Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“I do.” I blow out a breath as we reach the top of the steps near the house. “You’re right, I really do. I think I have the day after tomorrow off.”
“Sunday?” he clarifies.
“Yep. The whole day.”
“I’m closed that day, too. I’d like to spend it with you. No plans, nothing crazy. Just with you.”
“That sounds like the best idea I’ve heard in a really, really long time.”
It’s after my shift, and Tanner doesn’t get home for a few more hours, and I really need to paint, so I head over to the lighthouse after work. Thankfully, June stopped by the diner this afternoon and was happy to give me a ride.
“You don’t look so good,” Luna says as she walks with me out to the inn. June dropped me off and left, on her way to another project, so I should have a little time by myself to paint without the work crew around.
“How do I look?”
“Tired,” she decides as she unlocks the inn and lets me inside.
“Well, that’s fitting, since I didn’t sleep a wink last night, and I worked two back-to-back shifts.”
“Yikes.” She scowls as she watches me get my supplies ready. “Why no sleep?”
“It was a shitty night at work yesterday.” I blow a strand of hair out of my eye. “And, honestly, this morning wasn’t a lot better. People are just rude lately. Have you noticed that?”
She blinks and slowly shakes her head. “No, honestly, I haven’t.”
“Well, that’s typical.”
“What is?” She props her hands on her hips now and looks more concerned than pissed off. “Sarah, what’s going on with you?”
“Is there a sign on my forehead that invites people to treat me like shit?” I set my brushes and easel aside and turn to my best friend, frustration bubbling through me. “Like, what is it about me that makes the people around me think it’s okay to use me as a fucking punching bag?”
“I don’t treat you like that.”
“Not you or Tanner or June. I’m not talking about our group, but literally every customer I had yesterday treated me like a piece of shit. Wouldn’t look at me, answered in short, clipped tones. One woman had the audacity to pour her fucking coffee all over the table because she said it was cold.”
“Oh, my God, Sarah.”
“My coworkers don’t get that treatment. Not one of them, and trust me, I asked. Do you know that I went to Scott’s house not long ago to try to talk to him, and he told me he was all filled up in the friends department, but if someone dies, he’ll let me know.”
Her eyes fill with tears, and I keep talking.
“My parents couldn’t stand the sight of me. Tanner dumped me so he could fuck the girls at college, but in his defense, at least he dumped me before he started sleeping around.”
“That’s a bright side.”
“And don’t even get me started on Anthony. That man was horrible to me. At first, I made excuses for him. He had a demanding job, he was stressed out, if I wasn’t so stupid, he wouldn’t be mad. But that wasn’t true. I’m not stupid! He just got off on hurting me, and I feel like so many people feel that way about me, and I want to know what I did to earn that treatment. What did I do to be last on everyone’s priority list, and to be the one that takes abusive words and behaviors? I’m so fucking over it, Luna.”
“Me, too.” She brushes angrily at the tears and fists her hands. “I’m over it for you. It ends now, Sarah. If a woman pours out her coffee, you don’t smile and offer to clean it up. You tell her to get the hell out of the restaurant. And if your brother says something like that to you again, you tell him to go to hell.”
“That won’t mend the relationship,” I mutter.
“Who cares, Sarah?” She opens her arms wide, clearly as frustrated as I am. “Because he certainly doesn’t. I don’t care who he is to you, he doesn’t get to speak to you that way. No one does, but definitely not him. You don’t have an abuse me sign on your forehead, but you’ve also been afraid to stick up for yourself, and that has to end, too.”
“You’re right.” I pace the foyer, pulling my hair back in a ponytail. “You’re absolutely right. No more smile and nod for me. If I get fired because I demand respect from the customers, so be it.”
“Gordy won’t fire you.” Luna’s voice is full of confidence. “Not a chance. He loves you, and if you told him this was happening, he wouldn’t stand for it, either. Did you tell him?”
“No. I haven’t told anyone.”
“I love you so much,” Luna says, surprising me. She reaches out for my hand. “Like, so much. You’re kind and smart and so damn talented. But if you have one flaw, it’s that you don’t ever think that you deserve to be treated well. You don’t insist on it in your life. And you deserve it, Sarah.”