AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There was a note, of course.
They say Plato invented the concept of soul mates.
I say your parents invented mine.
For some reason—a reason I wouldn’t let myself dwell on—I couldn’t bring myself to rip that one up. I shoved it in my drawer. Unfortunately, I couldn’t shove it out of my mind.
Soul mate.
He thought I was his soul mate.
He knew I was the girl who read romance novels for the happy endings and believed in things like soul mates and happily ever afters. Calling me his soul mate was cruel. A direct hit to the thick wall surrounding my heart.
Miles stopped by when I was at my most vulnerable. Instead of perching on my desk, he pulled up a chair and plopped right beside me.
“How’s it going, Lisie?”
“Your brother is torturing me. How are you?”
He laughed under his breath. “If it’s any consolation, he’s been climbing the walls all week.”
“That doesn’t console me. I don’t want any of this.”
“Yeah, I get it.” He leaned his elbow on my desk. “You want to talk about something else?”
I turned away from my monitor. “Sure. What if you tell me how you’re doing? Is your house ready to move into yet?”
“My house is a money pit. I don’t know why I bought it. I’m not really a house person. It just seemed like something an upstanding grown-up would do.”
“So sell it.”
His brow dropped. “That didn’t even sound judgy.”
“It wasn’t. Obviously, I’m no expert in real estate, but I’m a strong believer in cutting your losses when things aren’t working.”
He huffed. “That’s your one personality flaw.”
“What?”
“Cutting and running. You peace out when things go south instead of fighting. It’s funny because I used to think you were braver than anyone I knew. Now I’m realizing you’re just as afraid as the rest of us.”
I swallowed back the lump in my throat. Miles really could aim right for my most tender parts, even after all these years. This time, I was pretty certain he wasn’t even trying to hurt me.
“I never said I was brave.” Oh, great. Even my voice betrayed me, coming out thick and raspy.
“Shit.” He took my hand in his. “I’m sorry. I still think you’re rad, Lisie. I’m just saying it’s a relief to know you’re fallible.”
I let him hold my hand, which said a lot about my shaky emotional state.
“What you’re saying is you think I’m messing up by leaving Weston even though he left me first.”
His thumb stroked along my knuckles. “I’m not saying any of that. I’m surprised you won’t speak to him. That seems like fear to me, but what do I know?”
I leaned closer to him to whisper. “I am afraid, Miles. If I could find a way to forgive him, how could I possibly trust he would never do this to me again? Sometimes acting on fear is a good thing. Nature gave us fear to protect ourselves from danger.”
“You make sound points. There’s also something to be said for conquering your fears. We wouldn’t have fire if a couple cavemen hadn’t conquered their fear of burning alive. Would you rather be living in the dark, Lisie? I wouldn’t.”
I pulled back, giving myself some space. “I thought we were supposed to be talking about you.”
