Page 13 of No Sweet Goodbyes

5

EMMA

Dom vanishes into thin air. Again. There’s no way to describe what happens.

One minute, I’m holding Bee in my arms while she cries and I do my best to hold it together so that I can tell her about her parents. And the next, I look up to find nothing but my backyard.

After kissing me like the world is ending, he runs away.

Coward.

He’s a cowardly ninja and I’m going to kick him in the shins.

Bee ends up falling asleep in my arms on the couch and I get maybe four hours of sleep before I have to wake up the next morning.

That’s also probably a high estimate, because I wake up every hour or so hoping that Dom will reappear and tell me I’m wrong.

“Shit,” I groan as I walk into the kitchen to find Alta and Bee at the stove together, making what smells like French toast.

“You’re awake.” Alta smiles chipperly. “Mija here, Bee, decided that she wanted to help me make breakfast for you. But then we got hungry too, and now we’re making a feast. Have you seen my son?” Her eyes flash, and I can’t help the snort that comes in response.

“No.” I pull a coffee cup from the cupboard and put it under my Keurig, ready to go for the day and needing caffeine to get through the chaos that is about to fly my way. “He left.”

Alta’s shoulders slump slightly before she turns back to Bee. “Okay, mija. These are ready to go to the table. I think we have enough. Don’t you?”

Bee, who stares at Alta like she is the best thing that’s ever happened to her, nods eagerly. “Yes, ma’am.”

Alta smiles broadly as Bee takes the plate from the counter with both hands and carefully carries it to the table, where there are four plates set out.

“That boy will regret not having breakfast.” Alta’s eyebrows hit her hairline. “Remember what I said. He’ll fight tooth and nail, but he won’t ever lie. Not about what he feels. Not to you.”

“Okay,” I tell her because honestly I don’t have the energy to pretend that I don’t understand exactly what she’s saying. “I’ve got to go to work.” I look down at the pajamas that I’m still wearing. Technically, they aren’t pajamas. They’re the same leggings and oversized shirt that I put on after Bee came over last night. “I know Bria said that she’d be here this morning, but are you going to be okay, Bee?”

Bee stares at me like I haven’t just told her that her parents died the night before. Instead, she forks up a piece of breakfast and shoves it into her mouth, not caring that a stream of syrup hits her chin and drips back onto her plate.

“Yeah,” she mumbles around her food. “I’m fine. Mrs. Ortiz made food. Everything else… it’s not going to change.”

I push away from the counter, clutching the cup of coffee I have in my hand like the life support that it is.

“Alright, I’m gonna change and go. You can leave the house unlocked,” I tell Alta. “Thank you so much for last night.”

“It’s nothing.” Alta waves me off. “We’ve had an empty nest since Violet graduated.”

“Doesn’t she still live with you?” I point out with a laugh. “That hardly leaves you an empty nest.”

Alta shakes her hand at me. “Go away. You’re annoying like a little fly. Go buzz somewhere else. We’re busy.”

Just like that, they both dismiss me to return to their own little world. One where Alta distracts Bee from reality long enough for me to change and get out of the house. One where Bee doesn’t have to think about her dead parents or the fact that she won’t see her mother ever again.

Heading into downtown Birch Harbor should have set my nerves on edge. It is my first day, and I’ve made huge steps to change my life—finally doing what I’ve set my mind to years ago. I should be nervous. I should be a wreck. But I’m not. Instead, I’m focused on the kiss.

Dom and his stupid kiss, giving me a glimpse of what we could have and then walking away before anything else can happen.

It’s bullshit, and I’m not going to let him get away with it.

Who just kisses someone like that and leaves?

An asshole, that’s who.

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