Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 140(@200wpm)___ 112(@250wpm)___ 93(@300wpm)
My hand flies out, and I grab Piper by the wrist. Her blue eyes reveal a myriad of emotions: pain, anger, love, lust, hurt. All the emotions I know I’ve placed there.
“We need to talk,” I say loud enough for her and anyone close by to hear.
Piper nods before walking us backstage. I stop in my tracks as we approach the family washroom. “Why are we going to the bathroom?”
Piper turns, piercing me with her bright blue eyes. “I figure if you’re gonna fuck me again, it may as well be in a place I don’t particularly care for. Unless you want to do this on your tour bus because it sure as hell ain’t gonna be mine. Last time you wanted to talk, you left me broken on my bedroom floor.”
My throat goes dry as I try to swallow an invisible bubble. “You think I intended to hurt you?” I cast my eyes down to the chipped laminate flooring of the washroom. “I wanted you to have the life you deserved and ensure your future. You had an opportunity for something better, and I was holding you back. A full ride to an Ivy League school. You have any idea how hard that is to come by? You had a one-way ticket out, and there was no way in hell I was going to be the reason you didn’t take it.”
I stood in Piper’s room with a black knapsack on my back. She didn’t know I’d found her acceptance letter from Princeton two weeks ago—a free ride. My girl had a place at one of the best colleges in the country, and they wanted her so badly that they offered to pay for everything, even housing.
She didn’t know I’d read the letter. She wouldn’t stay around for me, and I didn’t want her to. There was no way I could live with myself if she lost her one shot because of me. It was bad enough that I felt like a mistake to my parents. There was no way I was going to allow Piper to have that same look in her eyes.
Piper walked into the room, and her bright smile almost made me want to abandon my plans. She didn’t say a word as she stepped toward me and grabbed my head. Her lips brushed mine gently, but I pulled her closer and crushed our lips together. I placed all my love into that kiss, all my longing and sadness that this was our goodbye. My fingers speared into her hair, and I held her to me, feeling the desperate pain of having to let her go. Forever.
Piper pulled away and smiled. “Whoa, I’m not complaining, but what’s going on?”
I swallowed my emotions and fought against tears welling up in my eyes. “I’m leaving.”
I never understood when books would mention time standing still, but I did at that moment because I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. My frozen feet yearned to stay there, confined and connected with her. I longed to slice through the lingering words as the air grew heavy. Doubt crept in as my body and mind fought, causing me to question a decision I had been certain about moments before.
Piper was the first to pull away, opening drawers and casually throwing clothes into a duffel bag.
I stepped toward her and placed my palm on her forearm. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like? I’m packing.”
Piper opened the top drawer, removing a sock and fishing out money. “It’s not much. About two thousand dollars. It might be enough for a few weeks until we get jobs.”
She shoved the money toward me, but I pushed it back at her. “No, Piper. I’m leaving. You’re not coming with me.”
Her eyes held a shattered expression that was a sharp blade stabbing the remains of my broken heart, chipping away at my already shaky resolve.
I longed to beg her not to abandon me, yet I understood the selfishness behind that desire. I loved Piper too much to ruin her future, to tie her down to my drowning ship. Piper was the first person to show me my worth and make me believe I was more than the situation I was born into. I could never tie her down and allow her not to fulfill her full potential.
Piper visibly swallowed before whispering. “How will you survive, Kaye? Where are you going? What will you do for money?”
I fiddled with the gold locket around my neck. A locket that now had a picture of Piper laughing, the sun shining on her face like a halo. “My grandmother left me some jewelry. It was hard to hide it from my dad, but I buried it in the yard behind the trailer. I never thought I’d sell it, but I know my gran would be happy that I’m doing something with it that could make a difference in my life.”