Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
I both love and hate the fact that my body still reacts to him. But I can’t deny what’s still between us. Not that I’m going to act on any of it for obvious reasons. He has no idea how bittersweet this is going to be for me. I want nothing more than to see inside, but it could end me. I’m not sure which would be worse, not seeing it at all or getting a glimpse into a dream that is no longer in the cards for me.
“When have I ever led you astray?” Easton takes my hand, leading me to the house.
The sound of the ocean's waves are calming. I haven’t seen the ocean in forever. It’s been all sand and bright lights for the last five years, a world I knew I didn’t belong in but that wasn't anything new; I never did fit in anywhere. Except with Easton. When it was the two of us, I could get lost in him.
I let my fingers slide along the rail of the porch. He pushes open the double doors into the breathtaking entryway with its gorgeous staircase. It doesn’t go unnoticed by me that there is a picture of me and him from his senior prom.
“I can’t do this.” I try to pull back, but Easton is quicker than I am and pushes the door closed.
“Zero, go on lockdown.” The sound of clicks echoes throughout the house at his command. I grab one of the handles to the front door, but it doesn’t open. I even try to turn the lock on it. I’m not sure if it’s for show or it’s being held in place.
“Easton,” I snap. “Are you seriously kidnapping me right now?”
“I thought we had cleared that up already.” The passive expression on his face ignites me. I can’t play these games. It’s not only me I have to think about. It’s never only me I get to think about.
That only fuels my anger more. The audacity of him to show me what could have been if life had worked out the way we planned. I don’t even understand what he's doing. Is this his way of getting back at me for what my father did? That thought doesn’t sit well with me, but what other explanation do I have at this point?
I never knew Easton to be cruel, but maybe the rumors I heard when I was younger were true. You never mess with Easton Ledger. No one ever did, either. After the day he staked a claim to me, no one bothered me. Even after he graduated, people gave me a wide berth.
I didn’t realize back then how powerful his family was. Those weren't things that interested me. That was one of my mistakes. When I found out all my father’s wrongdoings, Easton’s family was at the top of the list. You think the world is run by the government. That couldn't be further from the truth. Companies run the world. Everything is about greed.
“Ahh!” I scream, going for the giant framed picture of me and him on the wall.
I’m smiling at the camera while he is staring down at me. I grab and pull, but it doesn’t budge. It’s all fake. They want us to play the part of socialites. From one generation to the next. I hated every second of it.
“Everything is bolted down in case of a hurricane,” Easton informs me. “Here.” He hands me a beautiful vase sitting on a table in the entryway. My eyes catch a picture of my sister and I in a frame next to it. It cuts me open. How does he do that? I try to protect myself, but he keeps making me bleed love for him. “Go on,” he encourages me.
I don’t want to play into whatever this is, but still I do it, needing to release the building pressure inside of me before I explode. I raise it above my head and slam it down as hard as I can. Glass shatters all around us.
“You can’t put that back together,” I tell him. He can try all he wants, but his world would never accept me, and some might want to kill my father. My father hasn't always been the best, but I love him.
“You can put anything back together if you’re patient.” He bends down and picks up two pieces, sliding them together. “So it’s cracked, but it’s still together.” He keeps going from being an asshole to sweet. Two different sides to him I’m getting. One that he’s hidden from me.
He cuts me open. He always has. I keep bleeding love for him. It never stops. Only he can heal it, or one day there will be nothing left inside me.
How is that fair? He always made me bare myself to him, but Easton has hidden a part of himself from me.