Read Online Safe Harbor (The Lake Trilogy, Book 3) by AnnaLisa Grant - Free Book Online
Authors: AnnaLisa Grant
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what. Later, he told me he gave the ring back to me in case I wanted to move on. That was the farthest thing from my mind. I could never move on from Will. He is my lifeline and best friend. He made it possible for me to finally be set free and walk through the dark tunnel I had been trapped in. He became the light at the end of the dark place I had been hiding, and I am eternally grateful to him for that.
I’m trying to be organized as I pack, but all I can think of is just how much I hate packing. Every time I have packed up my life to move, and move far away at that, it’s been under stressful circumstances. The obvious first time being when I moved in with Gram and Gramps after Mom and Dad died. The next time I packed I was headed to a new life with Luke and Claire, followed by packing when we were exiled to Florida by Will’s father. And now…now I am packing again to go back to Davidson. I would have thought making that move would be joyful, but it isn’t. Like every other time I have packed up my life to move, I am headed into an unknown.
I haven’t shared this with Will, but I’m just as ne rvous, if not more, than he is. The people in Davidson were always so wonderful, but I don’t know how they’re going to receive us. We deceived them, lied to them about Will and Eliana’s deaths. They mourned the loss of two great people, with practically the whole town showing up to the memorial service. I have no idea the impact that made on them and I don’t know if it was damaging enough to make us outcasts.
“How’s the packing coming along?” Claire asks after giving a light triple-knock on the doorframe of my room.
“It’s coming. I’ve quadrupled my possessions since I came to live with you, and doubled those since we’ve been in Tallahassee. I’m going to have to do a purge before we get back to Davidson,” I say as I contemplate the necessity of three summer scarves in three different shades of the same color.
“Don’t say that too loudly or Luke will have me purging, too!” she laughs.
“Mums the word!” I say echoing Claire’s laugh. “How about you? I’m sure you’re farther along in the process than I am.”
“Yeah, but I’ve got packing down to a science. We moved around a lot when I was a kid,” she say s. This is the first time she’s told me anything about her childhood.
“Oh, yeah ? Were your parents in the military or something?” I ask, realizing that I know absolutely nothing about Claire’s family.
“No. It was just my mom and me. We were poorer than dirt and were constantly moving around from one free couch to crash on to another.” Her delivery is so matter-of-fact.
“Where was your dad?” I feel confident that Claire and I have done more than just cross the threshold of being able to speak candidly with each other. We’ve lived in that candid place for quite some time now.
“Well…when I was eight he came home and told my mom he didn’t want to be married to her anymore and that he was goin g to live with his other family,” she tells me. It seems like she’s come to terms with this being part of her life story. That the pain of it all doesn’t tear her apart anytime she talks about it.
“His other family?” What the?
“Apparently he had been building a life with this other woman. I don’t know how long it had been going on. They had a couple of kids who were younger than me, so I’d like to think he didn’t start out his marriage to my mom as a cheating a-hole. But…after he left, he never supported her, and she wasn’t the type to fight, so his a-hole status kind of solidified then.” Again, her delivery is so straight forward, like she’s talking about someone else. It gives me hope that one day I’ll be able to talk about my life with Gram without letting the pain of that experience be a constant.
“So I guess you understand a little bit of what Will is feeling about meeting Erin, huh?”
“I do, but more from her side. My dad
I’m trying to be organized as I pack, but all I can think of is just how much I hate packing. Every time I have packed up my life to move, and move far away at that, it’s been under stressful circumstances. The obvious first time being when I moved in with Gram and Gramps after Mom and Dad died. The next time I packed I was headed to a new life with Luke and Claire, followed by packing when we were exiled to Florida by Will’s father. And now…now I am packing again to go back to Davidson. I would have thought making that move would be joyful, but it isn’t. Like every other time I have packed up my life to move, I am headed into an unknown.
I haven’t shared this with Will, but I’m just as ne rvous, if not more, than he is. The people in Davidson were always so wonderful, but I don’t know how they’re going to receive us. We deceived them, lied to them about Will and Eliana’s deaths. They mourned the loss of two great people, with practically the whole town showing up to the memorial service. I have no idea the impact that made on them and I don’t know if it was damaging enough to make us outcasts.
“How’s the packing coming along?” Claire asks after giving a light triple-knock on the doorframe of my room.
“It’s coming. I’ve quadrupled my possessions since I came to live with you, and doubled those since we’ve been in Tallahassee. I’m going to have to do a purge before we get back to Davidson,” I say as I contemplate the necessity of three summer scarves in three different shades of the same color.
“Don’t say that too loudly or Luke will have me purging, too!” she laughs.
“Mums the word!” I say echoing Claire’s laugh. “How about you? I’m sure you’re farther along in the process than I am.”
“Yeah, but I’ve got packing down to a science. We moved around a lot when I was a kid,” she say s. This is the first time she’s told me anything about her childhood.
“Oh, yeah ? Were your parents in the military or something?” I ask, realizing that I know absolutely nothing about Claire’s family.
“No. It was just my mom and me. We were poorer than dirt and were constantly moving around from one free couch to crash on to another.” Her delivery is so matter-of-fact.
“Where was your dad?” I feel confident that Claire and I have done more than just cross the threshold of being able to speak candidly with each other. We’ve lived in that candid place for quite some time now.
“Well…when I was eight he came home and told my mom he didn’t want to be married to her anymore and that he was goin g to live with his other family,” she tells me. It seems like she’s come to terms with this being part of her life story. That the pain of it all doesn’t tear her apart anytime she talks about it.
“His other family?” What the?
“Apparently he had been building a life with this other woman. I don’t know how long it had been going on. They had a couple of kids who were younger than me, so I’d like to think he didn’t start out his marriage to my mom as a cheating a-hole. But…after he left, he never supported her, and she wasn’t the type to fight, so his a-hole status kind of solidified then.” Again, her delivery is so straight forward, like she’s talking about someone else. It gives me hope that one day I’ll be able to talk about my life with Gram without letting the pain of that experience be a constant.
“So I guess you understand a little bit of what Will is feeling about meeting Erin, huh?”
“I do, but more from her side. My dad
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