You should use as much time as you need to absorb everything in this book. It’s a lot to take in. But we will be here when you’re ready. I say “we” because I’m not going anywhere. You will always have a friend in me. And I hope there will be lots of carnivals in our future.
Rana will love you until the day she dies, Lilith. She may be imperfect, but her love for you isn’t. It’s unbreakable. She will never leave you for as long as she lives; she made that very clear to me. We would probably be in California if she didn’t want to be near you. I’m not saying that to make you feel guilty. I just want you to know that even with how much she wanted to be with me, and how much she might have loved the sunshine and the ocean, nothing—and I mean nothing—matters to her more than you. Her love for you is bigger than any ocean in the world.
If all else fails, I hope you go to sleep tonight truly knowing that.LandonP.S. I said you should take all the time you need, but try not to take time for granted. Tomorrow is never guaranteed. Nothing should be left unsaid. I learned that the hard way.
P.P.S. I think you and I were meant to be in each other’s lives.STAYCATIONA few weeks passed and still no word from Lilith.
Beth had confirmed that she received the book but that her daughter wasn’t ready to open it yet. She promised to let me know when Lilith had read it and to let me know if and when Lilith wanted to see me again.
Not being able to see her each week really hurt. I had gotten so used to having that time with her and was suffering from serious withdrawals. But I knew this time apart was necessary and prayed every night that it wasn’t permanent.
Landon had been working really hard in the truck and hadn’t taken a break since it launched. His only day off was Sunday.
We were having dinner one night when he announced, “I think we need to get away. This has been a really stressful few weeks.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I was thinking of a staycation, actually. We’ll just take a couple of days to unwind here, well not technically here, but someplace nearby. You know, we won’t go too far, in case, by some chance, Lilith chooses those two days to come around.”
“That sounds great, but where would we go?”
“I have a place in mind.”
“Really? You already made plans?”
He winked. “I’ve got it covered. But you need to call in sick to work for a couple of nights. Can you do that?”
“Sure, yeah. I never call out, haven’t been absent since California. So, it’s about time I played that card, I suppose.”
“Or you could tell them the truth, that you’ll be playing with your boyfriend’s snake instead of theirs for a couple of days.”
I cackled. “I like the sound of that.”Landon wouldn’t tell me where we were going, even though I knew wherever it was, it wasn’t far.
Needless to say, when we pulled up to his parents’ house on Eastern Drive, I was utterly perplexed. This was supposed to be a vacation. I loved Marjorie and Jim but had no desire to spend our little staycation with them.
“Okay. Um…I’m definitely confused.”
“I know.” He snickered as he put his truck into park in the driveway.
Looking down at my tits popping out of my dress, I said, “If I knew we were seeing your parents today, I would’ve worn something less slutty.”
“You’re dressed to be fucked. And that’s exactly what’s going to happen in there. Trust me.”
What? Okay, that’s just disturbing.
Rather than ring the doorbell, Landon used his key to enter the house.
“Are they not home?”
He smiled at me. “They’re not home. I didn’t immediately admit that because I was enjoying your little freakout.”
“Thanks a lot. Where are they?”
“Florida.”
Suddenly, it made sense. We were crashing at his parents’ place while they were away. Relief poured over me. We would, in fact, be alone the entire time.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been inside this house when your parents weren’t home. Why does it feel like we’re being sneaky? Back in the day, we mainly hung out in the garage apartment or outside. The main house always seemed off-limits. Aside from the last time we visited your parents, I think I’ve been in this actual house only a handful of times.”
“Want to see what my parents did to my old room?” He nudged his head. “Come on.” As we entered the space, he laughed and said, “Nothing. They did absolutely nothing. Can you believe it?”
The room looked like a typical teenage boy’s room. There was a poster of an exotic car on the wall, along with a ton of sports trophies and banners. We hadn’t gone into his old room the one night we came here for dinner when he first visited Michigan. So, this was my first glimpse at it.