“Is it…because I hurt you or because of therules?”
“Both.”
I can’t help but scowl. “You forgive me, but we’re still not able to move past it.”
“I forgive you, and I need time.”
How much time?
Regardless, I don’t ask the stupid question. It’s irrelevant at this point.
Shoving my hands into my jeans, I have no other option but to give up. To admit defeat and let this go.
For good.
I lost her.
And I don’t think I’m ever going to get her back.
26
SIENNA
Any self-respectingwoman would put herself first, lift her chin, and own her decisions with zero remorse.
Me, though, that’s not the case.
It’s been three months since my less-than-twenty-four-hour kidnapping from Micah, and I’ve been more miserable than I was before.
I said what I said.
I thought it would’ve been for the best, and we both could’ve put this behind us. It’s not about miscommunication anymore, but constant reminders that he still exists.
In the same town.
School is out, and I no longer teach Heath Wolfe. No more strained parent-teacher conferences, no more having to speak to Micah about how Heath is doing, and no longer being a small piece of his life.
I’m completely out now.
And it feels like I’ve isolated myself more than needed.
Because all it’s done now is make me feel empty and think about how I may have made the wrong decision.
We could’ve broken more rules—well, the same one; no dating parents—and I wouldn’t be sitting in Maple & Main diner sipping away my heartbreak on too much coffee and sugar.
When I thought the summer would offer me solace, it has done the exact opposite. Micah and Coach Wilson have commissioned the town to pick a new mascot. The River Otters were…well, honestly, I have no idea where it came from, but Micah has been on a mission to change it and even had the kids make flyers to vote on the new one.
I think it’s between the Stallions, Coyotes, and the Marsh Hogs.
Yeah, I don’t know or understand where the last one came from, but the town has been voting all week, and I’m tired of hearing about it.
“Two large coffees, three blueberry muffins, and one piece of peach cobbler, please and thank you,” says a feminine voice in a quick and out-of-breath tone.
Mindlessly, I glance over to find a woman two stools down to my left, standing and leaning up against the counter with a giant smile plastered on her face in front of Sherry.
Sherry just stares at her in the middle of refilling my own coffee. “Girl, what are you doing here?”
The woman smiles even brighter. “No, hello, nice to see you?”
