Written in the Stars Read online

  But where can I go? I can’t go home. That’s the first place Walter will look for me. I can’t face him now. And all of a sudden, “home” is the last place I want to be. Now that I know the truth about us, the house we share no longer feels like home.

  And that thought alone kills me, sending more tears streaming down the sides of my cheeks.

  The ringing of my cell phone causes me to brake hard at a red light. Quickly looking down at it in the cup holder near the gear stick, and seeing a photo from last Christmas Eve of Walter and me in a tight embrace, I ignore it and just keep driving. I have no intention of speaking to him at this moment. As I continue driving another two miles down the dirt road, I pull over and slam my fists on the steering wheel. Why has this happened to me? Just a month until we were set to be wed, and this is what I had walked in on. How had I not been aware that we were having issues?

  But then again, how was I to know? He never once gave me any sign, never once becoming distant with me when we were at home together. I should have seen the signs when he started working late every single Friday night recently. Why hadn’t it dawned on me?

  As the tears steadily fall from my eyes, I know what I have to do. I know I can no longer stick around and continue living in the blindness of what is really going on. I vow to myself that I’ll be strong and carry on, wiping the last few tears from my eyes. I pull out onto the highway and begin my drive down south. It’s time for me to go. It’s time for me to start anew.

  As much as the thought scares me and as much as I hate this realization, I know I don’t have much of a choice. Walter didn’t really leave me with any other option. This is the way things have to be now.

  Without another thought, I call my boss’s phone and leave a detailed message about how I need some time off. It’s late, but I know as soon as he gets the message, he’ll call me back.

  Five minutes later, a call comes through from him. “Serenity, what happened?” John, my boss, asks.

  We’re close enough after working in his electronics department for so long that we are on a first-name basis. But he had demanded I call him by his first name after just two months of working together.

  I explain to him the nasty details of how Walter had done me dirty. He doesn’t sound surprised, revealing to me how he thought it seemed odd that Walter would spend so many Friday nights late at the office. I had always figured he was just that busy, but John hadn’t been fooled. He tells me he has been married to his wife for forty-five years and would never put his work before her, no matter how important. He says love and family always come first, even before a profession.

  As his words register in my mind, it makes me realize just how blind I’ve been, not seeing what was right in front of me all along.

  “Take as much time off as you need, sweetheart. There will always be a position open for you at J.J. Electrics.” My boss is an angel.

  “Thank you so much, John. I shouldn’t be gone too long,” I say before hanging up the phone.

  I haven’t been to Glimerton in such a long time. Glimerton is a cute little quaint town, just on the border of New Jersey. It’s a small town where everyone knows everyone, and everyone knows your business. Sure, there’s gossip and such, but no one is malicious or trying to get over on someone else. I miss it here, but it was Walter’s idea for us to move away, since the job he accepted was over in Narrowville.

  Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time I came out here to visit. Maybe it was last Christmas when I came with Walter.

  Walter…

  How could he have done something like this to me, to us? How had it been so easy for him to forget about me for a few moments of pleasure? But what if it wasn’t a few moments? What if it wasn’t the first time it had happened?

  Regardless of the fact, I need to clear my mind, and I know if anyone can help me, it would be Lissa.

  Lissa is my older sister—she’s thirty-one, and I’m twenty-five—and I have always looked up to her. She is always there for me, and even now that I have been living over two hours away, she and I still check in with one other daily.

  I pull up in front of her store, L. Darling’s Accessories, an hour later. Although she always closes her shop at eight, I know she’ll still be here, cleaning up and getting ready for the following day. She mostly sells holiday decorations and knickknacks to decorate around the home.

  I park my car and slowly get out. I’m not looking forward to the conversation that I know will no doubt have to ensue, but I figure the sooner I get it out, the sooner it will be over. I decide to leave my cell phone right where it is; Walter is still nonstop trying to reach me, but I have no intention of talking to him any time soon.

  Without another moment to think things through, I open the door and walk through L. Darling’s Accessories for the first time in so damn long.

  Chapter Three

  SERENITY

  “Hello? Lissa, are you in here?” I call out, trying to find my sister in the dark store. Why the hell she doesn’t keep at least a night light up front beats me. It’s so dark, I’d be afraid to be here alone. But then again, Glimerton is as safe as they come.

  “Ren, is that you? I’m back here!” she calls.

  She isn’t expecting me; I haven’t called her to give her a heads-up. I’m sure this is quite a surprise to her, and honestly, it’s a surprise for me, too. I didn’t even grab some things and make an overnight bag. I wasn’t thinking when I started driving toward Glimerton. But I couldn’t call her and tell her over the phone what had just happened. I wasn’t ready. The drive over had been horrible enough with thoughts of Walter slamming into his secretary repeatedly that I just couldn’t form the words to speak if I wanted to.

  “Ren? What are you doing here?” When Lissa sees me, it’s as if she’s just seen a ghost. I shrug and give her a nervous smile.

  “I mean, not that I’m not happy to see you, but…” She walks over to me from behind the counter where she was putting some displays away and then continues speaking. “Is everything okay? Are you alright? This isn’t like you to just show up unannounced.” She looks past me toward the door. “Where’s Walter? Is she having a hard time finding parking?”

