Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 85399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85399 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
“You will,” I say, tucking her hair behind her ears. “I know it hurts right now.”
“I feel like my heart is in a bunch of pieces,” she says. “It’s the most painful thing I’ve ever felt.”
Jack catches my eye. I’m not sure if he’s ready to load up the troops to go find Daniel or celebrate that Daniel has extracted himself from Maddie’s life. Either way, it’s hard not to laugh.
“He’s your first love, sweetheart,” I say. “First-love breakups are always painful. You never forget your first heartbreak.”
She looks at me with watery eyes. “Who was your first heartbreak?”
“Yeah. Who was your first heartbreak?” Jack asks with a cocky brow.
“His name was Shane,” I say, running my fingers through Maddie’s hair. “We were in eighth grade. He had this great blond, surfer-style hair and bright-blue eyes.”
“Makes sense for Ohio,” Jack says.
I grin at him. “Stop it.”
“Did you feel like you were punched in the chest?” Maddie asks.
“Yeah. I think I locked myself in my room and cried for a whole weekend.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever stop crying. It burns right here.” She places a hand between her breasts. “It’s even hard to breathe.”
“It’ll get better. I promise,” I say.
She picks up the edge of our sheet and wipes her face.
I take a long, deep breath and try to regulate myself. The adrenaline that shot through me earlier has begun to wane now that I know no one is dead. It’s only heartbreak.
I glance at Jack and catch him watching me. He reaches for my hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. I’d give anything to know what he’s thinking, to understand what’s prompted the pensiveness on his face. Something tells me it’s not Maddie’s situation alone.
“The weird thing is that I don’t even know what I did,” she says during a moment of calm. “Everything was fine yesterday. What could I have done to make him mad while I was asleep?”
“You didn’t do anything,” I say.
“Then why would he do this to me?” Her voice breaks. “How fair is this?”
“Here’s the thing, Mads,” I say. “You can’t assume that you have anything to do with the way someone else behaves.”
She furrows her brow. “But if I didn’t do anything, then why would he break up with me?”
“What your mom is trying to say, but I’ll put it more bluntly, is that sometimes people are just assholes. That’s it. There’s no other reason,” Jack says.
“He’s not an asshole, Dad. Don’t say that.”
“He’s certainly behaving like one. If your brother pulled this on a girl, we’d be having a talk. So, if you think I can just swallow that Daniel acted this way to you . . . I’m sorry, Mads. I expect a boy to treat you better than that.” He leans closer. “And I want you to expect them to. Sometimes your mother even has to demand better of me. That’s what strong, smart women do.”
I reach out and take his fingers in mine.
Snaps walks across the bed and makes himself at home on Maddie’s lap. He nestles against her stomach and sighs. Don’t use my daughter to win my favor, Snapsy. Maddie almost smiles. Then again, go ahead.
“You’re at an age where kids have a lot of emotions and hormones,” I tell my daughter. “It’s a lot to control. And, sometimes, people act on a flood of one or the other, when they shouldn’t.”
Her ears perk up. “So, what you’re saying is he might realize he made a mistake?”
“What I was hoping you’d take from that is that it’s not your fault,” I say.
“Why would you want to be with someone that makes you feel this way?” Jack says. “I’m not just saying that because I’m your dad and know you’re the second-smartest, prettiest, most amazing woman in the world.”
Maddie looks at me and smiles softly through her anguish. “At least you two are back together, right?”
I turn my attention to my husband. It’s my first time really looking at him since last night.
There’s something different in the way he’s looking at me this morning. I’m not sure what it is, but I feel it inside me. It’s as if the wall we’ve built—intentionally or by accident—between us has been torn away. The vulnerability that either Jack has hidden from me or I’ve refused to see is there again. I wonder if he can sense mine too.
I no longer feel like my life is a thousand-piece puzzle that’s strung out and missing the corners. It’s all snapped together, right where it should be. It’s complete.
We’re complete.
I hope.
Maddie lies across the bed with her head on Jack’s legs and her body across mine. Snaps tries to sit on her head but is quickly dissuaded. Instead, he climbs onto Jack’s lap and goes back to sleep.
“I don’t know how you guys were thinking of divorce if you love each other even a little bit as much as I love Daniel,” she says, tears falling down her cheeks again. “This is unbearable.”