Her Reluctant Husband by Erica Marselas (books to read for 12 year olds .TXT) 📕

like Deacon got in your head. I will always be the bad guy as long as someone has that say.”

“I won’t let that happen again, June. Never again,” I say firmly. “We can work this out. Everything is out in the open now. I want nothing more than to fix this. I don’t want to lose you again. I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you.”

She shakes her head. “I’m not sure you do.”

"I’m sure that I do because I don’t think I ever stopped.”

“You’re only saying this because you feel sorry for me now.”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it though? You wouldn’t be like this if you didn’t find out the truth. This. Is. Guilt.”

“This isn’t guilt! If that motherfucker didn’t lay his hands on you and hurt you, manipulate and fuck with people’s minds, I would still have my sister and we would’ve been married the normal fucking way! I’m realizing we need to make up for what we fucking lost. I can’t be without you again, damn it, I can’t.” I fall back in my chair, scraping my fingers through my hair, breathing heavy, and feeling the relief of letting those words come off my chest. It feels good to admit it all out loud.

“You can’t really…” she stumbles on her words and looks at the blank dark wall on her other side.

“I told you I was falling for you. Fuck falling, I’m in love and I felt that way before I even knew what the truth was. Because I just loved you. I loved your heart. Fuck, maybe I loved your strength for putting up with my bullshit, but I knew I wanted you June. I have loved you since you were sixteen. I didn’t think I was allowed to because you were only a teenager and I was twenty. But god damn it, June, there’s a reason why I didn’t forget all the good about you.” I touch her cheek with the pad of my thumb. “It’s because we were always meant to be, and you fucking own my heart. I locked it up because it was yours.”

Her amber eyes shine with unshed tears and she pushes my hand away. “This is all too much right now.” She rolls her chair away from me. “I can’t do this right now. I need a little bit of space.”

“Alright,” I stand and move to the door, “but I’m not going anywhere, June. I love you and I’m going to fight for you.”

She gives me a tiny smile before I make my exit. Annabelle presses me, asking me if she’s okay as I make my way through the studio. I give her a nod, not sure how to answer before walking outside. I hate to leave her, knowing she’s upset, but at least I know she’s in good hands. Ones that haven’t failed her before.

As I step out of the studio, it starts to rain.

I embrace the weather change because as each raindrop hits my face, I feel closer to her. I always think of her when it rains in the summer.

15JUNE

I throw my gym bag over my shoulder and head out of my office. Thankful for this day to be almost over. It’s been a long two days, and I’m exhausted. I’m still reeling after what went down yesterday, trying to process it all. Five years of holding that secret and it came streaming out in minutes. I rode a huge wave of emotions after expelling everything off my chest to Alex, hell even to Whitney, but in the end, I feel free from the chains. Despite what is lurking around the corner, despite that there might be consequences, that one hold Deacon had on me is gone. Thing is, everything I thought would happen did. Till Alex came in today and dropped his confessions on me.

Now, I’m just bone tired.

Now with all of this out, I’m not even sure what I want, or what to do when it comes to Alex.

Or how it could work.

I just know what I won’t go back to.

I walk up to Annabelle who is staring out the large window with a smirk on her face.

“What are you looking at?”

“Your husband.” She giggles as she points out to the sidewalk. “How long are you going to make him stand outside waiting for you, looking like a lost puppy?”

Alex is standing out on the curb, and he’s soaked, his hair flat, water dripping down his face. He’s still in the same clothes he wore to the picnic yesterday, but they’re wrinkled and his tie is gone. It’s been hours since he’s been here and he hasn’t gone home and changed?

“I guess it would be bad for business if I let him stay out there too much longer, wouldn’t it?”

“Especially drenched like a dog.”

“That’s his own fault.”

“He’ll get sick staying like that. You should go warm him up.”

“Whose side are you on?” I smack her playfully in the arm.

Annabelle now knows the complete June life saga, well as much as I could go into without a breakdown and not mentioning Deacon. She and Sasha came over to Ms. Gandy’s house last night, and since I don’t drink or eat, they brought over cheesy old teen movies. When I brought up the party, where Alex thought I was drunk, Annabelle confessed to me that she always knew I wasn’t.

It was the first time she ever admitted that to me. I was shocked.

“I thought you knew.”

“No. I figured everyone thought I was drunk and drove off the road.”

“Nope. I’m sorry.” Her shoulders fall. “I guess I just assumed.”

“It’s okay. It’s nice hearing that not everyone thought of me as the bad guy.”

We hugged and cried for an hour after that. Poor Sasha was confused, not being around Kinder Falls