Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 22967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 115(@200wpm)___ 92(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Maybe one day our love will be out in the open, but that day is not today, and it won’t be tomorrow.
“Goodnight, August,” I say as I kiss his soft lips.
He smiles as he watches me get up. “Goodnight, my love.”
I tip-toe over to the door with my body humming. There’s an unstoppable smile on my face as I quietly open the door.
“Harmony!” my mom says, gasping as she stares at me in horror. “What are you doing in there?”
My brain freezes as I stare at her in shock. What is she doing here? She’s supposed to be asleep.
That’s when I see the full stocking in her hands. She’s putting it on August’s door.
“Oh my god,” she says when she looks into the room and sees August lying in the bed shirtless. “Oh my god!”
The stocking slips out of her hands and drops at my feet.
“Mom!” I say as she turns and hurries down the hall. “It’s not what you think!”
My stomach sinks as I hear her running up the stairs.
There goes Christmas…
And there goes my relationship with my mother.
Again.
Chapter Eleven
Harmony
I wake up to my phone vibrating on the nightstand. With a groan, I turn in my bed and grab it.
Merry Christmas!
How’s it going with the stepbrother?
We got caught.
No!!!!!!!!!!!
Yup.
Want me to pick you up?
I stare at the screen with my heart breaking.
Maybe.
I don’t want to go out there.
I look at the snow falling outside my window and wonder if I can hike all the way to my father’s house in my pajamas and slippers.
What the hell did I do? What was I thinking?
I should have stayed in Australia and spent another Christmas in a hostel eating spaghetti out of a can with some Japanese tourists.
A knock on the door has me sitting up straight.
My mind immediately goes to August, hoping it’s him, but my heart sinks when I hear my mom’s voice.
“Harmony,” she says in an anything-but-friendly tone. “Can I come in? We need to talk.”
I swallow hard as I hurry out of bed, throw my robe on, and open the door.
Her jaw is all tight and she’s looking at me with those same angry disappointed eyes she gave me when she caught me sneaking back into my house at three AM after Jenny Richardson’s party in grade eleven.
I drop my eyes, feeling awful.
She comes in and closes the door.
My stomach is in knots. I hate this.
“I knew you were still mad at me,” she says in an accusing tone. “Is this how you’re getting back at me? Destroying my family because I destroyed yours?”
“What?” I gasp. “No!”
“You’re never going to forgive me are you?”
“Mom,” I say, feeling awful. “That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?” she asks, throwing her arms in the air. “What the heck were you doing in your stepbrother’s room late at night? Forget it! I don’t want to know.”
“I love him,” I blurt out.
Her mouth drops as she stares at me. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“No,” I say, desperate for her to see. “I do. I love him. He’s my soulmate.”
“Now, I know you’re not serious,” she answers. “You don’t believe in soulmates.”
“I do now.”
I take a deep breath as she stares at me skeptically.
“I understand now, Mom. The way you are with Brandon… I’ve never seen you so happy. You’re like a different person than you were with Dad. A happier one. I get it now. He’s your soulmate and Dad never was.”
Her eyes get watery as she listens.
“I wasn’t trying to get back at you,” I say. “I’m happy for you, Mom. Truly, I am. August is… I was trying to be good. Really, I was. But he’s…”
“He’s your soulmate,” she says with a knowing nod.
I take a breath of relief as tears flood down my cheeks.
“He really is. I’m sorry he’s your stepson, Mom, I really am. But we can’t choose who the universe picks for us.”
“I know,” she says. “And the universe can be a real pain in the ass sometimes.”
We both laugh while crying.
“I’m sorry for everything, Mom,” I tell her. “I feel like I’ve messed everything up. I just want you to be happy.”
She hugs me and I sink into her warm familiar smell like a hot bath.
“And I want you to be happy,” she whispers in my ear. “And if you’re happy with August, then Brandon and I will learn to accept it.”
“Learn to accept it?”
“We’ll accept it,” she says with a bit more force in her voice. “We’ll be happy for you. It might take some getting used to though.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I say as I hug her back. “I’m really happy you’re my mother.”
“Oh,” she says, looking touched as a fresh wave of tears hits her eyes. “That’s the best Christmas present you’ve ever given me. Come. Let’s go open some presents.”
She takes my hand and pulls me out of the room.