Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 114951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 575(@200wpm)___ 460(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
“I can’t believe what just happened,” she whispered, her voice muffled against my collarbone. She was shaking so hard. “I was so scared, Shane. I thought it was over. I thought I’d have to leave with him. I didn’t know what he’d do, I didn’t—”
“I know,” I said hoarsely, pressing my mouth to her hair. “I’ve got you. It’s over. He can’t touch you anymore.”
I pulled back just enough to see her face, my hands sliding to cup her cheeks. Her eyes searched mine, raw and unguarded, and in that moment, I didn’t care who was watching. I didn’t care about optics or timing or consequences.
I kissed her.
It was urgent and inescapable, my mouth firm on hers, hers soft against mine, our bodies melding together as we clung to each other like the rope that led to the safety of the shoreline. I kissed her like relief and grief and love had tangled together and there was no separating them, like I’d been holding my breath under that icy water since the day I left her and finally got to exhale.
She kissed me back without hesitation, her hands sliding up my chest, anchoring herself to me.
Somewhere beside us, Georgie cleared his throat.
“Well,” he said mildly, a crooked smile tugging at his mouth as Ariana and I broke apart. We still held fast to one another even as Ariana’s cheeks burned from the realization of how many people were watching. “I see you two have done a bit more than reacquaint yourselves.”
A few startled laughs rippled through the small cluster of people nearby, the tension breaking just enough to let the night breathe again. Ariana let out a shaky laugh of her own, her forehead resting against my chest as she exhaled. When she looked up at me, her eyes were wet but resolute.
And then, as if out of nowhere, like Mother Nature was putting on a show just for us…
It began to rain.
It was soft at first, a few warning droplets that had anyone still loitering outside moving quickly for the doors — Georgie included. But Ariana and I just looked up at the sky as it began to open, the rain falling harder and faster and soaking us to the bone.
“I don’t mind the rain, you know,” Ariana said, her watery smile making my knees buckle as her eyes locked on mine.
“It washes everything away,” I finished for her.
With a nod, she wrapped her arms around my neck again, pulling me into her for a longing kiss as the rain poured around us. And it was there in that moment with us — our fresh start. Our new beginning. No matter how messy it was, it was ours.
“Can we go home?” Ari asked me over the thrum of the rain. Then her expression faltered, uncertainty creeping in as reality tried to assert itself again. “Or— I mean—your home. I don’t… I don’t know what to call it yet.”
I brushed her wet hair back from her face, my thumb tracing her cheekbone, my gaze steady on hers.
“Home is what we make it,” I said quietly. “My house. Your house. A new house altogether — it doesn’t matter.” I leaned in, resting my forehead against hers. “Wherever you are, that’s where home is for me.”
It Happened to You
Ariana
Present
“I wish I could crawl inside your mind right now.”
I blinked, turning toward the deep voice that grounded me. Shane was rolled on his side, his eyes searching mine, fingers sliding up under his t-shirt that I wore and hooking around my hip. His touch was so different than the one I’d had there earlier in the night. Where Nathan’s had been possessive and cruel, Shane’s was tender and assuring.
He was rooting me in a time I could so easily be knocked over.
“It’s not a pretty place,” I muttered, the corner of my lips rising and falling again.
“Tonight was a lot.”
I nodded, rolling toward him and linking our legs together. We’d left the party with all the chaos still happening. Maven and Grace had stopped me long enough to give me a big hug and promise they’d take care of everything in my absence. They assured me they’d send a full update, but insisted I go and get away from the noise.
I was so thankful for their friendship, even if I was still amazed I had it at all.
We’d taken Georgie to a hotel before coming to Shane’s. We would spend Christmas together tomorrow, and then he was flying out on the first flight the following day to get back to school. Of course, he tried to change it after everything happened, insisting he needed to be here, but I assured him the best thing he could do for me was to get back to his life and not worry about me. I was his older sister, the closest thing he had to a parental figure, and the thought of him missing out on school for me was unthinkable. I promised him I’d be okay, and that I’d come visit him soon.