Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 101398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Everything inside me comes crashing down, and my ears feel like they’re filled with the ocean. “No.”
“You were too young. I knew you probably didn’t realize, and the investigation never proved it, but I knew. I saw the aftermath. I saw…” Her voice chokes, and one tear slips down her cheek. She swipes it away with an angry hand. “Eleanor knows what she did. And Norah, she doesn’t care. Because she never ever cares about anything but herself.”
Tears burst the dam in my eyes and start streaming down my face, unchecked. Josie jumps up from the couch and throws her arms around me, pulling me into a hug.
“I’m sorry, Norah.” She hugs me tighter. “I’m so sorry because I know how hard this must be to hear. But Eleanor Ellis is a vapid narcissist capable of the worst kind of behavior in every situation if she’s desperate enough,” she whispers directly into my hair. “Even when the victims are her daughters.”
We stay like that for a long moment, my mind reeling with thoughts of Summer and Jezzy and Alexis. The past twenty-four hours are a heavy weight on my shoulders. And coming home to this, to Josie reading that letter, has only awakened the nagging ache I’ve had since I walked out on my wedding day.
“So, what am I supposed to do now?” I whisper. “I don’t think I can ignore this awful feeling that there’s more to this whole thing any longer. That it’s possible there’re more women who have been hurt by Thomas.” By our mother.
“You move on. We plan. We investigate. And eventually, hopefully, we put Eleanor Ellis and your asshole ex in the kind of place where none of us will hear from them again.”
I step back out of her embrace incredulously. “Are you suggesting we murder them?”
“Hey, if the shoe fits!”
“Josie! Maybe I should’ve said, but I’m morally opposed to that particular sin.”
My ridiculous sister laughs, the maniac. “All right, then. We’ll come up with another plan. One that sets you, me, and whoever else needs to be, free from our mother and your asshole ex.”
Tuesday, August 24th
Bennett
Summer’s chest moves up and down as she sleeps, the oxygen tubing in her nose assuring she’s getting the breath she needs. She’s still sleeping, and thanks to the pain meds, her face is relaxed.
I hold her hand gently and lean my head into the bed beside her, trying to find a way to get in touch with God—something, admittedly, I haven’t done in a long time.
Please, I beg. Help my baby girl. Take her pain and replace it with happiness.
My eyes feel wet as I lift my head from Summer’s side, and I startle when I find Norah standing in the door to her room.
“I hope I’m not intruding,” she whispers, tucking the wild curls of her unbound hair behind her ears. I shake my head and stand, leaning down to kiss Summer’s hand once more before letting it go.
Norah turns for the hallway, and I follow her out. She looks absolutely beautiful today, though her eyes are tired and surrounded by big, dark circles, and the memory of her mouth on mine last night has yet to fade.
She smiles in a way that’s sad around the edges, and she rushes into my body to hug me when I make it outside the door. I don’t think twice about it. I don’t hesitate at all. I wrap my arms around her waist and breathe her in, embracing the wave of comfort that comes with the contact. When she pulls back, I feel a distinct chill.
“I hope you don’t mind that I came without calling, but I wanted to make sure you both had everything you needed and see Summer if she was awake.” She glances down at her shirt, a small grin turning her cheeks blushed. “I wore pink for her today, and well, I stopped at your house to get her sunglasses. I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s okay. I’m glad you came.”
Her eyes meet mine, a silent question of “Yeah?” inside them, and I pull her in for another hug before placing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “And I know Summer will be glad you’re here, too.”
“Has she been awake at all this morning?”
“No.” I shake my head. “But she’s comfortable, and she’s gotten a lot of rest, which her body desperately needed.”
“That’s good. Is there anything I can do for you, Bennett?”
I almost tell her no but decide to tell her the truth instead. “It’d be great if you hung around. I’m sure Summer will be waking up soon.”
“I’m here as long as you need me.”
As long as I need her. I try not to think too hard on the fact that I can’t picture a deadline to that promise and pull my phone from my pocket, handing it to her. “And maybe you can field some of these calls. It’s been ringing all damn night.”