Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“You sure?” I ask, hesitant. “I should have checked with you first.”
“Go, Callie.”
I lean in, kissing Vance’s head and then her cheek. “I’m gonna go, then.”
“Good. Text me when you get there.”
I agree and head to my room to get my bag that I packed earlier. When I come out, I hear Aviva in the kitchen with Nico. “Listen, you need to get it together. They’re serious about each other.”
“He doesn’t deserve her, Aviva, and you know it. He didn’t consider my feelings or even listen to the fact that I don’t want anyone distracting Callie. We have a job to do to make sure she is the best human imaginable after her shitty childhood, and we don’t need some boy distracting her!”
“Nico, he is a sweet guy, supportive and so good to her. She loves him.”
“I don’t care. He is not good enough. For the reasons I’ve mentioned—and you know what she did to me.”
“Listen, I get it, and I know she hurt you. But Evan isn’t like that. You can’t fault him for what she did.”
“You sound like his bitch ass.”
“Nico, please. Name-calling isn’t going to help the situation. You need to give him a chance.”
“I’ve told you, he doesn’t deserve her. She is too good for him,” he sneers, and I wonder if he’s said that to Evan. Is that why Evan was so scared to tell me how he felt? Because Nico put it in his head that he wasn’t good enough for me? If so, I’m going to have words with my soon-to-be dad. But also, doesn’t he realize we’re past the point of molding me into a good human? I’m a damn good human, a great teammate, and a great aunt. Not to mention, a fantastic girlfriend, if I do say so myself. So why does Nico feel he has to protect me from any potential emotional harm? Evan is one hell of a distraction, but he also keeps me accountable. He pushes me. I don’t understand.
“You don’t get to decide that because, guess what, if my dad had said that about you, I wouldn’t have listened because I love you. I don’t care what anyone has to say because you are it for me. It’s like that for them.”
Nico laughs. “They aren’t in love. He just likes getting between her legs.”
“Nico! Come on. That’s not true, and you know it. Shelli isn’t even like that. She’s happily married. Honestly, I’m starting to feel like you’re still hung up on her.”
My stomach drops at the pain in my sister’s voice.
“What? That’s not true at all. I love you, Aviva. Only you.”
“Then let this shit with Shelli Adler go, and don’t hold Evan accountable for what she did!” my sister roars, and when Vance starts to cry, my heart stops. “You are going to push Callie away, because let me tell you, she won’t put up with it. She doesn’t need anyone. I have raised her to be strong, to be resilient, and to fight for what she wants. She only keeps people around who add to her life. So if you want to continue being wanted, get your shit together before you are standing in that courtroom alone!”
With that, Vance’s crying gets closer, but Aviva doesn’t see me as she crosses from the kitchen to the hall. Nico calls her name, chasing after her, and he doesn’t see me at the front door either.
My heart is pounding hard in my chest, and I hate that my sister just got into a fight with her husband over my relationship. Most of all, I hate that she feels he’s still caught up on Shelli. I know that’s not true. I know he loves my sister, and I know Nico loves me. I shouldn’t have let her handle it. I should have done it.
But I know I let her because I’m scared.
I’m scared I won’t want him to adopt me anymore because, as Aviva said, I don’t need anyone. He isn’t doing me a favor by adopting me as an adult. I want him to adopt me because I love him and I want him to be my dad, legally. I don’t want my relationship with Evan to come between Nico and me, but I know for a fact that I’m not letting Evan go.
I can’t.
thirty-five
Callie
When I get to Owen’s, everyone is on the back part of his property, close to the beach and around a bonfire.
The first thing Evan asks when I walk up is, “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head, wrapping my arms around his waist and burrowing my face into his chest. I take in a deep breath, his intense, woodsy smell bringing me the peace I need. He slides his hands up my back, one going into my hair as the other holds my lower back, stroking the spot along the waistband of my sweatpants. He kisses my temple, breathing me in.