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"Wait!" Isla rushes to get out. "Don't leave me. I don't want to be alone."
I take a step back, suddenly realizing exactly where I want to be right now. And it's definitely not here.
"Being alone isn't the worst thing in the world, Isla. You'll get used to it. And when you're okay with being alone, maybe you'll even meet the right person for you."
I hurry out her door and take the stairs two at a time. Mom and Dad are sitting on the couch, looking terrified, as I jump off the final step.
"How is she?" Dad asks as I grab my car keys.
"She's Isla," I shrug as I grip the door handle. "She'll be fine. She always is."
I slip my phone out of my back pocket and find Wilder's name. I call him, and it rings a few times before he picks up.
"Hey." His voice is deep and husky.
"Where are you?"
"Diner," he answers. "Just ordered some food."
"Mind if I join you?"
I hear him chuckle. "What do you want? I'll order you some food."
"Just fries and a Cherry Coke," I tell him.
"See you in a few," he says as I smile to myself.
When I enter the diner, I see Wilder sitting in a booth first. As he waves me over, I notice two familiar faces across the restaurant. Fanny and Archibald Allred. They pretend not to see me and avoid looking at each other. For the first time in four years, I see how miserable they both are. Fanny is pushing food around her plate with a fork, and Archibald is more interested in his cell phone than he is in the woman sitting next to him. Their marriage is a sham. Maybe it always has been. This explains why Archibald spends his free time with Clementine and Fanny spends her days working overtime to assure the town that their marriage is strong and alive.
But it's not.
It's dead.
It's over.
And Fanny gets the short end of the stick. It makes me want to release those pictures of Archibald and Clementine at the country club because even though she's a horrible person, Fanny actually deserves better.
The people who play golf with Archibald at his fancy country club might not care about his affair, but the rest of the town would.
I blow out an annoyed breath and slide into the booth across from Wilder.
"You see who else is here?" I flash my eyebrows at him.
"I saw," he grumbles, his foot sliding along mine beneath the table.
"Does it bother you they're here?" I tilt my head to the side, watching as his shoulders tense.
Wilder shakes his head, refusing to meet my gaze. "Nope."
"You're lying," I tease him. "Why are you lying?"
"Maybe I wanted to kiss you," he reveals. "And I can't because they might see."
I lick my lips. "You want to kiss me right now?"
"I'll kiss you later," he glances at me.
I sink my teeth into my lower lip and crawl out of the booth. "Scoot over."
