Page 35 of Heart Like Yours
We swing in silence for a while and even though my toes are starting to get numb, I can’t find it in me to move just yet.
Garrett’s the one who finally speaks.
“You didn’t deserve how he treated you, how any of them did. Yes, your dad was in pain. He had every right to grieve his loss. And while I know all too well what it’s like to have parents who can’t handle the responsibility, he should have been taking care of you. Life can be cruel. Sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason.But that’s not your fault. More often than not, the real monsters hide behind those who promised to never hurt you. People lie, manipulate, and use others all while claiming to be innocent or blaming it on their hardships.” Garrett pulls back, forcing me to look up at him. “But even the shittiest of situations does not give anyone the right to treat someone they claim to love like they’re nothing.”
I swallow thickly, my eyes burning with unshed tears that I fight to hold back.
“I know that now. It’s taken a long time to understand that, but I do. I’ve come to realize that we’re all basically just walking glow sticks.”
His laugh shakes my entire body and the weight that had been pressing down on me since seeing my dad finally begins to ease.
“We’re…glow sticks?” he asks between laughs.
I nod, glancing up at him with a proud smile.
“Yeah, we need to break in order to shine.”
His laughter trails off, and he shakes his head. “There are other ways to shine, you know.”
I shrug. “Maybe so, but in order to get mine, I had to crack.”
Garrett tightens his hold around me, placing a gentle kiss on my forehead.
Deciding I’ve had enough of this pity party, I sit up and pull out my phone to check the time.
“Well, if nothing else, at least my trauma dump helped pass the time.” I show him the clock on my phone. “We should go check in.”
Garrett stands, turning back to me with an outstretched hand. When I slide my hand into his, he lets out a low whistle before tugging me into him.
“Yes, let’s go get you warmed up before you turn into an ice cube.”
GARRETT
I’ve never felt this angry before. Every part of me was screaming to march back to that bar and punch her father in the face. It had taken more restraint than I care to admit not to step between him and Paige. No matter how much I wanted to stand up for her, to shut his mouth for him before he could spew out any more hateful words, deep down I knew it was something that Paige wanted to handle on her own.
If she had asked, or even given me a look that screamed “help me,” I would have stepped in before she could say my name.
Despite all that, watching Paige stand her ground and not cower away from facing a man who had hurt her filled me with a sense of pride. Then when she reached formyhand? I still haven’t been able to process just how happy that made me.
I take in my surroundings as I open the trunk. The inn that Gwen was able to book for us was on the smaller side, which is not all that shocking given the size of the town. From the outside, it appears to be the perfect combination of modern and historic. The small parking lot is fuller than I was expecting considering there’s not much reason to stay in Jericho Springs.
“Have you ever actually stayed here?” I call out to Paige while she gathers her purse and laptop bag from the back seat.
“Yeah, Lilly and I somehow convinced her mom to let us stay here on prom night.” She shuts the back door and joins me at the trunk. “There was a rumor that spread about how Lilly and I convinced some college boys from a few towns over to come have a foursome with us. Little did they know that all we did was binge all fiveTwilightmovies and ate our weight in gummy bears.”
“That sounds so much more fun than my prom night was.” I laugh while grabbing our bags and motion for her to lead the way.
“Well, now I need to know what you did,” she says, falling into step beside me as we start the walk across the lot.
“Prom itself wasn’t all that fun. Actually, it was kind of cliché for a dorky kid like me. My date showed up for pictures already tipsy. She continued to sneak shots with one of her friends, so by the time the actual dance came…she was trashed. I lost track of her for a few minutes and when I found her again, she was behind the bleachers, having sex with the captain of the football team.”
Paige’s nose scrunches adorably, disgust lining all her features. “Okay, for starters, that’s absolutely shitty of her. I hope her pillow is always warm. Second, there’s no way that you can convince me thatyouwere a dorky kid.”
I laugh, reaching for the door and holding it open for her.
“Dominik and I once pooled all our money so we could dress up asStar Warscharacters at Comic Con.”
“Please, please, please tell me there’s a picture of that.”