The Road Home Novel Novels & Stories

But far more people wrote long reviews about the warmth of Hollow Creek and its people. From then on, more and more young people stayed. The older residents also began running small businesses. Owen and I finally realized our dream. Later, Hollow Creek was handed to younger people to manage. Owen and I became financially free from the dividends of our investment in Hollow Creek. We traveled the world. We chased the northern lights in Ice Island. We skied in Swizzy. But in the end, we always returned to Hollow Creek. That was the place our hearts recognized as home.

[Why don't you believe me? [Joanna, you have been lying to me all along.] [I do not want to love you anymore.] [I hate you.] But every message stayed gray. The pain reached a level I could no longer endure. I drank all the pain medication. The doctor had advised against it, but it hurt too much. It really hurt. Joanna, my heart really hurt. I vomited more and more blood, staining the message where Joanna had once promised to spend her life with me. Snow covered the whole world in cold white.

Three years after my release from prison, I ran into my ex-wife in the presidential suite of the most exclusive hotel in Bayshore. It had been years since I last saw her. She was draped in a silk robe, radiating wealth. When she recognized me, something unreadable passed through Cecily Monroe's eyes. "On the day you got out, why didn't you wait for me to come pick you up?" I said nothing and handed over the takeout. Her gaze dropped to the scar on my wrist, and her breath caught. "I went too far with that. But you've always been tougher than Adrian. You can always get back on your feet." She was talking about what happened six years ago, when Adrian Burke was involved in a catastrophic

Now, all at once, it hit me that everything I had given over the years had been nothing more than a one-sided effort. I was just about to book a flight when I realized I had forgotten my ID and passport, so I had no choice but to return home. The moment I opened the door, I was greeted by a mess all over the floor. Leftover snacks were scattered everywhere, along with half-finished dishes left behind. Right by the bedroom door lay something impossible to miss—a box of levonorgestrel pills and a piece of wine-red lingerie. Willow had never liked being physically intimate with me. Even Naomi's existence had come from a drunken incident.

He held the door of the truck open, waited for me to climb up, and then made his way to the driver’s side. The drive home was excruciating. He said nothing. Nada, zip, nuttin’ honey. Just focused on the road. I originally thought I might have hit a nerve on the boat, but now I was spiraling into all manner of offenses… only stopping with the possibly I’d killed his pet in a past life. See? Crazy.

said Arka, opening the windshield and speaking quietly, glancing at her sister-in-law. Mona snorted in annoyance, and with all her might, she rode fast. As the road approached Arka's residence, the woman chose to use an alleyway to get home faster. A smile spread when the brother-in-law's car was not yet parked, Mona's hurried steps were seen, she opened the door and immediately sat on the sofa to catch her breath.

"Peppers?" "Yes! Yes, pe— okay," Nora takes a long breath and releases it long after. Her hand curls into fists, "Okay! It's okay! I'm so fucking fed up! Your house number is 15 and mine is 21, okay? You can't keep mixing up the stupid address!" She points to Mama Freya's house, "15!" Then points to hers, "21!" She yanks her hand from Charlie's gentle hold before groaning and stomping off across the street.

Trust without guarantees. And Lena had given me something no title ever had. A reason to become better than the man I had been. She looked up at me. “What are you thinking?” I smiled. “That I still have one problem.” “What?” “Your books.” She laughed. “I warned you.” “I know.” “And?” I pulled her closer. “I think I'll make room.” Her smile grew. “So will I.” And beneath the city lights, with her in my arms and no contract standing between what we felt, I finally understood what home meant. It wasn't a place. It was the person you chose to return to. And I had chosen her.

“I’m afraid he does not have any money for the plane fare to send him home, and he’s ashamed to ask for it. So I’ve come to take him home with me.” “Where is home, dear?” “We live an hour away from Chicago in a town you probably never heard of.” “Hmm... that’s a bit far from here. What was your brother doing here, if I may ask?” “He was on a hiking trip to conquer the Great Divide. And he decided to explore Washington while he was around.” “Do you have a picture of your brother I can show around?” “Yeah.” Bree produced a copy of the last photo they took together. Bran had an afternoon shadow, so one could imagine what he would look like with a full-on beard and mustache.

She broke off from the throng. Then, there were stories about her circulating in the village. A mad mother chasing down a thug with nothing but a knife. The thug eventually fell further and became a beggar. The mad mother became the mad hag. Zacharias and I were on the train to the capital. Where the sun shone, there would be our future also.