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Everything I’ve planned since driving back into Saints Cross after my summer here begins to crumble at my feet with all the lies and bullshit from my parents.
The blare of a horn scares the living shit out of me. I spin around in a rush, finding an old woman staring at me from behind the wheel of her car.
Jesus, is there anyone on this planet who doesn’t want me out of the way?
The girl you just left behind.
Squashing that thought almost as quickly as it appeared, I move my arse out of the way and step up to the takeout window. The middle-aged woman behind the counter smiles at me sympathetically, clueing me in to how shit I look.
Reaching up, I comb my fingers through my hair to smooth it down before ordering coffee and breakfast.
“Double shot?” she asks with an amused smirk.
“Sure. That sounds like a good idea. And two bottles of water.”
“You got it. And in case you wanted any advice, you’ll never find the answer you’re looking for at the bottom of a bottle. I’ll give you that one for free.” She winks before turning toward the coffee machine and kicking it into action.
“Thanks, I’ll try to remember that next time.” It’s a big fat lie and we both know it, but thankfully, she leaves it at that.
Movement beside me catches my eye and my heart jumps into my throat and hope fills my veins. But when I look over, all the air rushes from my lungs when I find the old woman who was trying to park.
She also gives me a sympathetic smile but thankfully doesn’t offer me any nuggets of advice from her years of life experience.
“Thank you,” I mutter, snatching up my order the second I’ve paid for it and taking off.
My heart is in my throat as I climb over the short wall that leads me back to the beach. This could be a mistake. A massive fucking mistake.
But the second the order rolled off my tongue, I’d sealed my fate without even realising it.
But if Liv is gone—if she’s turned her back on me, got in the car and headed back to Saints Cross—then it’s going to wreck me.
My hand trembles as I hold the tray of coffees, the beach hut I spent the night in getting bigger before me. But there’s no clue as to whether she’s still inside or she’s done the sensible thing and run.
She should.
After everything… The way I’ve treated her. The things I’ve said… She should run and never look back.
But what if… what if I’m wrong about everything?
Last night, although painful, taught me a lot of things. Mostly that everything I’ve ever believed in my life has been a lie.
So what if everything I’ve allowed to fester inside me, to poison me for months is also wrong?
What if she really is here because she wants to be?
That thought blows my fucking mind.
But it’s possible. Right?
The wind has blown the door closed, so as I get closer, I have no way of telling if she’s decided to wait me out.
My heart races at a million miles a second as I juggle everything in my hands and reach for the door.
I close my eyes as I pull it open, praying it’s not going to be empty inside, and all the air rushes out of my lungs when I open them again and discover my answer.
“You didn’t leave,” I breathe.
“Yeah. Apparently, I’m a fucking idiot,” she mutters before her eyes drop from mine. “Is one of those for me?”
