Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35763 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 179(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
“Karl was gone most of the time,” Rich fills in, not bothering to call him Dad or Father, for that matter. Each one of his little comments about Karl let me know that my brother hadn’t changed a bit since I left.
“Gone permanently now,” Willa whispers out, her eyes going wide before she puts her hand over her mouth, not having meant to say that out loud. Rich barks a laugh.
My focus is on Teddy, who just informed me that she pretty much lives here. Where I’m about to live. That sounds like torture. Are they sneaking into each other's rooms? I’ll have to put a stop to that. I don't care if they're both adults. It won’t be occurring here, or anywhere else for that matter.
“You’re fine, Willa.” Teddy leans over to her, wrapping an arm around her. “Gallows humor can hit the spot when you need it to.” Willa nods her head but keeps her hand over her mouth.
“I highly doubt this Eden would be permitted, but I will of course look into things,” Jack says. He never leaves a stone unturned. Both because he’s thorough and nosy as fuck. I can't say that I despise his gossip, nor that I ever actively seek it out. He expresses it freely when we are alone, which is typically the case. I’m not big on leaving my home. But here I fucking am, back on Lighthouse Landing.
Jack starts going back and forth with Rich about a few things. I'm sure I should be paying attention to things like the start of school and the date of graduation. That should be the big question. Then I can get the hell out of here.
Instead, I pull out my phone and reach out to one of my contacts. Theodora and Eden aren’t very common names. It should be simple enough to track down everything about them. I don’t miss the curious glances Jack keeps giving me, but I ignore them.
"So this means you're moving in here?" Teddy inquires, eliciting silence from everyone.
“It seems so.”
“I don’t like this,” Rich half-growls. That makes two of us. I can see Willa grow tense, but Teddy only remains curious.
"If you're thinking that I'm like him, you're mistaken. There is a reason I left this island and never returned.”
“We’ll see about that.” Rich pushes back from the kitchen island. “Karl was a good liar.” What can I say to that? Nothing, because as much as the little shit is annoying me, he’s not wrong. “Come on, guys.” He motions for Teddy and Willa to get up. They do.
Does she always do as he tells her? Irritation gnaws at me, tightening my throat. My entire body begins to tense, and I experience a sensation akin to that of a rubber band that is about to snap. That's the last thing I want to do at this moment. Not when I told them seconds ago I wasn’t the same as Karl.
“You can’t take a random girl up to your room if that’s what you think you’re doing,” I cut in.
“I’m going to Willa’s room,” Teddy challenges before Rich can. He was about to, but she beat him to it. Teddy slips her arm into Willa’s. “Come on.” She tugs Willa along. Rich lingers behind.
“He spoke about you,” Rich says when the girls leave the kitchen.
“Is that girl your girlfriend?” I ask my own question.
“Teddy isn’t your business,” he snaps out. I grind my back teeth, reminding myself he’s a protective brother and only just lost his father. Also stopping myself from saying the words that are on the tip of my tongue: She will be.
“I don’t care what my brother had to say about me.”
“He fucking hated you. When he got drunk, your name was always pouring out of him.”
“I haven’t spoken to him in over a decade.” I'm at a loss as to why Karl would harbor hatred toward me.
I’d never done anything to his spoiled, abusive ass. If he treated his kids the way he treated me, I can get why Rich is worked up. I’d flown into a few rages over my mother toward my father. I knew that I harbored a part of that within me, and I'm sure Rich does too. Fortunately, what I’ve seen so far of him, he uses it to protect the ones he loves and not hurt them.
“It gives me a ray of hope that since he hated you, you might be different.” With that, he exits the room, following after the girls.
“Well,” Jack sighs. “I wasn’t sure what to expect, but seeing a younger version of you was rather interesting.”
I run my hand down my face. I need sleep, but I know I won’t find it. My life is in chaos, the structure I need stripped away. I hate the sensation of being out of control. It brings me back to, ironically, here.