Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82163 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
I put my head back on the headrest, and I watch out the window as the resort fades away in the distance. Every second we get farther and farther away, my chest gets tighter and tighter. It’s the strangest thing and something I don’t even know how to explain.
The bus drives through the stainless-steel chain-link fence toward a plane that waits on the tarmac. We slowly make it off the bus as I hold Penelope’s hand. My head is not paying attention to anything. Instead, I’m replaying last night over and over again. I can still taste her kiss on my lips. When we walk up the steps, my eyes roam the plane looking for her. She sits in a seat near the window with Gabriella next to her. She has her head against the side of the plane with her eyes closed.
“Let’s sit here.” I point at a seat on the opposite side of the plane, farthest from her. “Do you want the window seat?” I ask Penelope. She nods as she walks in and takes off her backpack before sitting in the seat. I do the same thing, tucking my backpack under the seat in front of me.
I look over and see she is already getting her iPad out of her bag and yawning at the same time. “Someone partied hard.” I look over and see Justin sit down in the row next to me.
I laugh nervously as I put my hands on my stomach, linking my fingers together to stop them from shaking next to him. “Yeah, I don’t think she’s going to last the whole trip.” I swallow down the way my heart is beating in my chest. I can’t even imagine what he would do to me if he knew I took advantage of his daughter last night. What the whole plane would do to me. I feel sick with the thought that I took advantage of their generosity and what I did do. I slept with Abigail.
“When the girls were younger…” He starts to tell me a story, and I listen as I always do when it’s about Abigail. “They packed their bag full of their favorite things.” He smiles. “Got on the plane and forgot the bags at home.”
I open my mouth, not even imagining how that would have been. “Back then, there wasn’t a lot to keep them entertained. So we all had to whip out our iPhones.”
“That sounds like a vacation gone wrong,” I say as the plane fills up and people start getting their seats. I lay my head back and close my eyes, but they are haunted by her eyes. It’s the longest plane ride of my life. The number of times I had to stop myself from turning back to look at her were too many to count. Even when Penelope had to go to the bathroom, I got up to let her pass and looked around but never in her direction. I am a chickenshit, and I’m not afraid to admit it. I don’t think I can handle seeing the regret in her eyes, especially not when the only thing I regret is not going after her after she left.
The plane touches down, and we make it out, my hand in Penelope’s as we grab our bags. It’s only when I’m loading my car with the luggage do I look around for her. I don’t even know what I would say to her. Actually, I do know what I would say to her. “Come home with me,” I say. I look around as I see everyone lugging their stuff to their cars.
I scan the crowd looking for her, but I can’t find her anywhere. “Dad, are we leaving?” Penelope asks from the back. “I’m tired.”
“I know you are,” I say, taking a deep breath in before pulling out of the parking spot. My eyes even look at the rearview mirror to see if I can find her, and she is nowhere to be seen.
When we get home, I press the button for the garage door, driving right in. I pop the trunk, grab our bags, and make my way into the house. Penelope is already inside, opening the fridge. “It’s empty.” She looks over at me, shocked.
I just laugh at her. “It’s empty because we are leaving tomorrow,” I remind her, and she huffs.
“I’m starving,” she exaggerates just a touch. She ate less than an hour and a half ago on the plane.
“Why don’t we order some food and then start doing our laundry?” I suggest and she comes over and grabs my phone, opening up the Uber Eats app.
“What do you want to eat?” she asks, but it’s the same answer I tell her all the time.
“Choose something, and then I’ll pick.” I take her bags to the laundry room.