Page 31 of Bigfoot's Bride

"I...yeah," I manage, standing up to accept Steph's bone-crushing hug. "Looks like I can go home."

"We’ll miss you!" Bambi cries, joining the hug from one side while Deborah wraps her bony arms around me from the other side.

Even Octavia joins the group hug.

"It was nice to get to know you a little," Deborah grins. “I would ask you not to forget us, but…”

She doesn’t need to finish. I know what she’s goin to say. That I won’t remember any of them. Any of this. I release a bittersweet laugh, even as tears prick the corners of my eyes.

"I've loved this time with you guys too." I whisper, my voice thick.

We stay like that for a long moment, a tangle of limbs and sniffles and half-laughs.

I pull back with a watery smile. "Okay," I say, taking a deep breath. "I guess this is it."

I have to do this, don’t I?

It’s what I have been dreaming of every day for the last eight and a half months. It’s the miracle I’ve been praying for. I’d be a fool not to grasp it when it’s thrust into my face.

I turn back to the table, ready to say my final farewell to Gruffydd. But he's gone, his seat empty, his oatmeal abandoned.

Something inside me deflates like the popping of a balloon.

What did you expect, Kiki, I scold myself.A grand gesture? A heartfelt plea for you to stay? A declaration of undying love and devotion?

This isn't a romance book. This is real life. And in real life, sometimes the guy doesn't chase after the girl. Sometimes, he just lets her go.

I square my shoulders, pasting on a brave smile for my friends even though inside, I feel an ache in my chest, a yawning chasm of what-might-have-been.

As Frank and I make our way out of Sizzle, I can't help but throw one last glance over my shoulder.

But Gruffydd is still nowhere to be seen.

It’s fine. It’s okay. I'm going home. Back to the life I've been dreaming of for months. Back to being me. Kiki Karaprtyan.

Chapter 20

Kiki

I wait by the transport van, tapping my foot impatiently as Frank goes in search of the Sasquatch who’s going to do the mind-meld or hypnotic woo-woo or whatever is required for my grand exit from Grotto.

I won’t remember any of this. Nothing and no one. That hurts, not gonna lie.

I stare down at the stone floor not really seeing it when my eyes suddenly focus on the pair of enormous, furry feet that have entered my field of vision.

"Kiki."

My head snaps up.

Enfys stands in front of me, her expression unreadable. "I'll be accompanying you to the surface," she says, "to handle the memory alteration. We’ll do it right before you disembark."

Right. Sure. Okay. "So...everything will be erased? All my memories of Grotto?" I hate how small my voice sounds.

Enfys nods. "It's protocol. But if there's a particular memory you'd like implanted in its place, I can arrange that."

"A luxury spa retreat would be nice," I deadpan. "Massages, cucumber water, the whole shebang."

But even as the words leave my mouth, they ring hollow. Because let's be real, no spa could hold a candle to my time here. The cozy hot spring soak with Gruffydd. Learning to square dance. Being cocooned in his strong arms. The way he worshipped every inch of me in bed like I was something precious...

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