Three, Two, One, I'm Gone novel · Chapter 7 of 24
Chapter 7: On the Lawn
I got into Wade's car without being asked.
He did not try to stop me.
He drove fast through the snow and did not speak, and I did not either, because I knew that if I said one word I would scream.
Opal's house sat on a quiet street in Shaker Heights, behind a hedge and a long lawn.
Every porch light on the block was on.
Grant was kneeling in the snow at the bottom of the front steps.
Paige stood beside him in her good coat with her arms folded.
Opal stood at the top of the steps in a cardigan, with her cane planted in front of her.
Three neighbors had come out on their own porches with mugs, pretending to shovel nothing.
"Gran, I've changed," Grant was saying. "I swear on Dad. I know what I did at the funeral. I was nineteen and stupid, and I've been alone ever since."
"You've been in Pittsburgh with a girl," Opal said.
Grant's head came up.
"Who told you that?"
"A video," said Opal. "Forty seconds, four hundred thousand views."
Paige stepped forward and put a hand on Grant's shoulder.
"Mrs. Easterling, I'm Paige. We should have told you sooner. Grant and I have been married for two years."
Nobody on the lawn made a sound.
I stood by Wade's car with my coat open and my hands cold.
"You were married to him?" Opal said. "And he was engaged to somebody else?"
"It was a complicated time," Paige said, soft and reasonable.
"It was a lie," said Opal.
"Gran," Grant said. He turned his wet face toward the street. "Gran, she's here."
He had seen me.
He scrambled to his feet.
"Dee. How did you find out where I... Did Wade bring you?"
Keep reading free with an account. Start Three, Two, One, I'm Gone from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.
← Chapter 6 · All chapters · Chapter 8 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend