Not So Over You (The Sister Pact #2)

Prologue

PROLOGUE

ABIGAIL

Nine Years Ago

F inally . We’d made it.

My hands trembled and my brain spun out of control as I grappled with the reality of it all. Up ahead, most of my classmates had already received their diplomas. Graduation day was here after walking our hallways all these years. No more lockers. No more book bags or gym bags that smelled like crusty old socks and… other unnamed things. No more math class.

As a Walker, I was one of the last who would be crossing that stage, the curse of having a last name that started with a W. My palms started to sweat as my classmates went up one at a time and my turn closed in on me. I was up next.

I dragged in a deep breath, so nervous that I felt like I was going to throw up and crap myself all at once. As I looked out at those who had already walked the stage and were sitting back down in the crowd, my anxiety levels skyrocketed. There were so many people out there. So, so many who were going to watch me walk.

What if I barfed? What if I fell? What if I got up there and there had been some terrible mistake and I was short a credit and I wasn’t technically a graduate?

Get it together, Abigail.

I swallowed past the bile rising at the back of my throat and clasped my hands together behind my back, my entire body starting to shake. Seconds away from freaking out, I couldn’t stop scanning the crowd, doing some quick calculations about just how many people would witness my mortification if I ended up flat on my face, but then my eyes caught on his , and the panic stopped its wild rush in its tracks.

Simon’s familiar greens stared back at me from the middle of the crowd and a wave of peace washed over me. Instantly, I calmed down, finally managing to fill my lungs with some much-needed oxygen that allowed the panic to not only stop but recede.

Our gazes remained connected, as if he could feel how badly I needed him in this moment. As I stared into those eyes, I found my center, feeling my lips form a soft smile that my brain hadn’t even needed to give a command for.

He gave me a wink and smiled back, my heart stuttering in my chest.

Simon Astor was the love of my life.

I’d fallen for that handsome face long before it’d belonged to the gorgeous eighteen-year-old he had become, back when it’d been boyish and that black hair had still been messy instead of neatly styled. Long before he’d had cheekbones that belonged in a record book and a strong chin that made him look like a future king.

My heart fluttered and jumped when he leaned back, eyes still pinned on mine as he folded his arms over his chest. He exuded confidence and authority, and I felt like he was transferring all of it to me in that moment.

Fueled by Simon’s unwavering belief in me and his soothing presence, I walked the stage flawlessly when it was my turn, my shoulders wide open, my head held high, and my hands steady when I accepted my diploma. I left high school behind and strode into my future, excited for what it held as I sat back down with my fellow graduates.

My entire family was behind me and I twisted to wave at them as soon as I was seated. My older sister, Olivia, was twenty and rocking college, a shining example of loving life after school. My younger sister, London, would be graduating on this very stage in a couple years, but she was already looking forward to it.

Both of them grinned at me and waved back, blowing me kisses before they turned their eyes back to the stage. I wasn’t ready to do that just yet. Instead, I looked a few rows up and made eye contact with my love again.

Simon winked and mouthed, “I love you.”

I smiled and said it back, my heart so full of joy as I finally turned around again that I felt like I was about to burst.

There’s nothing to be scared about. Everything is just going to get better from here.

The rest of the ceremony passed quickly and in a blur. Before I even knew it, I was getting ready for the huge after-party with my two best friends, Eden and Hazel.

“How is high school already over?” Eden asked as she leaned closer to the mirror, sitting in front of her dressing table with a mascara wand effortlessly gliding across her long eyelashes. “Weren’t we just fourteen?”

Hazel laughed and wrapped the straps of her high-heeled sandals around her shapely calves. “You sound so old right now. No, we were not just fourteen. Look at your boobs. They’ve grown, like, three cup sizes since then.”

Eden glanced at her chest. Her cheeks flushed and she rolled her eyes. “I don’t actually hate these, and you’re right. They have grown.”

As I twisted another lock of my hair around the curling iron in my hands, I glanced between the two girls who had been by my side since elementary school and took a mental snapshot of the moment. I was sure I would look back on it in the years to come.

Hazel was right about Eden’s boobs. Our raven-haired, sweet friend had really filled out since freshman year. She was downright voluptuous now, not that she’d ever see herself as the pin-up girl, sexy kind of woman she was becoming.

By contrast, Hazel had shot up into this supermodel-tall athlete who was faster than most of the boys in our graduating class—a fact that she loved to rub in their faces. Her frame was lithe and toned, without an ounce of fat on her bones these days. Her personality was just as strong as her muscles, as fiery as her red hair would suggest.

She was as gorgeous as Eden, but in an entirely different way.

Tears brimmed in my eyes as I sent up a quick prayer that our friendship wouldn’t be a casualty of graduation. I couldn’t count how many adults had warned me that high school friends never turned out to be lifelong friends, and that I would understand that when I got older. Sitting here now in their company, I wondered how people could let bonds like this fizzle.

I blinked the tears away when Hazel suddenly turned to me. “What about you , Abi? How are you feeling?”

I cleared my throat in an attempt to dislodge the tight emotion in it and grinned. “I’m going to miss high school, but I’m pretty excited about what’s next. College, marriage, a family. What’s not to love about all that?”

Eden giggled as she lifted her big brown eyes to mine in the reflection of the mirror. “Marriage? Wow. I didn’t know you and Simon wanted to do that . Are you seriously already thinking about it?”

