letting go of Noah for good.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Two Weeks Later
The annexe wasn’t much, but it was clean.
It didn’t smell like dead badger, I had a working fridge, and there was no longer brown water coming out of my shower or rat poop on the floor, so I was counting it as a win.
It wasn’t much, but as soon as my furniture from the old house arrived, I would also have a bedroom. Not to mention the luxury of a sofa and TV, since Mum and Dad had decided to sell a lot of their furniture. They’d let me have first pick of it for the annexe here at the B&B, and I’d chosen enough essentials that I would be able to move in right after they got back with it.
That was my goal. Move in, and I’d buy all the other stuff later to make this space my own.
They hadn’t wanted to go back to Bristol, not after everything that had happened. After I’d been discharged from the hospital the day after Gwen’s visit, Ash had promised to stay with me at the house to make sure I rested, so they’d finally given in.
I think they’d needed the break as much as I had.
I loved my parents, but my mum tended to turn into a human helicopter when I was hurt in any way. Never mind that I was fine now, and the injuries were more mental than physical in the end. She just saw me lying in the hospital every time she looked at me.
I didn’t blame her. Especially when I woke her up screaming in the middle of the night.
My physical injuries were healing, but there was no taking away the nightmares.
I hoped that with time, they’d go.
I was safe now. Shane was locked up and wasn’t making bail, and the attempted murder on me was enough to put him away for a long time, never mind the actual murder charge, plus trespassing and breaking and entering.
Peace didn’t come overnight, but satisfaction did.
I turned off the vacuum and stood it against the kitchen cabinet just in time to hear three knocks at the door.
I frowned, looking at it like it’d knocked on itself. Who was that, and what did they want? I wasn’t about the unannounced visitors life. You had to give me at least twenty minutes’ warning and announce yourself before knocking.
Ironic, given my tendency to drop in on people without telling them.
After how well those last two attempts had gone, it was a habit I’d well and truly kicked.
I walked over to the door and swung it open, my eyes widening when I saw Stephanie standing on the other side. “Steph.”
She smiled meekly. “Lottie. Could I come in?”
“Uh, you can, but there’s not much to see, I’m afraid.” I stepped aside for her to come in. “I’m waiting on my furniture from Bristol.”
Steph joined me inside and cast a look around. “This is kind of cute,” she said. “That fireplace is to die for.”
I looked at the old stone fireplace that took up the majority of the back wall. “It really is. With a bit of TLC, it’ll be perfect.”
She nodded and turned to me. “I’m sorry I didn’t come and visit you before now. I wanted to, but I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about seeing me, and I thought it was best to let you recover. Ash kept me up to date, though. I think I annoyed her texting her every other hour.”
“Don’t worry about it. None of this was your fault, Steph. You do know that, don’t you?”
She smiled sadly. “I’m just glad you’re okay. I can’t believe Shane was capable of such things. I know it’s cliché, but he really did seem perfect. That should have been the first red flag, I suppose.”
“Some people are good at hiding stuff, especially people like that.” I wrapped my arms around my stomach, hugging myself. “You can’t blame yourself for what he did. As far as you knew, he was just a friend helping you out.”
“I knew he wanted more from me,” she admitted. “I didn’t know he was that crazy about it all, but we’d spoken. He said he was happy to wait until the divorce was final and I was ready to date again, even if that took a while. He understood that I didn’t want Declan to have anything to use against me. His affairs were the one thing I could hold over his head, and I knew he’d use anything he could to tear me down. There was… one night… with me and Shane. A mistake, really, but now I’m starting to wonder if I had a say in that at all.”