  All I can do is shake my head, and at the mention of his name, the waterworks begin yet again, and I am in tears once more. The promise I made to myself earlier about being strong and moving on is proving to be difficult.

  “Oh, no! What happened?”

  Lissa grabs me and holds me for what felt like hours. “Shhh, it’s okay. It’s okay, sis,” she tries comforting me.

  Minutes later, as I pull away from her embrace, she speaks once more. “Hey, talk to me. Tell me what’s going on, Serenity. Please, just talk to me. You’re starting to freak me out a bit.”

  Once I compose myself and wipe my eyes with the same Kleenex I’ve been holding on to for a good couple of minutes, I know I have to let her know something. My big sister isn’t typically a worrywart, but I can see why she is starting to worry now. She wasn’t expecting me to come see her, in tears, no less. I live two hours away. Anytime I’d come see her, I would always call first. Maybe I should have texted her. Maybe then she wouldn’t have freaked out. But I doubt it. The tears would have started regardless, making her freak out nonetheless.

  I look her in the eyes. “Remember how you caught Michael five years ago with his best friend’s sister in your bed?”

  Her stare turns pale as the memories obviously hit her after so long. “Yeah?”

  “Well, I decided to be sweet and bring Walter some homemade lasagna at work since he’s been working late every single Friday night recently to surprise him. But fate had a different thing in mind. Instead of me surprising him, he surprised me as I walked in on him fucking Dora, his new secretary.”

  She gasps, her eyes widening. “No! You’re kidding!”

  I shake my head. “I wish I was, but it was right there, before my eyes. I thought it might be nice to eat together for once on a Friday night. But
nope. Walt had other plans, and he’d been doing them every Friday night when I thought he was working late.”

  “That asshole, two-timing jerk! I’m so sorry, sis. And right before your wedding, too. You must be devastated,” she says, trying to console me, still holding on to me.

  “It definitely was not the way I saw my future. I thought I’d be busy with last-minute wedding preparations. Instead, I’ll have to call and cancel everything we had planned. All that money, time, and planning down the drain.”

  She shakes her head. “No, don’t you worry, sis. I will take care of it all in the morning. For right now, you just need to take a deep breath and know that I am here for you. Let me just finish closing up and we can get going.”

  I nod and watch her put the last couple of things away. She then grabs her pocketbook and coat, then wills me to follow her out of the store.

  “Do you want to ride with me? Or do you want to follow in your car?” she asks. “You can always pick it up tomorrow if you don’t feel like driving.”

  I shake my head. “No, I’m fine. I’ll just follow you.” I feel so goddamn helpless. The least I can do is drive my car.

  “Okay, Ren.”

  After driving ten minutes south, we arrive at her house. Her beautiful ranch-style home with the white wrap-around porch is always decorated with flowers in the front, resembling a rainbow. My sister’s love for embellishing and designing never fails; hence why she was the perfect person to take over once my dad could no longer run it.

  As we step inside, I feel a bit out of sorts. I don’t know what to do with myself. Lissa tells me to make myself at home, but that phrase is totally odd for me now. Home is somewhere I don’t want to be. Home is the reminder of what my life is now going to be. I haven’t been single in years. I don’t know how I’m going to adjust to the change, but so far, it isn’t going all that well.

  “Aren’t you going to answer that?” she asks, referring to my cell phone. I’ve been so lost in thought that I don’t even realize it’s ringing in my hand. It’s still Walter. He’s left me several messages as well.

  I just shrug, looking at her. “It’s Walt. I’m not ready to talk to him.” I cross my arms across my chest.

  She nods. “I understand.” She places her purse on a counter. “Are you hungry? I could make us something really quick—”

  “Sorry, Lissa. I don’t have much of an appetite. Maybe just some coffee, if you have any?”

  “Girl, you know I do! I live on java.”

  A small smile forms on my face for the first time in hours. Coffee makes everything better. Or at least it does for the moment. Just like ice cream, but I can’t stomach it now.

  “Please sit down,” she says.

  I pull out a stool from underneath the kitchen island and plop down. Lissa’s kitchen is gorgeous. She has marble granite counter tops all around, which go nicely with the stainless-steel appliances. When she caught her husband, Michael, having an affair, she didn’t hesitate to fill out the divorce papers and file. With him having a larger income than her, he owed her a ton of money in alimony. She made out nicely, and it suited him right. My sister had been nothing but a loving, faithful wife to that man.

  So what did she do with the money? She remodeled and redecorated her entire house. It wasn’t as though they had kids together that she needed to take care of. Anyway, if that were the case, he’d have to pay her child support as well.

  As I think about what she’s gone through, and now what Walter has put me through, I can’t imagine ever wanting to get involved with anyone else again. To start all over, build something, and then having the other person knock it down so easily because they can’t keep their pants on and be faithful is more than I ever want to deal with again. I am done for good. Love, as far as I know it, is dead.

  She hands me a black mug almost filled to the brim with piping-hot coffee. The aroma alone is intoxicating. I didn’t realize before then how much my body was longing for something warm and soothing to fill it.

