Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39689 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 198(@200wpm)___ 159(@250wpm)___ 132(@300wpm)
I have said that, more times than I can count, in the days leading up to my birthday. But that was before I moved out of the group home, before I had a taste of a different kind of life.
Before I found Jonah.
“Things are different now,” I say.
My uncle takes a step back, and I release the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been keeping inside. He shakes his head. “I can’t believe you’re gonna bail on seeing your dad again, after all this time.”
“I’m not bailing. We can still go. I’m just not sure if I want to move there before I’ve had a chance to meet him.” I bite my tongue before I admit the one thing I’m actually afraid of: what if my dad meets me and then decides he doesn’t want me in his life after all?
The only way I can even imagine mustering the courage to face him is with Jonah by my side.
“I want Jonah to come to Cali with us,” I say.
“Who’s Jonah?”
“The guy I’m seeing.”
“You mean the guy you’re fucking in exchange for food, board, and art supplies.”
Rage boils inside me, giving off steam that has nowhere to go. My fingers wrap around the closest object they can find—an empty fast-food container.
I chuck the hollow lump of cardboard at my uncle’s head.
“Fuck you, Craig,” I shout. “You don’t know anything!”
“Jesus—” He barely dodges the burger box and then lifts his hands in surrender. “All right, I’ll admit, that was a low blow. I just don’t want to see you get taken advantage of. Some guys only want one thing, you know?”
“Jonah’s not like that.” I move to the window and force myself to take a breath. My uncle’s wrong. Even if Jonah does someday realize that I’m not worth keeping around, it won’t be because he only wanted my body.
It’ll be because he realized I’m the kind of girl who throws take-out boxes at her family members.
“I’m sure what you two have is very special,” Craig says. “If this guy Jonah’s willing to pay his share, he can come with us. But until I see some kind of investment on his part, I’m gonna be skeptical.”
My hand slides to my pocket, beckoned by the hundred-dollar bill folded inside.
“How much more work does the car need?” I ask.
He digs through a pile of papers on the kitchen counter, then hands me a slightly sticky car-repair bill. “I had the brakes done last week. Next up is the timing belt, and that shit’s gonna be expensive.”
Handing back the bill, I pull out what’s left of Jonah’s cash and offer it to my uncle. “How’s this for an investment?”
Craig sighs, clearly disappointed in me for holding out on him. As he takes the bill, a small piece of me breaks off and slips into his wallet alongside Jonah’s money.
He pats my arm. “It’s a good start, kiddo.”
Chapter Nine
Jonah
My phone vibrates with an incoming call from Mary—her third call of the day, but the first that I can actually answer.
“Hey, Mare. Sorry I missed you. I’ve been putting out fires all afternoon.” I shut down my laptop and close the lid. After reassuring the site owner that we’d pull an extra-long shift tomorrow, I spent the rest of the day figuring out where the hell my lumber shipment went.
“I thought you were taking the day off,” she says. “Is Teagan at the house?”
“She should be, unless she ran out to get something.” The tension on the other end of the line is palpable. “Relax, Mare, she’s all right.”
“I know. I just want to make sure she’s comfortable.”
“You don’t think my house is comfortable?”
“I mean, I want to make sure she’s not second guessing her decision to stay. You know I love your house. And I love knowing she’s there, safe, with you. How’d her first night go?”
My throat muscles tighten. I’ve decided it’s for the best that Teagan and I don’t break the news about our relationship to Mary just yet. The fact that Teagan’s no longer in the system means we technically don't need anyone’s permission to see each other. But Mary cares about her, and it's going to be important that she sees how serious I am about taking care of this girl, and I’m gonna need a bit of time to do that.
However, when Teagan and I are ready to take this thing public, I'm going to make damn sure that anyone who looks at her knows exactly who she belongs to.
“Her first night was fine,” I tell my sister. “No problems or news to report.”
“Did you see her this morning?”
“I did.”
“Was she okay? How’d she sleep?”
“I believe she slept well,” I say, leaving out the part about me watching her all night, counting her breaths, holding her flush against me.
“Do you know if she ate breakfast?”