Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 133224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 666(@200wpm)___ 533(@250wpm)___ 444(@300wpm)
“Hi, is Jules home?”
“No, she’ll be back soon; she’s gone to get some milk. Do you want to wait for her? She’ll only be a minute.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll just sit here.” I sit down on the front step, and he sits down beside me.
It’s funny between us now. Ever since that weekend where Blake and I . . . well, the log cabin incident, Henley has kept me at arm’s length, and I know why.
I get it.
If I’m being honest, I respect it. He’s Blake’s friend.
“Nearly packed?” he says.
“Yeah, just winding up the last of it now. It’s such a big job to pack up a house.”
“I dread moving. Not that I ever will, I hope.”
I smile as I look out over the street.
We sit in silence for a while, and I just can’t hold it in. I have to ask. “How’s Blake?”
“He’s good.”
“I’m happy for him.” I smile sadly. “I want him to be happy.”
“Yeah, well . . .” He frowns. “I have a sneaking suspicion that he’ll be back for you.”
I frown. “What makes you say that?”
He smiles wistfully as he looks out over the street. “Blake has been in love with you from the moment he laid eyes on you, Rebecca.”
I get a lump in my throat.
“Not because he didn’t know what other women were like. He had plenty of women chasing him.”
I smile as I look at the ground. Isn’t that the truth?
“The thing is with Blake, he was so in love with you that . . . he was too blinded by his own feelings to gauge where you were at.”
What?
My eyes search his.
“You know, when you’re besotted with someone for so long and you haven’t been in a serious relationship before, I imagine that it’s easy to do. He backed you into a corner where you felt the only way out was rejection. He rushed you into something you weren’t ready for.”
Oh . . .
“Our demise wasn’t his fault; it was mine,” I whisper.
“He needed to get some perspective.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m just saying, you two were always going to break up. You were just out of a relationship, and this was his first real one. Not to mention he was head over heels in love with you in an almost—”
I cut him off. “Well, I’ve lost him now. So I guess it doesn’t matter.”
“He’ll be back for you. Mark my words.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I know Blake, and you weren’t a flash in the pan for him. You were his grand love, and I know in my heart that one day he will come back.”
“Well, he might be too late by then.” I act tough. My eyes click over to him. “Wait, why? Did he say anything?”
Henley gives me a broad smile. “No.”
I nod and stay silent. “Does he ever ask about me?”
“Not really.”
I twist my fingers together on my lap, not sure if I even want an answer to this question. “Does he love his new girlfriend?”
“He doesn’t talk about her to me.”
“But you know of her?”
“Yeah, I know of her.”
“Did he tell you that I went to New York to see him?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He just asked me to watch over you when you got back to make sure you’re okay.”
An unexpected lump forms in my throat. That’s my Blake, always thoughtful.
“I might just wait for Juliet at home.” I stand.
“You okay?”
“Depends what day you ask me.” I smile.
“Do you need help with the move?”
“No, I’m all packed, and the truck comes on Saturday.”
“Are you sad to be leaving?”
“Yes and no.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well . . . for so long, all I wanted to do was hold on to my house. Now all it reminds me of is that it cost me Blake, so . . .” Stop talking. I shrug, embarrassed. “Anyway, I’m going to get going. I’m just rambling.”
“Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
Moving day is never fun, but this one is especially hard.
How do you say goodbye to friends that you thought you would know for life? The moving truck is full of my furniture, and one by one, my friends and neighbors turn up on my front lawn to say goodbye.
I’ll see them again, of course, when I come to visit Juliet, but the reality is that things will change.
I will become the outsider who is just visiting.
I’ve cried all the tears that I can cry, and honestly, I just want to be rid of this house and the bad memories it holds.
Funny thing is that it’s not even bad memories of my marriage anymore. This is the house that cost me Blake. The love of my life.
And no matter how many times I can try and tell myself that it’s fine, it isn’t fine. It will never be fine.
I click Daisy’s lead on, and we walk out front. “You all ready to go?” Henley asks.