Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49907 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 250(@200wpm)___ 200(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Liza honked the horn lightly, pulling me out of my thoughts. “You good, Autumn?” she called out, flashing a grin.
I forced a smile and gave her a thumbs-up before turning away and going to climb into my sister’s Enclave. Moose barked softly in the back, his tail wagging as Cherish slid into the driver’s seat with an exaggerated sigh.
“This better not turn into a disaster,” she muttered as she started the engine.
Naija leaned out of the Jeep’s window with a wave. “You’re welcome in advance for all the fun we’re about to bring!”
Daniella snorted, grinning as she climbed into the backseat. “Oh, I can’t wait to see how this plays out.”
As the car rolled out of the driveway, I tried to focus on the excitement of the trip, the promise of a weekend away from everything.
The open road stretched ahead, and with it came the faint hope that maybe, just maybe, I could finally breathe again.
“How far is the town we’re heading to?” I asked as I glanced back at Daniella, who was scrolling on her phone.
“Snowcreek,” Cherish answered, her tone tinged with amusement. “Try to remember where we’re going, Autumn.”
“It’s about five hours away, give or take now that we’re on the road,” Daniella replied.
“That’s plenty of time for you to tell us what’s been on your mind.”
The small smile I tried to fake fell flat. I knew she wouldn’t let it go, and Cherish’s sideways glance told me she wouldn’t either. They were a united front when it came to prying things out of me lately.
“Have you told Mom and Dad about Wilder yet?” Cherish took the lead instead, her tone soft.
I shook my head, focusing on the trees blurring past the window. “Not yet.”
“Thanksgiving is in a few weeks,” she said softly, her fingers tapping the steering wheel in a steady rhythm. “They’re going to notice when he doesn’t show. You know how they are. They love him like a damn son.”
The mention of the holidays hit like a gut punch. I hadn’t allowed myself to think that far ahead. I was taking things day by day and that was hard enough.
You never realized how much someone was part of your life until you were forced to face each day without them. Wilder had been such a constant, his presence so natural I’d taken it for granted. The thought of facing those moments without him felt unbearable but Cherish was right. Our parents loved him like a son. That’s who they were, open-hearted and protective.
After my mom died and my OG dad fell apart, they went above and beyond to adopt me, stepping in as if it had always been meant to be. I never once thought of them as anything less than my mother and father. Cherish had always been a sister to me, long before then. She’d stood by me through every heartbreak, every joy, every stupid decision. I knew without a doubt that our parents would want his head if they knew the extent of what he’d done.
Maybe it made me stupid, but I didn’t want them to hate Wilder.
He wasn’t a bad person. He wasn’t even a bad boyfriend. Wilder treated me like gold. He simply wasn’t loyal. I still had trouble wrapping my head around that because everyone always described him as the opposite, me included.
I rubbed my forehead, imagining the looks I would get from the rest of our family. Most of them were just as loving and protective as our parents but there were at least four that had never learned how to read a room. Wilder was gorgeous, wealthy, and successful. I had an aunt and uncle who would think that made his actions excusable, and two petty ass cousins that wanted him for themselves.
Their questions and commentary would either have me brawling at the dinner table or hiding in the kitchen and drinking my sorrows with a bottle of Honey Jack.
“I don’t have it in me to deal with any of that. Not yet.”
Cherish reached over, her hand covering mine. “You don’t have to figure it all out right now. But you’re not doing this alone, you hear me?”
I nodded, squeezing back, grateful for her beyond words. Daniella leaned forward from the backseat, her voice cutting through the moment. “So… on the topic of Wilder, have you heard anything else from him since yesterday?”
I shook my head quickly. “No. He’s still blocked.”
Oddly enough, he hadn’t said anything to me about changing that. I’d told them he had come over to talk. What I didn’t mention was that he held me on his lap like I still belonged to him, made me cum all over his hand, and kissed me in a way that shattered whatever was left of my already broken heart. Then he walked out, leaving me more confused and pissed than ever.