It takes me a couple more months to finally write ‘the end’ in my first novel. I stare at the last page, the cursor still blinking lazily on my laptop screen as I realize I really did it.
I finished my first book!
A scream escapes my mouth before I realize it, and Chad jumps at my side on the couch, cursing at me when he splashes his cereal and milk all over the shirt of his uniform.
“Fuck, Hays! That was my last clean shirt,” my brother grumbles, rushing to the kitchen to grab a towel. He comes back, still rubbing the wet stain from his chest, staring at me with wide eyes. “What the hell was that about?”
“I finished my novel,” I tell him excitedly, too worked up to control myself.
“Okay…congratulations. But next time, try to give me a heads up. You almost gave me a heart attack.&rdq
I can see Poppy straightening up on her seat, already itching to hear the gossip.My brothers don’t seem to be that interested, rolling their eyes at our sister, and Alice is just listening politely. I can’t tell if she’s eager to hear it or not.Spencer leans back in his seat, feigning indifference, but I know he wants to know whatever Lauren has to say. I swear the man loves some gossip sometimes.“There you go again,” Chad complains from the other side of the table. “Don’t you ever get tired of spreading stuff that doesn’t concern you?”“I’m not ‘spreading stuff,’ brother,” Lauren retorts through clenched teeth, narrowing her eyes at him. “And it actually concerns me…indirectly. If I were you, I'd be more concerned about this as well, since it involves your little ass.”Chad seems to sober up immediately, his eyes slightly widening at
TWO YEARS LATER…“Honey, aren’t you ready yet? We’re going to be late,” Spencer yells from the living room at the exact moment I finish buckling my shoe. Before I can reply, he shows up by the door, eyeing me up and down as I stand from the bed, straightening my flower print dress and wrapping a beige cardigan around myself.It’s still fall, but the wind is not merciful when the sun starts to set, so I don’t want to risk freezing to death when it’s nighttime.“You look… perfect. But are you sure you want to wear heels?” Spencer frowns as his eyes fall to my feet.I chuckle, walking toward him and wrapping my arms around his neck. “Baby, I’m pregnant, not injured. Besides, they are square toe heels, so I’ll hardly struggle with them.”That doesn’t seem to convince him, though. Ever since I told him I was
It takes me a couple more months to finally write ‘the end’ in my first novel. I stare at the last page, the cursor still blinking lazily on my laptop screen as I realize I really did it.I finished my first book!A scream escapes my mouth before I realize it, and Chad jumps at my side on the couch, cursing at me when he splashes his cereal and milk all over the shirt of his uniform.“Fuck, Hays! That was my last clean shirt,” my brother grumbles, rushing to the kitchen to grab a towel. He comes back, still rubbing the wet stain from his chest, staring at me with wide eyes. “What the hell was that about?”“I finished my novel,” I tell him excitedly, too worked up to control myself.“Okay…congratulations. But next time, try to give me a heads up. You almost gave me a heart attack.&rdq
We walk for a few minutes in silence as Spencer guides me to the back of the stage, away from prying eyes and the crowd at the festival. Surely, this isn’t the best place for us to have this conversation, but I couldn’t wait anymore, and Poppy also didn’t give much of a choice. I’m actually grateful that she forced me to do it because I don’t know if I would have done it by myself.Spencer and I walk between some trailers, and he nods at some people who recognize him—probably the production crew and some equipment technicians—but he doesn’t stop until we get to the wire fence that marks the terrain of the park. The day is colder than usual during this time of year, but thankfully, my oversized jacket is doing its job, protecting me from the wind. I’m already uncomfortable enough with this situation as it is. I don’t need the weather to make it worse.Spencer suddenly halts and turns to me, his arms crossed ove
“Hello, fam!” Chad’s cheerful voice echoes through our stall as my brother approaches us, wearing his Sentinel’s cap, a glass of beer in hand. For a moment, I hold my breath, expecting to see Spencer by his side, but he’s nowhere in sight. My tongue itches to ask my brother where his friend is, but I control myself. I don’t want to sound desperate. “Need a hand there, Mom?” he offers, leaning against the shelf I’m working on to organize the muffins and mini lime pies.I slap his hand when he tries to grab one, narrowing my eyes at him and silently mouthing for him to step away. Chad grimaces at me but doesn’t move from where he’s standing.“No need, son. I already have a lot of hands helping me out for now,” Mom replies, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. "Later I will, though."Chad finally seems to notice Poppy amongst us and frowns. “Aren’t you supposed to be workin
The entire week goes by uneventfully. Every morning, I go to the bakery to work, leaving only when the sun has already set, and go back home to focus on my novel, which is miraculously halfway done by now.It is the only thing keeping me excited after my bitter argument with Spencer on Sunday. I haven’t talked to him at all since, and he hasn’t tried to contact me either. Not that I was expecting him to. He made it pretty obvious that he was mad and done with me when he walked away from me that night.Poppy, Lauren, and even Chad tried to snoop around, separately cornering me to see if I would blurt something out, but I wasn’t ready to tell them that I screwed everything up. In fact, I’m not ready to face the new reality of my life yet—that being that I have no idea if Spencer and I are still together.He didn’t break up with me—or at least not that I know of—but I need to try and fix this. However, I have no idea