Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 129460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 647(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 647(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
With my legs moving against the protests of my heart, I close the roller door on the back of the truck, then make my way up seven flights of stairs. Caleb’s vibe has been off all day, but it is worse when I interrupt him talking with Octavia. He smiles at something she says, but it isn’t his true smile before he skirts past me with only the slightest dip of his chin.
Reading his weirdness in the same manner as me, Octavia says, “Men are stupid.” A rare smile breaks onto my face when she asks, “But they eventually pull their head out of their asses, right?”
“Maybe.” I would give a more affirmative reply if I believed for a second all men grow up eventually. Warren has yet to do that. When he couldn’t force me home by trying to railroad my career and getting me kicked out of my apartment, he went after the two people he knew were keeping me in Seattle.
Caleb and Octavia.
A water pipe did burst in the bathroom two weeks ago, but it was an intentional rupture. The valves were loosened with a wrench borrowed from my uncle’s plumbing truck. He only arrived at the church ten minutes before Caleb and me, but with theft high and insurance premiums skyrocketing, nobody anticipated his rusty truck to have a dashboard camera.
It spotted Warren’s approach a second after Caleb pulled into a spot at the park up the street from the church. And it saw him returning the wrench after I told him in no uncertain terms that his ‘gallantry’ wasn’t required in the minutes following Caleb’s departure.
I don’t need saving from Caleb, but it is obvious Caleb needs saving from people like Warren.
That’s why I haven’t fought against Caleb and Octavia’s decision to return home. It is breaking my heart, and I’m worried it will lessen Caleb’s chances of healing. Running never solves anything. It didn’t when I left Portland years ago, and it won’t again now if I were to run with them.
It may cause more issues.
If they hadn’t met me, Warren wouldn’t have been introduced into their lives, and he wouldn’t have tracked down Silas to cause all types of drama between Octavia and Jack. Octavia would be happy, and Caleb wouldn’t be hiding in the shadows of his secrets worse than he was when he moved here.
Octavia draws my thoughts back to the present by banding her arm around my waist. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us, Jess? What we’re endeavoring to get off the ground is risky, but no matter what happens, we will always have a roof over our heads.”
I return her embrace before ignoring both our dreams. “I appreciate the offer, but I can’t.” After hobbling to the door like we’re conjoined twins, I spin her to face a place that will now only ever hold a place in their memories. “Any final words?”
It dawns on me that this move is just as hard on Octavia as it is on me when she murmurs, “Only one. Don’t carry dessert into the living room. You may end up breaking more than your ego.”
Her hug is warmer than the sun beaming down on us when she wraps me up for a final goodbye on the sidewalk next to our building. “I’ll miss you, Jess.”
The dam in my eyes almost spills over when she pulls over Caleb to join our hug, but I hold on tight. I am a stubborn cow, and no one is more aware of that than the woman sitting on my couch, awaiting my return after I wave off Caleb and Octavia like my heart is shattered.
Heidi has a fresh bottle of vodka cracked open and ready to consume, and her arms held out.
She hates hugs, but just like Caleb, she’s willing to push aside her neuroses for me.
Now I need to do the same for him.
CHAPTER 49
JESS
TWO MONTHS LATER…
“That’s awesome, Tivy. I’m so pleased for you.” Since my reply is genuine, it sounds that way.
It’s been a tough couple of months, but I’m slowly emerging from the trenches and finding my feet again.
Once Caleb and Octavia left, I realized the importance of a good support network. I didn’t have that in Seattle, but I could in Portland, and as much as I hate announcing defeat, sometimes it’s what is needed to move forward.
I’ve spent the last two months working on myself. I can only hope Caleb is doing the same. We haven’t kept in contact as I hoped we would, but no one said the steps to recovery are pretty. Sometimes they’re worse than the issues holding you back.
After saving the article I’ve been preparing over the past eight weeks, I say down the line, “Tivy, I’m sorry, I have to go. My aunt is waving me over.” My words are groaned out during my last sentence. “She found the last bachelor in Portland to introduce me to.”