“Of course.” They knew I had dreams of marrying Simon despite our young age. He was my forever person. We had just gotten lucky and found each other early in life. Sure, high school sweethearts were rare, but that didn’t mean they were impossible . And me and Simon? We defied the odds. “We’ve been together since the beginning of junior high, guys. I’ve known I wanted to marry him since at least sophomore year. Now that we’re eighteen and we’ve graduated, it’s only a matter of time, right?”

Eden giggled again, and this time, Hazel joined her, her eyes on mine as her head cocked. “Mrs. Abigail Astor. It does have a ring to it, but I guess we’ll have to see if he’s got a ring to put on it.”

As she pumped her eyebrows at me, I laughed and waved her off. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen tomorrow, but at his pace. By the time we leave college, he will have put a ring on it. I’m positive. ”

I winked and wiggled the fingers of my left hand, and both of my friends squealed before they started peppering me with questions about me and Simon’s plans for the future.

We loved each other endlessly, and while I could acknowledge that we were young, I doubted our feelings for another would change. If anything, we were going to grow together. Deep in my heart, I knew that we belonged together.

When the girls and I were done getting ready, we met Simon and his boys, David, Benny, and Josh, at the after-party.

Simon was easy to spot. He always was. He’d been waiting outside for me, leaning casually against the wall with one foot kicked up onto the stone facade behind him and his arms crossed, a smirk on his lips as he spoke to his friends.

In dark blue jeans and a black, fitted, long-sleeved Henley, he looked so good that I wanted to lick him all over. A thought that made me blush from head to toe, but I couldn’t help it. Football and snowboarding had filled out his muscles over these last few years, causing his shirt to stretch just the tiniest bit over his broad chest and cling to his strong biceps.

He kicked away from the wall when he saw me, cutting David off mid-sentence as he strode over to us without hesitating. Walking right into his open arms, I looked up into his deep, hunter green eyes and smiled as I looped my arms around his neck.

“Hey, you,” I murmured as I pushed my fingers into the longish hairs at the nape of his neck. “You haven’t been waiting long, have you?”

“I’d wait forever for you.” He smiled and captured my lips for a kiss that set fire to my soul, and I sighed as we broke apart.

“You’re way too charming for your own good,” I teased, gripping his hand when he took mine.

Behind him, his friends were all laughing and rolling their eyes while my girls were practically swooning, but Simon didn’t even look at them. I knew that he didn’t care what they thought. He’d always been the type to be unashamedly true to himself, and people loved him for it.

Honored to be by his side, he and I led our friends into the house where the party was being held and I felt like I was on top of the world. We danced the night away, laughing, joking, and dreaming out loud about what we thought life was going to look like after high school.

It was a night I already knew I would remember forever, and when it was time for the girls and I to leave for a sleepover at my house, my heart skipped when Simon pulled me aside. We would only have a few moments alone before the car my mom had sent for us would be here, but a few moments was better than nothing.

He held my hand in his firm grip as he walked me around the side of the house, pushing me up against the stone wall and holding me captive with his body. He was hot and hard against me, making my breath catch in my throat as I stared up at the strange intensity blazing from his eyes.

“My love for you is timeless. You know that right?” He caught my chin between his thumb and forefinger and a shiver of pleasure ran down my spine.

I frowned, my insides warring between suspicion, desire, and expressing my overwhelming love for him in return. “I know, Simon. What’s going on?”

“This is for you.” He produced a time capsule from behind his back, explaining why he’d disappeared to his car on our way out here. “It’s locked.”

I took the capsule and smiled, biting my lower lip between my teeth before I glanced back up at him, feeling his chest heaving against mine, his breaths much more labored than they should’ve been. My free hand caught his cheek, and this time, it was my turn to hold his gaze on mine.

“Hey, I love you too,” I said softly. “When do I get to open this?”

A horn honked and I knew that would be Hazel, who would’ve convinced our driver to let her do that to let me know it was time to go. I flashed Simon a reassuring smile and pressed up on my toes to give him another passionate kiss.

“Don’t worry so much,” I murmured against his parted lips. “I love you, okay? I have to go, but we’ll talk later. Maybe tomorrow night, we can find a way to be alone.”

Slipping out between him and the wall, I sent him another smile and a wink over my shoulder, then jogged away, leaving him half shrouded in shadow and still breathing heavily. As I got in the car, I cradled the time capsule against my chest and stared out the window, wondering what on earth had been going on with him.

Did he intend for me to open the time capsule on our wedding day? Perhaps our five-year wedding anniversary. Or maybe the day we had our first child? A giddy wave washed over me and I clung to it tighter, letting my imagination run wild. I would have to ask him tomorrow what the ground rules were for this thing. I was sure he had some sort of plan concocted. That was typical Simon. He wasn’t one for grand gestures, but he knew the key to my heart was in the little sentimental things, just like this time capsule.

Back at home and after washing our makeup off and getting into our jammies, the girls and I got comfy in my bed and scrolled on our phones, reliving the night through posts our classmates had made. I sent a text to Simon, thanking him for a wonderful night and telling him I loved him.

Strangely, he didn’t text me back.

And there was no text from him saying good morning when I woke up, either. I didn’t want to pester him, but I was unable to help myself from texting him and asking if he was okay while the girls got dressed and I walked them to the door.

Outside, Hazel stopped and bent down, retrieving a letter off the welcome mat. My name was written across it. She handed it to me tentatively.

It was Simon’s handwriting.

A ripple of unease clawed at my belly as my friends said goodbye and headed home. My ears were ringing as I opened the letter and scanned the words.

Simon and I were over. For good.

Goodbye, Abigail.