Chapter 7 #3
“I wish I were.” Maxinne pulls out her phone, her fingers moving quickly across the screen before she hands it over to Wren.
I lean forward without even meaning to, my chest tightening as if I already know I’m not going to like what I see. Underneath a professionally posed photo of a man in a tailored navy suit is a lengthy caption.
Three years ago, I met someone I thought I’d spend forever with.
Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work out the way we plan.
Sometimes, people grow apart and loyalty isn’t enough.
While this chapter didn’t end the way I hoped, I’m choosing to focus on the future and the opportunities ahead. Here’s to new beginnings.
The comments underneath are just as bad.
Sorry, man.
She didn’t deserve you.
Her loss.
Stay strong, brother.
My pulse pounds in my ears because Derek carefully crafted a version of the story where he’s the heartbroken victim left standing in the wreckage. And judging by the comments, everyone is buying it.
Wren gasps, tapping the screen. “What a—”
Sven barks from where he’s curled up by the fire, his timing so perfect it pulls a small smile from Maxinne. It’s faint, but it’s there. She bends down to give him some attention.
“You gave this man three years of your life,” Wren fumes, waving the phone like it’s Exhibit A in a trial. “Promised forever with him, only for him to put the blame on you?”
“Yup.”
“Can you believe this?” Wren whirls toward me, her eyes daring me not to agree.
But I do agree. More than that, I’m angry that Maxinne is being treated like this. I don’t even know the guy, but I already want to shake some sense into him.
“Well,” I manage, forcing my voice to stay even, though it’s tight in my throat, “clearly ending things was the right choice.”
Maxinne lets out a low chuckle, but there’s no humor in it, only weariness as she stares into the fire. She swallows hard, blinking fast as if to hold back tears. Her voice trembles when she adds, “I gave way too much of myself to Derek. I will never get those years back.”
Her voice cracks, and it slices right through me. I want to do something, anything, but I don’t. I’ve not met someone that I’ve had this strong urge to want to take care of their heart, but that’s exactly what I want to do for Maxinne.
“Something I learned from my divorce…” Wren says gently, leaning her elbows forward onto her knees. “You need to be secure enough in your own identity that when someone walks away from you, they don’t get to take you with them.”
I add, “You might not be able to get the time back, but now you can focus on rediscovering yourself.”
She lifts her gaze, her eyes peering into mine as she weighs whether to agree with me or not.
Wren pops up suddenly. “Yes! You should use your time here this summer to do just that.”
“To do what, exactly?” Maxinne asks, tilting her head, almost suspicious of Wren’s enthusiasm.
“To rediscover yourself,” Wren says, her grin spreading wide as she waves a hand animatedly.
“Try new things, explore new places, build new relationships. Anything you want to do. Discover what makes you, you. Or better yet, become the version of yourself that you’ve always wanted to be.
There’s so much beauty in starting over.
” Her voice grows brighter. “And you know what? I’m going to do the very same thing. ”
“Oh yeah?” I ask, raising a brow at Wren, though my lips tug upward at her statement.
“Yes. Starting with taking Mrs. Burner up on her offer to teach a dance class to her teens.”
“Since when have you wanted to teach kids how to dance?” I ask.
“Since always,” she says without hesitation. “I’m ready to rediscover myself after this divorce. And I’m going to start with my passion for dance.”
Before I can tease her further, Maxinne straightens, like Wren’s words flicked some hidden switch inside her. She slides a marshmallow onto her stick, determination settling in the set of her jaw.
“You know what? I’m going to do it. This summer is going to be all about me. I want to go hiking, and spend more time with my family, and…other things I’ll figure out along the way. And then maybe I’ll feel rejuvenated before I start my college classes in the fall.”
Her smile is radiant, lighting up more than her face, as it spills into the night around us. It sparks something in me I didn’t expect. I think it’s optimism, or maybe it’s hope. But right as it comes, a heaviness settles in my chest.
There’s a small warning voice in the back of my head, reminding me of the rules I set for myself to guard my heart.
A list Maxinne doesn’t fit, not even close.
I’m not sure of her relationship with God, and she’s lost herself within a relationship, so having a clear idea of who she is or what she wants out of life is something she’s trying to discover.
Most of all, she doesn’t live in Covewood.
That list has been the only thing keeping me safe this long. I force myself to look away from her, back to the fire, back to the things I can control. I made that list for a reason, and I’m not about to let one woman make me forget it.