Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 93312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 467(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 311(@300wpm)
And I can’t shake the feeling that Thayer just said goodbye.
For good.
After Holden and I walked back to Whittemore, my mom took one look at my appearance and quickly shooed me into the upstairs bathroom, demanding answers. I sat there like an infant on the toilet seat while she helped me out of my drenched clothes before turning on the shower, letting steam fill the room. I didn’t need the help, but I knew she was hurting and concerned, so I let her tend to me the way mothers do before I assured her that I was okay and asked her to leave.
I don’t know how much time has passed since she left, but I sit here on the tile floor with my arms wrapped around my bent knees, letting the hot water fall over me. Tears stream down my face as I think about Danny.
Daniel Ames is, to put it simply, the town’s golden boy. Star basketball player. Loved by all and had his whole life ahead of him. Until everything changed in the blink of an eye. He fell from a cliff that he’d jumped off so many times before, but this time, it killed him. Six broken ribs. Two punctured lungs. The official cause of death hasn’t been released, but from what the police told August, he most likely drowned.
My lungs constrict and my chest grows tight at the thought of how panicked he must have felt. I shake the thoughts from my head, not allowing myself to imagine his final moments. When the water runs cold, I peel myself off the floor, reaching for the towel hanging on the wall and wrapping it around me.
Eyes puffy and emotionally exhausted, I quietly tiptoe out of the bathroom, planning to duck into my room without anyone noticing, but I pause in the hallway when movement inside Thayer’s room catches my attention. The door is cracked, and Thayer sits on the edge of his bed, inspecting his arm, and I gasp before quickly slapping a hand over my mouth. It’s red and blistered from shoulder to wrist in a pattern that almost resembles branches.
Or lightning.
Instinctively, I look down at my wrist. It bears the same exact pattern, except mine is smaller, running from my thumb to the inside of my wrist—and much less severe. I frown, running my thumb across the tender flesh. If it wasn’t for the slight tingly numbness, I might’ve forgotten about it altogether. Thayer’s, though…the skin is raised, oozing, and angry, and definitely in need of medical attention.
I decide to tell him as much, taking a small step forward, but I hesitate when someone else steps into view. Her back is to me as she saunters toward Thayer, but I recognize the dress from earlier. Taylor Sanders. My already wrecked heart takes another beating as I watch her drop to her knees in between his spread legs. Something inside me cracks open as her dainty, manicured fingers reach for the button of his pants. How can he let her touch him like that when he was with me only hours ago?
As if he can hear my heart breaking, Thayer’s eyes lift, meeting mine through the crack in the door. They’re angry but somehow vacant, the crease between his eyebrows deepening. I shake my head, my nose flaring as I attempt to keep my tears at bay.
“Let me help you feel better,” Taylor purrs, tugging at his jeans while Thayer holds my stare.
My stomach rolls, and I turn around, unable to see any more. I quickly cross the hall into my room and slam the door shut behind me before flipping the lock. I don’t bother to get dressed, instead climbing into my bed with my towel still wrapped around me. I curl up on my side, pulling the blanket over my head.
He had to know I’d see them. Why else would he leave his door open like that? He wanted to hurt me. He did it on purpose. And for what? For telling him I loved him? God, I’m stupid. I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s not like I thought this thing with us could actually go anywhere with our parents being engaged. I wasn’t under the illusion that we’d somehow live happily ever after. I just got caught up in the moment, overwhelmed with the intensity of it all.
The truth is, I do love Thayer, and not in the same way I love Holden and Danny. But admitting it out loud was a mistake, because right now, I don’t think it’s possible for things to get any worse.
Shayne
Nine Months Later
I was wrong. Things got worse.
The night of the funeral was just the tip of the iceberg. Like a row of dominos, everything fell apart after that. Thayer ignored me at school, and on the rare occasion he was home, he’d reek of cigarettes and whiskey. Holden pretended nothing happened, burying himself inside anything with a pulse, Grey shut down, freezing me out completely when he went back to college, and the icing on the shit cake? After three weeks, our parents called off their engagement, and five days after that, I was back in Shadow Ridge. By that point, I can’t say I wasn’t a little relieved. Staying at Whittemore felt more uncomfortable and less like home with each passing day, and going to school was my own personal hell. It was as if everyone could sense the shift, and suddenly, I wasn’t one of them anymore.