AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Damian:I’ll arrange a meeting with Joe. We’ll get everything organized from there. I’ll be in touch shortly.
Stella:Okay, thank you.
Damian:Do I have your word that you’ll go through with it?
Stella:Yes. Of course.
Damian:How much does your word stand for?
What an odd question to ask.
Stella:What do you mean?
Damian:Many people’s word means shit. They give their word but then take it back. I don’t fuck around with taker-backers, so if you aren’t fully committed to this, do not agree to it and make it a pain in my ass situation with this back-and-forth talk. So, again, how much does your word stand for?
My heart was skipping beats as I read his message. A strong tug at my chest made it hard to take inhalations. Why did this stranger make me feel so much?
Stella:My word means everything.
Damian:I hope that’s true.
Stella:And sorry for texting so late. I hope I didn’t wake you. Are you a night owl?
He didn’t reply. It seemed he wasn’t much for small talk.
I placed my phone back down on the nightstand, but instead of falling asleep, I stared into the darkness of the night, thinking about how my life was about to do a one-eighty.
Mrs. Blackstone.
I hated how that name was going to be mine, even if only temporarily.
My hope, dream, and greatest wish was to one day take on Jeff’s last name and be his wife. But first, it appeared I had to make a last-name stop as Blackstone. A name extremely fitting for a man whose spirit was just as dark and personality cold as stone.
The next morning,I awakened to the doorbell ringing. Jeff grumbled and pushed his pillow over his head to tune out the sound. “Get that,” he muttered before rolling onto his side.
Out of the two of us, it was clear I was the morning person. To be fair, Jeff spent most of his nights DJing until the sun rose. He excelled with the moonbeams as I danced beneath the sun.
Still, the sun was hardly up as the doorbell rang repeatedly.
I slipped into my morning robe and poop emoji slippers that Jeff bought me for Christmas last year and headed to the front door of our duplex. I didn’t know why, but Jeff thought the slippers were the funniest thing in the world. They were comfortable, no denying.
To my surprise, I found the one person I thought I’d never see on my side of town.
“Catherine.” I tightened the belt on my robe as bewilderment hit me. “What are you doing here?”
“Hello, Stella. I was hoping we could talk.”
I glanced at the grandfather clock sitting in my living room. “It’s only five thirty in the morning.”
“Yes, well, you can imagine I haven’t been sleeping much lately.”
“Understandable, but how did you know where I live?”
“Let’s not do the small talk thing. I don’t want to take up too much of your time.” She glanced back to her car parked on the street. “Is my car safe in this neighborhood?”
I chuckled a little. “It stands out a bit, but it should be fine.”
She grimaced as she took her key ring and locked it repeatedly, making a loud beeping sound echo shoot down the block.
