Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 89145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89145 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
You were untamed and amazing in every way imaginable.
I hate you for changing. I hate you for breaking my fucking heart.
You ruined me.
CHAPTER 1
Philadelphia
Alfie Scott
“Trip! Ellie! It’s time to go!” I hollered, hurrying down the stairs. Once in the hallway, I stood in front of the mirror and tied my useless fucking tie.
“Five more minutes, Daddy!” Ellie yelled back.
I chuckled under my breath and smoothed down my shirt. That girl—fuck. She had a counterproposal to everything. Eat your greens; only two of them. Time to brush your teeth; after this episode. Bath time; I’ll do it twice tomorrow.
Trip, on the other hand… He was eight, going on forty-eight. I heard him pause outside his sister’s room upstairs.
“We’ll be late for Dad’s,” he said. “We promised last time we wouldn’t be late today, and I want to go in the pool before it gets dark.”
Ellie groaned in her usual “Why are you the way you are?” kind of way.
I smiled to myself and put on my shoes. I guessed I was riding a high after this week. Summer break meant constant fun and more adventures. We’d been to a water park, we’d finished decorating the roof deck, we’d had ice cream every day… And now the dreaded Friday was here.
I fucking hated it.
Seconds later, the kids came down the stairs, Ellie with approximately fourteen sparkly clips in her hair, Trip clutching a few books.
Their backpacks waited by the door. One dark blue, one pink with a million little hearts in various colors.
Ellie scrunched her nose at me and giggled. “You look so weird in a tie.”
Don’t I fucking know it, baby girl.
“You say that every Friday I drop youse off,” I replied. “Let’s go, my little acid trip.”
“What’s an acid trip?” she asked curiously.
“Something I won’t explain to a six-year-old,” I said, handing her her shoes. “Did you pack the drawing for Daddy?”
“I did it for her, because she was going to stuff it in her backpack before the glitter had dried,” Trip said. “For the record, glitter is the worst. It gets everywhere.”
“I hear ya, buddy.” I ruffled his hair and combed it back with my fingers. Time for a haircut, I reckoned.
Soon enough, we were ready to go, and I activated the alarm and locked up.
One of the many perks of my job was the parking spot I had right in front of our stoop. Never having to look for parking when you got home…? Heaven.
“Hi, Unicorny!” Ellie had named my new car…
I suspected her favorite feature was the built-in screen in the back of my headrest.
I made sure they were buckled in before I made my way around and got in behind the wheel. My favorite feature was the safety. There was a fine line between an SUV and a tank, and Unicorny was dancing all over it. Bullet-resistant glass, check. The ability to turn a sports car into a postage stamp, check.
“You guys hungry?” I peeled out of the parking spot and looked forward to two seconds of easy driving before we hit rush-hour traffic. It was going to be mayhem until we got closer to Ardmore. “I heard you’re having tacos for dinner.”
Drop-off day was the only time West and I made an effort to send a few texts to each other, in order to smooth out the transfer. Today, we’d covered dinner plans and an agreement that Ellie’s stomach issues disappeared when we made her our own bread—recipe courtesy of my mother. The flour was split into three kinds: whole wheat, almond, and flaxseed.
“Yay, tacos!” Ellie cried out.
“Love the taste, not a fan of eating with my hands,” Trip responded decisively.
I snorted quietly and slowed down for a red light. I missed my little boy sometimes. The adorable klutz who’d earned his nickname. It wouldn’t surprise me if he asked us to call him Tanner soon. He was growing up faster than any other kid in my life.
Since we had adopted him when he was four, it sometimes felt like we’d missed out on the kid part. He’d had some trauma to recover from too, and our focus had been on making him as comfortable as possible. And then, slowly but surely, as his nightmares faded and therapy was no longer necessary, the tiny adult made an appearance.
We’d never had to remind him to finish his vegetables, that was for sure.
We had one trick up our sleeves when it came to luring out the child in Trip. He loved swimming and splashing around in the water. At this point, we’d visited most of the water parks along the East Coast. Before and after the divorce.
I was always jealous when I heard West had taken them to a park, and I was sure he was too, when I’d taken them. In addition, West had a fucking swimming pool. I couldn’t really compete with that.