Page 35 of Cruel Love

He hadn’t married Mom either.

“And I lived way below my means to save everything I made that wasn’t needed for basic expenses. I did that because I wanted to try to see you boys and Cece someday. And now that you’re both nineteen, I thought it might finally be safe.”

“If what you’re saying is true, he could still come after you with the legal mess.” I stood and paced a little in spite of my stupid legs.

“That’s why we’ve been talking about trying to figure a way out of it.” Shane entered the conversation as he moved closer to me.

“Do you believe me?” Joe held my gaze.

I didn’t want to. God, I really didn’t. He was the villain in every scenario. He wasn’t innocent. But if what he said was true, the circumstances were extreme. “I believe part of it.” I bared my teeth, speaking through them. “But you fucking left Mom high and dry without telling her the truth. You broke her heart.”

“I know—”

“No.” I shoved my index finger into his chest, pushing him back a step. “I don’t think you do.” Blinding pain sliced through my brain, and with it, images brutally bombarded me. The car accident came back in much more clarity than before. My memories were coming too quickly. “You were there, in the car, when we crashed. Driving.”

“Yes. I was there.” Joe’s face contorted in pain. “And I’m so sorry for what happened that night.”

“This is too much.” I backed up a step and glared at Shane. “I need to go. Now.” The dizzying swirl of information made everything speed up and slow down simultaneously. I could see Shane’s lips moving as he grabbed my shoulders, his face close to mine, but I couldn’t hear him. I felt sick. My memories came at me in an onslaught of flashes. I stumbled back a step, breaking free of his hold. Blackness rimmed the outer edges of my vision, and I thought I would be sick. I was just standing there, but in the next moment, I saw stars.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

ASPEN

With my phone on speaker, I pulled up the screenshot Sky had texted. My heart beat against my ribs, and my stomach flipped from the sheer thrill of what I looked at.

“Well?” A clicking noise sounded through the speaker.

I could picture Sky impatiently pressing the end of her pen as I looked at the website home-page image she’d sent. “I can’t believe it.”

She laughed. “I need more feedback than that. What do you like or want to be changed?”

“It’s surreal.” I pinched the image to enlarge it so I could move it around the screen to see everything she’d done better. “I didn’t think the website would come together this fast. And these pictures! They’re from when we went to the beach.” I had no idea she’d taken so many.

“When we started discussing what you wanted to do with the site, I couldn’t help myself. They work for now, right?”

“Yeah, they really do.” She’d gotten Riley and me while surfing, even some close-up action shots that were pretty great—they looked professional. “I like what you’ve done to the home page. The structure and the font.” It was crazy to see the site for my surfboard company coming together so quickly. “I think we should do an inquiry page that’s a little more specific, though. It needs to outline a nonrefundable deposit for preliminary sketches. I’m not positive on that part.” I bit my bottom lip, rolling it between my teeth as I pulled up a search on my laptop for one of the top board companies. “Let me do a little research before we finalize that part.”

“Sure. I’ll set up the page and maybe a news or blog page too?” Tapping sounded as her fingers flew over the keyboard. “I’m going to look at a few other sites and check out the competition.”

I grinned, happy to have her on my side. I’d read a few of her articles for the school paper, which were captivating. I would have to figure out how to pay her for what she was doing.

“I love the idea of a news page. We can have articles or information about surfing competitions.” It was something I could play with, and maybe Sky would be willing to write a few.

“I like that too. I’ll work on them, and we can reconvene later in the week or next, depending on our school workloads.”

When we hung up, I pulled up the home page again, exhilarated by how real it made everything I’d dreamed up for my future feel.

Afterward, I was left with homework and my wandering mind, which kept going back to the problem with Mr. Bennett. I flipped the page in my notebook, skimming my notes in preparation for an upcoming quiz. I would rather have been doing just about anything else.

The knock at my door sent a burst of happiness through me. I threw it open and grinned at Max. I needed a distraction—from homework and the insanity surrounding Phoenix’s grandfather and my anxiety about how Phoenix had stopped calling—like my next breath.

Max stood with a perplexed look on his face and his arms full of art supplies. “The suspense is killing me. What are we doing? What’s the secret project you wanted to talk about?”

I grabbed his elbow, pulled him inside, and shut the door behind him. “You know my surfboard?” I waited for him to nod. “I’m going to start a company where I do custom paintings to order and a selection of premade ones.”

“So… a surfboard company?” Max set his art box and sketchbook on my desk. “Are you working with a specific company, like the top ones for professional surfers?”

I bit my lower lip. That was the problem. “No. Not yet. But… maybe we can find someone with a background with one of the top companies and make our own? Eventually.” I paced the short expanse of my room, liking the idea more as I talked it through with him.

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