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“Prove it,” I teased.
CHAPTER 1
Julie
Either I’ll end up in a mental institution, or this will be the best damn decision of my life.
My new place was small but charming. The walls of the living room were painted a shade of green that lightened both the space and my mood. I leaned back in my desk chair and stared at the wall in front of me. Dallas was good to me, but there were too many bad memories now.
I needed a change. This place was just forty-five minutes outside of the city. Quaint. Quiet. Peaceful. And, away from pain – at least that’s what I wanted so desperately to believe.
Ennis, Texas, was the last place I ever envisioned myself settling down. I thought I’d spend my entire life in one big city or another, chasing my dream of being a journalist. Now, freelancing was all I needed. Living a quiet life seemed perfect and relaxing. After the last few weeks of hell, I longed for quality alone time.
Just as the thought crossed my mind, there was a loud knock on my front door. I frowned and got slowly to my feet. The only person who knew where I lived was my best friend Andrea, but I couldn’t imagine she would drive all the way down here.
“Hey!” Andrea said when I opened the door.
I laughed and shook my head. Standing aside, I let Andrea pass by me. She quickly made herself at home, kicking off her shoes and collapsing in a heap on my couch.
“I know it’s only like an hour,” she said. “But god, I really hate that fucking drive.”
“What are you doing here?” I sat down in my chair and spun around to face her.
“Ouch.” Andrea placed her hand over her heart and feigned a hurt expression. “Where’s the love, Jules?”
I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“I just wanted to check on you.” Andrea shrugged. “I have the day off, so I thought I’d drive down. Are you settled in?”
I nodded. “Getting there. It’s going to take some time to unpack everything, but I love this house. It’s perfect.”
“I thought it would be,” Andrea said with a satisfied grin.
Andrea helped me find my new house about two seconds after I mentioned the move. She, unlike most of the other people in my life, was totally supportive of my desire to get out of Dallas.
“My parents came down yesterday,” I said. “They don’t feel the same way.”
“Like that’s a surprise,” Andrea said. “Frank and Janice wouldn’t know true style if it bit them in the ass.”
I laughed. “God, that’s so true. Do you remember that purple leather recliner they bought when we were in high school?”
“Oh my god!” Andrea groaned. “I forgot about that!”
“I don’t know how you could,” I said. “It still haunts my nightmares.”
“Well, you had to live with the damn thing in your living room,” Andrea said.
We both laughed and continued our light-hearted abuse of my parents. They meant well, but they never truly understood me.
“So,” Andrea said, her tone suddenly shifting. “Have you heard from him?”
I froze. My heart felt like it stopped beating for a full minute. I knew Andrea would ask about him. Still, it didn’t stop me from feeling breathless and blindsided. My ex was the last person I wanted to talk about.
“No,” I said. “I’m not sure he even knows I left Dallas.”
“Of course, he knows,” Andrea said. She rolled her eyes. “It’s all over Facebook.”
“It is?”
