Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107944 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 540(@200wpm)___ 432(@250wpm)___ 360(@300wpm)
“Anything.”
“When you see him getting lost in himself again, when you see him going down the road of darkness, I need you to help bring him back. I need you to keep my son safe.”
My eyebrows lowered. “Yes, of course. How do I do that, though?”
“The same way you brought him back these past few months…you show up. You stay. You’re his true north, Hailee. When you’re around him, he’ll always find his way back.”
That night, I stayed late at the inn, waiting for Aiden. When he did show up, his eyes were bloodshot, clear signs that he’d been emotional, but I didn’t call him out on it.
“Hey. You didn’t answer your phone today,” I mentioned.
“Yeah. Sorry. I just feel as if I needed some time alone.”
I went to hug him, and I could smell the bourbon when I got close. “Let’s go upstairs,” I offered. He didn’t decline the request as he led me to his room. Once we were inside, he closed the door behind him.
“Are you drunk?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“You’re sad.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re sad,” I repeated.
He grimaced. “It’s fine. I was about to go to sleep, so—”
“Okay,” I replied, climbing into his bed without an invite.
“No, Hails. I don’t think you understand. I want to be alone.”
“Yeah.” I nodded as I took off my shoes. “And you will be,” I agreed as I pulled back the blankets on his bed and climbed inside. “I know sometimes, you’ll want to be alone, and I’ll respect that. But not tonight, Aiden. Not after the few hard days you’ve had. So tonight we are going to be alone together.” I patted the spot beside me.
He sighed a little but walked over to me. He climbed into the bed, and the second he was settled, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his chest. My perfect puzzle piece.
He placed his forehead against mine. “I’m sad and confused.”
“You have every right to feel that way.”
“I just keep going back and forth about what to do. Am I supposed to meet this guy? What if I do, and it’s a letdown? What if I meet him, and he’s just like Jake, or worse. What if he adds more drama to my life?”
“Yeah. I get that. Or what if it’s better than you could imagine?”
He didn’t reply, but I felt his body relax from the idea of it.
“Hailee Jones?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for being alone with me.” He kissed my forehead and pulled me in closer, wrapping me in his embrace. “I really needed to be alone together.”
Aiden stayed at my place for the next few days, so I could make sure he was doing all right. The morning of Christmas Eve, I woke up expecting him to be beside me in the bed. Instead, I found a little note.
Hails, I made a rushed decision and booked a flight to Los Angeles to meet my brother. I’ll be back in the morning for Christmas. I love you. -Tom
I read his words repeatedly, feeling my heart racing faster and faster. He was meeting his brother. I wished I could’ve been on that flight with him, but perhaps it was something he had to do on his own.
I kept myself busy, but my phone near if Aiden needed to call me for reassurance in any form that everything was going to be okay.
I headed over to my parents’ house to help Mama and Laurie prep the food for this evening and for tomorrow’s big dinner. Laurie let Samuel move back into the house, but I could tell the tension between them was still there. It grew even worse when Jake showed up for Christmas Eve dinner, uninvited.
Laurie didn’t send him away even though she’d clearly wanted to. I felt bad for her. She wanted nothing to do with that man. Samuel seemed to have reached his breaking point with his cousin, too, taking him outside for a conversation.
“Hailee, can you take the trash out? It’s full,” Mama asked me after I’d finished chopping up vegetables. I agreed, grabbing the trash bag from the bin.
I headed out to the backyard to toss the trash away, and as I approached the bins, I heard yelling from next door. I paused as I hid behind the wall of my parents’ garage and listened.
“I don’t give a fuck, Jake. You can’t be here. My wife is saying she wants a divorce. I’m done giving you handouts,” Samuel told his cousin.
My heart was in my throat as I listened.
“You owe me! Or are you forgetting why you even have a wife still to this day? If Laurie knew the truth, she would’ve left your ass years ago. I just need a few hundred dollars and—”
“No, Jake. We’re done here. I’ve more than paid you back for what you did. You can’t keep showing up like this.”