After months of therapy, Garrett Delko is still struggling to cope with his brother's suicide. The only time he finds peace is on the pitching mound and with a mysterious girl he's been obsessed with since the first week of college. One night, he se...
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Arianne buried her head in her pillow as she thought about what she revealed to Garrett yesterday. She rarely expressed her feelings, but he'd been so vulnerable the truth had spilled out. Why was it every time they talked a new facet emerged? She didn't want to know his complexities. They were too similar to her own, and as he questioned himself, he forced her to do the same.
For so long, she'd shored up her emotions so nothing could penetrate, but now every lie she believed felt like an arrow piercing her chest, and yet, she didn't know if she was strong enough to face the truth. As hurtful as the lies were, at least it was a straight path, unlike her reality. How could she untangle her feelings when her heart resented the woman who betrayed her, but her soul loved the woman who gave her birth?
Her parents' marriage started to disintegrate when they moved to Apache, but it became more noticeable as she got older. The slight tensing of her mom's shoulder when they touched, or the subtle snubs her dad gave when they were out in public. By high school, tension crackled between them every time they were in the same room. However, nothing could have prepared Arianne for walking in on her mom naked, bent over the couch with Chase, Arianne's first love.
It had been a crushing blow, but the fallout had been worse. Apache Crossing was a small town, and with small towns came big mouths. Especially with her family. Mixed marriages were rare. The town had a hard time dealing with her dad—a proud Asian man who demanded respect. On top of that, he owned the paper mill which was the primary source of income for the town. It breed envy and resentment. Something her mother couldn't handle.
When her mom's infidelity came out, no one dared to say anything to their faces, not when Arianne's father held the fate of their livelihood in his hands, but behind closed doors, the community gossiped and spread hateful things. It was worse for Arianne. Her mother could hide in their house and pretend nothing had happened, but Arianne had to attend school. Her friends deserted her, no one would look her in the eye, and a day didn't go by when a nasty note wasn't shoved in her locker or taped to her car. That last year of high school should have been one of her happiest. Instead, it had been pure hell.
Life at home hadn't fared much better. Her mom buried herself in a bottle, her dad buried himself in paperwork, and all the feelings they pretended didn't exist buried itself in the house with icy rage. She walked on a tightrope during that time, balancing every complicated, messy emotion thrown at her, until one day it had been too much. She got in her car and drove. Kept driving till she reached a small park in the middle of nowhere and broke down in tears. That's when she met Harvey. He'd been walking his dog when he saw her. Concerned, he knocked on her car window and asked if she was okay. It was the first time somebody showed concern for her since finding out the truth about her mother.
Harvey and Arianne formed a friendship after that. She didn't know if it was because they genuinely got along or because they were the only people willing to talk to each other. Either way, it didn't matter because for eight blissful months she had a friend again. He didn't offer the same type of friendship as her ex-best friend, or even her mom, but he listened, and that was enough for her.
