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Back Beautiful Graves Save as PDF
Chapters (42)
  1. TITLE PAGE
  2. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  3. CONTENTS
  4. START READING
  5. PLAYLIST
  6. PROLOGUE
  7. PART 1
  8. ONE
  9. TWO
  10. THREE
  11. FOUR
  12. FIVE
  13. SIX
  14. SEVEN
  15. EIGHT
  16. NINE
  17. TEN
  18. ELEVEN
  19. TWELVE
  20. THIRTEEN
  21. FOURTEEN
  22. FIFTEEN
  23. SIXTEEN
  24. SEVENTEEN
  25. EIGHTEEN
  26. NINETEEN
  27. TWENTY
  28. PART 2
  29. TWENTY-ONE
  30. TWENTY-TWO
  31. TWENTY-THREE
  32. TWENTY-FOUR
  33. TWENTY-FIVE
  34. TWENTY-SIX
  35. TWENTY-SEVEN
  36. TWENTY-EIGHT
  37. TWENTY-NINE
  38. EPILOGUE
  39. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  40. PREVIEW: PLAYING WITH FIRE
  41. PROLOGUE
  42. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

It’s only after the words have left my mouth that I realize how wrong they sound. Like Joe is nothing. Like he is not worthy of my time, and compassion, and friendship. And that’s not all. He explicitly asked me a few minutes ago not to play with his heart, and I did just that. I coaxed him into sex, and now I’m leaving. I’m a terrible person. Double-terrible. Triple-terrible. The worst there is.

Joe stands up and walks into his room. He slams the door shut.

“Joe!” I call out. “Oh, come on!”

There is no answer.

It’s my cue to leave.

I collect my things and get the elevator down, sweeping a hand over my face. The diamond on the engagement ring scratches my cheek. I bleed.

TWENTY-TWO

TWENTY-TWO

Every city has its best angle. For San Francisco, it’s the eagle eye.

It looks beautiful from above. The ocean. The Golden Gate Bridge. The house-filled hills. The thick cloak of fog that blankets every part of it. I can understand why Mom was so fascinated with it when she was alive.

The captain announces that we will be landing in ten minutes. Loki meows in his carrier in response, fed up with sitting in the small enclosed space. He hasn’t been a happy camper during the flight. No surprises here.

I shove another snack into his carrier numbly. “Sit tight. We’ll be home in a few minutes, bud.”

A part of me is frightened of what I’m going to find when I finally get home. I’ve been away for over half a decade. Dad and Renn said they had something to tell me. That was months ago. Whatever it was, I guess they didn’t want to broach the subject when they were in Salem, which means I’m supposed to be upset about it.

Then there’s another part of me. The part that is proud of myself for finally taking this step and going home. I know Mom would want me to do this. And I know that Nora is relieved, even if she’d never admit it. My roommate said she will keep the lease on the apartment until I decide what to do with my life, but I’ll bet both my kidneys that after she and Colt dropped me at the airport (six hours after I’d exited Joe’s door), she was already starting to pack her stuff to move into her fiancé’s apartment.