Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 101398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
I just hope my sister feels the same way.
I know I should’ve called her before I left New York—should’ve let her know I was coming—but Josie is stubborn as a mule, and we haven’t been on speaking terms since Grandma Rose’s funeral.
Truth be told, I have a fifty-fifty shot of her welcoming my presence versus pulling out a shotgun and firing it in my direction.
It’s time, Norah.
I take a big, deep breath, and just as I’m lifting my suitcase up the front porch steps, my phone dings from my purse. I stop at the top and pull it out, expecting to find more angry texts from Thomas—it’s been an onslaught today—but when I see Lillian’s name on the screen, I click to open her message.
Lil: Did you make it to Red Bridge?
Me: I did.
Lillian has been by my side since I was a kid. She was the only girl at the Manhattan private school my mother enrolled me in who didn’t care whether my family had money. Which, at the time, we didn’t.
We’ve seen each other through it all. Braces, acne breakouts, high school, relationship breakups, college, Lil’s first job at a marketing firm—she is still there and thriving—receiving family trust funds that twenty-year-old girls probably shouldn’t have access to, weddings-that-didn’t-happen, and losing said trust funds—which, yeah, that one only relates to moi.
She’s my best friend, and if I miss anything about my life back in New York, it’s her.
Lil: And how did Josie take it?
Me: I’m currently standing on her front porch, trying to find the courage to knock.
Lil: She’s your sister, Norah. She might be a little mad, but she’s not going to shove you out on the street. It’s all going to be okay.
I snort, but it’s not out of humor. Lil doesn’t know my sister like I do. Josie had no qualms with cutting our mother out of her life when she turned eighteen. And it’s not like she’s been trying to make amends with me for the past five years.
Frankly, I have no idea how this is going to go down, and I start to question myself on whether I’m making the right decision. Before I know it, I’m frozen on my sister’s front porch, in the middle of an internal crisis, and staring down at the screen of my phone as I scroll through text messages with Thomas. What used to be a happy couple texting each other about random, daily things quickly turns into a one-sided conversation that started the moment he realized I wasn’t going to say “I do.”
Thomas: Lillian said you left. What the fuck, Norah? What is going on? There are three hundred people here ready to watch us get married, and you left???
Thomas: I can’t believe this is fucking happening right now. Answer your phone. Call me back.
Thomas: You seriously left me on our wedding day? Do you even realize what you’ve done? There are journalists here, Norah. Do you have any idea what they’re going to say about you?
Thomas: I’ve given you everything. EVERYTHING. And this is how you repay me?
Thomas: Do you have any idea how this looks for me? For my family?
Thomas: NORAH CALL ME BACK.
Thomas: I hope you realize you are making the biggest mistake of your life.
Thomas: Your mother is devastated. I can’t believe how selfish you are right now. It’s like you don’t even care what you’re putting everyone else through.
I don’t even make it past our wedding-day-that-didn’t-happen—when the messages from him started to get really ugly. My mother’s text messages, on the other hand, are a quicker read. There are only two.
Mom: NORAH. This behavior is unacceptable. You have embarrassed yourself. Your family. Thomas. Everyone. You should be ashamed of yourself. Do you have any idea what you’ve done? What kind of mess you’ve left us all with? You are being so selfish and stupid. You were lucky to find a man like Thomas, but now, you’ve ruined everything.
Mom: I will never forgive you for this.
Regardless of the things I know about my mother now, the words still sting like a bitch. Being a people pleaser is ingrained in me. Thankfully, they also reinforce one thing—coming to Red Bridge was the right choice.
Honestly, it was the only choice.
I shove my phone back into my purse and return my attention to Josie’s front door. After the world’s longest inhale and exhale, I lift my fist and sound off three good knocks against the pink wood.
Instantly, I want to run away and hide in a bush, but the sounds of movement in the house are enough to tell me I wouldn’t even make it off the porch in time.
The door opens with a whoosh of air that brushes across my face, and Josie is right there, standing in front of me.
She looks exactly the same as the last time I saw her. The same curls as mine, only platinum blond instead of light brown, unchanged bright-green eyes that curl into the most perfect cat eye with her makeup, and a cute button nose. Her colorful tattoo sleeve on her right arm that I saw for the first time at our grandmother’s funeral is still there, and the same J necklace at her throat—a keepsake of our sister Jezzy’s that Josie’s worn since the day she died—hasn’t changed either. She’s even sporting a similar style to the one I’ve always known her for, sticking to a simple tank top and jean shorts.