Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
My eyes stung, but I had to get my emotions under control before I called Mal. He’d told me to call him. If I needed anything, he’d be here. I didn’t want to need anything from him.
I stared at the phone in my hand. It was almost eight. If I called Mal now, then he would most likely come in the morning. I’d have one more night here. One more chance to see Luther and thank him for everything he’d done for me. That was, if he came home.
Steadying myself, I did my best to lock down all the feelings swirling in my chest. I’d survived much worse than this. Opening my phone screen, I went to the Contacts and found Mal’s numbers. There were three in here. I chose the cell phone and pressed Call.
There wasn’t much time to prepare for what I would say. He answered on the first ring.
“Lace?” His voice held a trace of concern.
“Yes,” I said, then cleared my throat. “Um, I’m sorry if it is late.”
“You can call in the middle of the night. I’ll answer.”
Why that response made my eyes well up with tears I didn’t know, but it did. I blinked them back, not needing to break down like an emotionally unstable person while I was on the phone with him.
“I, uh…I think I should move there—I mean, to your house. If that is still okay…” I stammered out the words nervously.
“I’ll be there in thirty minutes. I’m not home, so it’ll take me a little extra time, but I’m leaving now.”
“No!” I stopped him before he said more. “Not tonight. I, uh…I’m tired, and I’d like to tell everyone bye and thank them in the morning, if that’s okay.”
“You’ll see them regularly,” he said in a reassuring tone. “I know you have bonded with Jayda, and I can take you over for visits.”
I would miss Jayda and Stevie and Branwen, but they weren’t who I was hoping to see.
“Oh, I know, but I’m also tired and already dressed for bed. I called tonight in case you had plans tomorrow; this way, you have time to figure out how to fit me in.”
There was a pause of silence.
“Lace, you’re my daughter. I’ll always fit you in. And of course. Get some rest. I’ll be there first thing in the morning. We will have a family dinner tomorrow night. I’ll let the boys know. It’s time we all got to know each other.”
Locke and Gathe were easy to be around. That sounded…pleasant.
“Okay,” I replied. “Thank you.”
I heard him let out a heavy sigh. “Don’t need to thank me. But you’re welcome.”
“Good night.”
“Good night, Lace.”
I ended the call and closed my eyes. I’d done it. Made the decision to move away from Luther. I wouldn’t wake up with him in my room anymore. I literally grieved that loss. How was it possible to feel something so deeply for a person you hadn’t known that long? It was as if Luther had claimed a piece of me from that first moment in the parking lot where he had saved me. And every day after, everything he did, it’d only grown until he was all I thought about.
Walking over to the bed, I lay down on it and curled my knees up to my chest. Then I let the tears come. Why fight them? It was best to get it all out. Maybe then I could move on from this attachment I had to Luther. He’d made me feel cared about and safe. Something I’d gone without for so long that I forgot how it felt. But it was more than that too. I was attracted to Luther. My body reacted to him in a way it had never reacted to anyone. When I saw him, everything inside me felt alive.
And I didn’t believe that it was because he’d saved me. It was more than that. But I had to accept that it was one sided. Only I felt this way.
Last night, I hadn’t slept. I lay awake, listening for sounds of Luther. But it had been silent. When the sun rose, so did I, and I went to get a shower. There was no use in pretending as if I would fall asleep. My brain would not shut off. I wasn’t sure what time Mal would arrive, but I had to accept that Luther wasn’t going to be here. I knew I’d see him again, but I wasn’t sure when.
A knock on the door brought me from my thoughts, and I spun around from the window I’d been looking out to stare at it. Was he back? Did he know I was leaving? Maybe he would ask me not to.
“Lace,” Jayda’s voice called from the other side, and my heart sank.
I walked over to the door to open it, feeling a heaviness not only in my chest, but all over. Trying to smile was a challenge, but I did my best.