Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 62811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62811 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 314(@200wpm)___ 251(@250wpm)___ 209(@300wpm)
At least we could have a little sunshine from her smile instead of all the darkness that comes with our mom’s illness.
“What’s this?” She pushes the lollipop that was in her mouth into her cheek and takes the gift from me, giving it a shake.
“Don’t shake it, doofus. You might break it, and I worked hard to buy it,” I fuss.
She grins at me as she excitedly rips the wrapping paper off of it. “Did you steal this?”
“Do I look like a criminal to you?” I ask, a little offended. When she only laughs, I relax a little. I watch as she removes more and more paper, becoming excited to see what she thinks of her present.
“An American Girl doll!” She gasps and picks the box up carefully with wide eyes. “But Dad said it cost too much money!”
“I mowed the neighbors’ lawn for a couple of weeks to save up for it.” I sheepishly stuff my hands into my pockets. “I knew how bad you wanted it, so I just wanted to get it for you.”
She looks down at the box with a soft smile on her lips before she jumps up and wraps her arms around my neck. “Thank you, Tristan,” she murmurs. “I love you.”
I only smile in response as I hug her back. In this moment, I know I want to protect her from everything, to be there whenever she needs help. I want her to always know that she can count on me for whatever she needs, no matter how bad things may look on the surface.
It’s also then that I realize the young girl that I originally thought was an intruder in my family has somehow wiggled herself within the dark spaces of my heart and filled them with love.
Once the shock of my revelation wears off, questions formulate in my mind faster than I can process them. Everything Talon and I did to her…everything I’d done to her. How the hell didn’t I notice before now? I wrack my mind in an effort to try to remember something that might have helped me to realize who she really was, but I come up blank. She did a good job of masking herself. I’m sure the only reason I recognize her now is because it’s the first time I’ve really looked at her. I’d seen her with a bare face yesterday, but the adrenaline and chaos that coursed through me after the altercation with her landlord must’ve clouded my judgment. I should’ve realized it then, but I didn’t.
Everything I’ve done to her blooms to the forefront of my mind. Everything I’d done to her in Heaven, the unspeakable shit I did to her in Hell…even what I’d done to her in the parking lot in front of her apartment building yesterday. The woman I loved years ago saw a side of me that I never wanted her to see, leaving me exposed. I can’t begin to think about how she may perceive me now.
As quickly as the guilt unwinds, I quickly dispose of it and get a grip on myself. This isn’t on me. She had plenty of opportunities to tell us who she was.
She’s the one who left us all those years ago without so much as a sticky note to tell us goodbye. She turned her back on us without a single thought and never came back. Had I not figured it out just now, I’m sure she would’ve never told me the truth about her name.
“Why?” I simply ask. There’s so much more that I want to know, but right now, I just want to know why. Why did she lie to us? Why didn’t she want us to know it was her? Why did she leave all those years ago?
Cleo wraps her arms around herself as she drops her gaze to the carpeted floor. “You’re going to have to be a little more specific,” she murmurs.
“Okay.” I blow out a short breath. “Why couldn’t you just tell us who you were?” Frustration tightens my muscles as memories of everything we’ve done to her tumbles around in my mind. “We thought you were someone who would try to blackmail us for more money or something.”
She gives me a sheepish shrug, still refusing to look me in the eye. “When I realized it was you, I guess I was ashamed.” Her voice is soft, not much louder than a whisper. “I didn’t want you guys to see what my life had become and what I’ve had to resort to in order to survive.”
“Why would you sell yourself anyway?” I ask. The original shock and surprise quickly turn into anger the longer I look at her. Why would she subject herself to something like that? What if she ended up with two other guys that weren’t me and Talon. Just the thought of someone else touching her, being inside of her, hurting her makes me want to put a hole through the wall. She’s better than that; she deserves better than that.