AllFreeNovel
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Faith: He might have been. You know, these stars, they often…
Eden: He wasn’t high. He stopped that after going to rehab for four months.
Faith: Oh.
Manuela: I nearly died when he announced his international tour. It starts in six months. People must be freaking out over there, although it was pretty much leaked since Christmas. And sold out. Squeal.
Faith: I mean, we weren’t able to go see him here in the States, but sure, let’s squeal for UK.
Manuela: If I didn’t have a newborn baby, I would have gone. Besides, Eden got to see him live, and, so, by proxy, so did we. Kind of. Right, En?
Eden: I think I’ll head to bed early, guys.
Manuela: You ok, babe?
Eden: Fine. Just tired.
Manuela: Ok. Love you.
Faith: Love you, En.
Eden: xx
Corfu
five months later
eight
We are sailing into a real-life fairytale.
Spence, damn him, didn’t tell me this island was made of pure magic. Nor did the Odyssey. I mean, I knew it would have to be some sort of amazing place for Odysseus to go through all that just to reach it but this… This is beyond anything I’ve ever imagined.
A hush falls all over the boat as we approach the island. It feels like we’re entering a cloud of stillness. The seagulls scream overhead and the water laps gently over the hull, but other than that, there is utter silence all around. Peace, some would call it. The world has stopped. We are entering holy ground.
The minute we reach the port of Corfu, I lose my heart to the island.
Spence was right again, damn him.
At first, all I is a row of pastel houses reflected on still, turquoise waters, and then, as the yacht closes into the harbor, a medieval fortress built on the cleft of a tall rock and tiny streets disappearing into a busy town. The sky is a cloudless dome above my head and the humming of people moving about their work or swimming at the beach reaches my ears over the music blasting out of Skye’s phone–he’s seated next to me on a lounge chair.
“Hey!” he says without looking up. “This looks pretty.”
“How can you see, your eyes are glued to your phone,” I reply, deep in sarcasm.
“Oh, I can see. I can also feel you shaking from over here,” is his grim reply. “You, my friend, need a swim.”
I turn around to stare him down. He lifts his eyebrows, lowering his sunglasses.
Right.
I turn around and give the order to the captain to take us to a private beach.
The minute I jump into the crystal-clear waters of Corfu, my breath catches. Yeah, the water is that cold. And then I take my first real breath in a long, long time.
Skye cannonballs from the yacht and somehow manages to land with a humongous splash right next to me, nearly taking me out. Jude and Miki follow suit, and then the rest of the staff and assistants. No one can resist.
The water is freezing—it’s late May—but I don’t even care. This place feels like the first day of a brand-new life. Cool, clear and so freaking beautiful as if it was created just for me.
