Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 101662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101662 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
***
When the following Friday rolled around, Ava was off to Tamera’s house for a sleepover. I’d had a long day at work and was feeling extra tired. My clients that day were dealing with heavy issues, and even though I tried my best not to take on their emotions, I sometimes struggled. I just needed the evening to recharge and come back to myself. Still, I knew Henry would want dinner, so I put a pizza in the oven when he texted me that he was on his way home.
“I can’t believe Lena quit. All you could whip up was a frozen pizza?” Henry yipped behind me as I was bent over in the oven pulling out the pizza. The sudden sound of his voice made me leap out of fright, causing my hand to hit the top of the oven, pain shooting through me at the searing burn. The pizza pan dropped from my grip, causing a mess inside the oven, which led Henry into a fit.
“Are you fucking kidding me, Kierra? Look at the damn mess you made!” he barked as I rushed to the sink to run cold water over the burn.
“You act like I tried to hurt myself,” I snapped back without thought. My main focus was to make sure my hand wasn’t suffering from second- or third-degree burns.
“If you weren’t so lazy and actually cooked a real meal, this would’ve never fucking happened.” He huffed, walking over to the stove and shutting off the oven. “Now that cheese is burning, and the house is going to smell awful. How do you even manage to screw up a frozen pizza?”
I stood there frozen in place from his words.
He glanced my way and the moment I locked eyes with him, I saw the emptiness that existed there. Maybe he had a bad day at work. Maybe some deal fell through. Maybe that’s why he was snapping. Maybe that’s why he blamed me instead of checking in on my injury.
His eyes fell to my hand, where blisters were already forming on the delicate skin. His brows lowered, and when he looked at me once more, there was a moment of sorrow in his eyes.
Say it, I silently begged.
Look me in the eyes and apologize for snapping at me.
Ask me if I’m okay. Get me some ice.
Do anything, Henry.
Anything to show that any piece of you still cares.
Instead, he grumbled under his breath, turned to walk away, and said, “I’m going out for dinner.” He left the house, leaving the burning smell growing more intense around me.
***
He didn’t sleep in our room that night. He took the guest room. It was probably for the best. He was the last person I wanted to wake up beside. We played the part of being a loving couple as much as we could when Ava was around; yet when she was gone, so was the make-believe love story.
When I awakened the next morning, there was a bouquet of roses on my table side and a tube of soothing cream for burns.
I lay still on my side of the bed that morning thinking about Gabriel, Bentley, and the idea of a life without Henry involved. As I looked at the bouquet, I wanted to throw up.
Roses were becoming my least favorite flower.
14
Kierra
After the burn to my hand, I did exactly what I did every time Henry had an episode. I went on as if nothing had happened. Though, truthfully, each time something happened, it felt as if a piece of me was fading. Still, life had to go on, and our house continued to be built as the foundation of our lives continued to crumble.
Over the next few weeks, we had concrete poured. A frame of the house was going up quickly. June sped past, and as summertime settled in, I was getting used to the idea of being around Gabriel. Of course, it wasn’t hard to be around him. He made it shockingly easy. From meetings with Henry over the house details to treating Ava like a princess at the mentorship program, Gabriel went above and beyond to make sure everyone felt taken care of.
That even included having a cinnamon muffin and coffee with me at least twice a week. When the bakery was running low on muffins, we agreed to go halfsies with the one that was left. When we met up, conversations always came easily. He’d ask me about myself and my likes and needs. It was nice to talk to someone besides Joseph, Rosie, and Ava. My parents were wonderful, too, of course, but a few years back, they’d moved out to Austin, Texas. But talking to Gabriel felt different than with all those people. It felt like coming home after a long, cold winter. He still laughed the same. Still rubbed his thumb and pointer finger together when he was in deep thought. Still frowned with his eyes before his lips.