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)
“He’s not exactly mine, but yes. Him.”
“Oh my goodness.” She sat back in the booth, flabbergasted. “And he still doesn’t have his memories?”
“Nope.”
“So…he doesn’t recall you two falling in love?”
“Nope.”
“He doesn’t recall you at all?”
“Not at all.”
“But…everything you shared together…” Her hands fell to her chest, over her heart. “You were everything to him, Kierra. You and Elijah.”
Just hearing Elijah’s name out loud made my eyes fill with tears.
I glanced down at the tattoo sitting on my wrist. A trail of penguin, toad, and bear footprints trailing up my arm. A daily reminder of my past with Gabriel and little Elijah. A daily reminder of what used to be, and what would never return again.
I blinked and my mind took me back there. I blinked and I could feel the chill of that cold December night.
“Don’t worry, boys,” I shouted. “I’ll drive.”
“Kierra…” Rosie reached across the table and placed a hand against my forearm, bringing me back to reality. “This is a lot.” She was teary-eyed as she held my arm. If anyone knew how deep the cuts of the accident were, it was Rosie. She was the one who was there for me throughout that whole period. She was the one who held me as I wailed into the night. She was the one who told me everything would be okay, even when I knew for a fact that that would never be true again.
“It is a lot. And I don’t know what to do. Tell me what to do. Give me any kind of advice.”
“I don’t even know. This sounds like a twisted Black Mirror episode.”
“Joseph said Jane the Virgin.”
“That’s a very Joseph choice.”
I sighed and picked up my water for a sip. My mouth felt dry as I sat heavily in my emotions. “It’s so messy.”
“You have to keep seeing him,” she stated. “No question about it. Not only is he building your home, but he’s Gabriel.”
“I know.” He was Gabriel. My once-upon-a-time love story. “Joseph said I should tell Henry all about Gabriel.”
Rosie worked her hardest not to roll her eyes. It was no secret that Henry and Rosie didn’t get along. She didn’t complain much about him anymore now that years have passed, but she didn’t go out of her way to pretend she could stand him.
“Joseph would be one to tell you to be a responsible wife. Stupid Joseph.” She huffed. “Being an adult sucks.”
“Tell me about it.”
“So, when do I get to see him?”
“What?”
“Gabriel. Sure, he was your everything, but he was my friend, too. Plus, I’d kill to see how you act with him around.”
I laughed. “That’s not happening.”
“What? Come on! You know I thrive off uncomfortable situations. I’d be the comic relief in your tragedy of errors.”
“It’s a strong negative.”
“Just host another dinner party. I love Henry’s dinner parties.”
“You hate Henry’s dinner parties.”
“It’s true.” She nodded. “Too highbrow for me and not enough mozzarella sticks. But I would one hundred percent show up if it meant I’d get to see you act super awkward and clumsy around Gabriel Sinclair.”
“What makes you think I’d be super awkward and clumsy around Gabriel?”
She shook her head and patted my hand. “Oh, sweet, sweet Kierra. Because I know you so well. I bet you spilled something when you saw him.”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s change the subject.”
She pointed a stern finger my way. “You totally spilled something.”
“All over myself, yes.”
“I knew it.” She reached to my plate and stole a few of my fries. “It is kind of exciting, though, isn’t it?”
“What’s that?”
“You and Gabriel being reunited after all this time. And for the record, you don’t have to take Joseph’s advice. I hardly ever listen to my therapist. It’s more of an optional thing, really.”
I laughed. “I fear a lot of my clients feel the same way.”
***
When I returned to the office, I was thrown off as I walked into the lobby to find a person I was not expecting to see sitting in a chair. My head tilted sideways as I stared at the familiar stranger. That saying felt like the biggest oxymoron known to mankind. A familiar stranger. Someone you once upon a time knew yet who had shifted into nothing more than a sad memory.
“Amma,” I whispered, stunned by the sight of Gabriel’s mother sitting in front of me. The moment I spoke her name, she rose from the chair. She held her purse close to her chest and released a sigh as she stared my way.
“Hello, Kierra.”
I narrowed my eyes as my heartbeat began to rise. “What are you doing—”
“You had a run-in with my son over the weekend,” she said, her voice as stern as the last time we’d spoke. Well, truthfully, the last time we spoke, her sternness was bathed in heartbreak and despair. The heartbreak and despair that I’d caused. I was almost certain back then would’ve been the last time I’d ever see her, but for some strange reason my past was sprinting straight into my present day.