  “Thanks, Lissa. This smells amazing.” I take my first sip, and it’s like heaven on earth. “So, how’s Pop doing?” I ask.

  Our father is in a psychiatric hospital for chronic depression and basically going insane since our mother died. She was killed in a fire three years ago while at work. My mom was an elementary school teacher. All the children thankfully made it out okay, but Mom, along with one other young woman, the kindergarten teacher, didn’t make it out in time. It was hard on all of us, but my mother was my dad’s whole heart. I have never witnessed a couple more devoted to one another or more in love than the two of them. They had been high school sweethearts and had never parted.

  Until that day…

  Of course, I was already living with Walter at that time and was nowhere near when Mom passed. As soon as Lissa and Dad got word, they called me, but by the time I arrived, it was already too late.

  My mother was gone, and I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye.

  After taking a sip from her own cup, she answers. “Oh, you know. The same. I wish I could stay home and look after him, but I honestly don’t think it would make much of a difference. His depression is to the point where he would literally kill himself if he could. He needs that constant watch over him. I could do it, but he would hate me for it. The store was his dream.”

  L. Darling’s Accessories had been our father’s store, which he’d named after Mom. Of course, when Mom passed, he could no longer run it. Lissa took over, and that was that.

  “Damn, I feel horrible. To know that he would rather end his life than to live without Mom. It sucks.” It’s numbing knowing there isn’t anything we can do to help him get through his misery.

  “It does, but there’s not much we can do to help him. He misses her. I miss her. The whole thing just stinks.”

  I nod. “I’ve got to go visit him one of these days. Maybe bring him a new crossword puzzle; he loves those.”

  Lissa shook her head. “He used to. Last time I brought him a three-hundred-page book with hundreds of crosswords, he threw it at me… told me to, ‘stick it where the sun don’t shine.’ Those were his exact words.”

  I practically spit out my coffee. My father, always so blunt and not filtering his thoughts these days. He always tells people how he really feels. “What?!”

  She chuckles and shrugs. “Yeah, he’s mad at the world. There’s nothing you can bring him or do for him that will cheer him up. It’s been three years since she’s been gone, and he has shown no sign of improvement. He’s still mourning.”

  I take another sip and then say, “I don’t know if he will ever not mourn over her…”

  “That’s true. It’s just sad we can’t even help our own father.”

  “I know…” I respond, wishing there was something we could do to help.

  We continue talking in the kitchen, drinking our coffees until close to midnight. Lissa fixes me a bed in the guest room and says I’m welcome to stay for as long as I want. At that moment, I don’t know how long I will stay, but I have no intention of returning to Narrowville ever again.

  That night, I toss and turn in bed for hours. I can’t get comfortable, but luckily, I’m able to keep my tears at bay. At 2:30 a.m., a new message comes through from Walter.

  Walter: Baby, I’m so sorry. Please call me.

  At this point, I rush into the settings of his text message and selected the Do Not Disturb option. I’m tempted to delete his contact information from my phone, but not wanting to act too hastily, I decide muting his messages is the best option for now.

  As I close my eyes, I pass out and embrace a deep sleep that I never imagined would have come so easily.

  The next morning, I’m up and welcoming a new day way before Lissa is even out of bed. I figure the least I can do is pick up some freshly brewed coffee and bagels from the deli. I grab the spare set of house keys off the counter in the front entrance in case she’s still asleep by the time I get back.

  When I
walk back into the house with the carrying tray and brown paper bag, I find her sitting at the island with a glass of orange juice, reading something on her tablet.

  She looks up with a surprised, “Oh my gosh, I thought you were still sound asleep. I had no idea you had been up and gone out. What’ve you got there?” She eyes the goodies intently.

  I smile warmly and reply, “I’ve been up since six thirty. I went jogging… Glimerton hasn’t changed a bit. Then I got back here, showered, and went to grab us some coffee and bagels.”

  “You are an angel!” She quickly grabs a cup from the tray.

  I place the bag on the island and hand her an everything bagel with cream cheese. “What time do you usually get to the store in the morning?”

  “I’m typically there by nine thirty to open by ten. I’ll be going in a few.”

  “Great. I’ll join you.”

  “You wanna come with?” she asks with a surprised look gracing her face.

  “Of course! Do you really think I want to sit home all day and twiddle my thumbs? I’ll go crazy thinking about everything that happened.”

  “True,” she laughs. “Of course, not. I could use the help.” She raises an eyebrow, I assume, wondering if I’m interested.

  “Perfect. Consider me your new employee.”

  Lissa laughs once more. “Great! You’re hired!”

  Chapter Four

  ZANDER

  “Fuck, we’re out of drinks.”

  I see Matt, head first, inside of the fridge at the firehouse as I enter at seven fifteen in the morning. I chuckle as he savagely scavenges the refrigerator for beverages.

  He slams the door shut and meets my gaze for the first time. “You’d think someone would have gone to the store to restock this bitch? No, of course not. I’m always the one to do it,” he grumbles. He then walks over to the sofa against the wall and plops down onto it.