Unbreakable: Haven Falls (Book 6)

by Sheridan Anne

  I’ve pictured sitting down with you time and time again and telling you every last thing there is to know about me. You wouldn’t believe how desperately I want you to know the real me, but I can’t, and I know that it only makes it that much harder to understand and be ok with it.

  My training went really well and I aced everything which means that I have everyone’s attention, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I was to be deployed quickly. I don’t know if I will tell you if that happens. I’m still trying to work it out. I don’t want you worrying about me. Just know that I’m going to be fine and no matter where I am in the world, I’ll be thinking of you.

  As much as it pains me to say, I don’t know when I’m going to see you again and because of that, I don’t want you holding onto hope that I’m going to be coming home because I just don’t know if I am.

  I have a lot of shit to sort through, but that doesn’t change the fact that all I’ll ever want for you is to be happy and if that means falling in love with someone else and living the life I always wanted to live with you, then so be it.

  I don’t want you to wait for me. I don’t want you holding onto hope that I’m going to come back and everything is going to fall right into place because I can’t guarantee that it will.

  I love you, Tully Cage.

  This isn’t goodbye.

  Rivers.

  I stare down at the letter, hardly able to see the words before me through the thick tears pooling in my eyes. “He’s not coming back,” I whisper.

  Noah’s arm wraps around me and me pulls me into his chest where the tears silently fall down my face. “There’s still hope,” he murmurs. “This is Rivers we’re talking about. He’ll come back when he’s ready.”

  “I don’t think he will,” I tell him. “What he wrote. Those words. That was goodbye. He was trying to let her down gently as to not break her heart.”

  “Well,” comes Tully’s familiar voice from the doorway, taking us in with the letter in my hand, the tears in my eyes, and the mess of her room; though she doesn’t seem to care as the tears are just as heavy in her eyes. “It didn’t work. He broke me well and good this time.”

  Noah holds out his other arm and Tully can’t resist crashing down into him before the tears really start to fall.

  The tears run their course and twenty minutes later, Tully and I are laying on her unmade bed, each with a spoon and a tub of ice cream between us while Noah sits silently at her desk chair, staring at the letter before him but not actually seeing it.

  Tully nudges me with her foot, making me look up at her while she stares up at the roof, not wanting to meet my eyes. “Will you do me a favor?”

  “Anything.”

  “Will you write him back? I don’t think I can bring myself to do it, but I think he needs to know everything that’s been going on with Gina and his dad before he decides to never come back. He needs to know that we’ve got his back and that it’s all over. We’re safe here now and Anton can’t hurt him anymore.”

  I nod into the pillow. “Ok,” I tell her, dropping the spoon into the ice cream and grabbing hold of her wrist. I give it a slight squeeze and try my best encouraging smile, but I don’t think I quite succeed. “Anything else you want me to tell him?”

  I wait for her to tell me to say that she loves him and I see the words right there on the tip of her tongue, but she lets out a sigh instead. “No,” she says, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Don’t mention me at all, just tell him what he needs to know.”

  “You got it,” I tell her before picking up the spoon and silently taking another scoop.

  Chapter 20

  The sun streams through the window and I wake with a smile on my face.

  It’s my first day of college. Summer is over and I have no choice but to pull up my big girl panties and finally move forward with my life.

  Anton is behind bars and hopefully will be for a long time. Aria is safe at home with a father who loves her. Noah seems to have his whole world sorted out and Rivers has made the changes in his life to make it possible for him to keep moving forward.

  That just leaves me and Tully. Summer started off horrendously but by the end, we were able to enjoy that last bit of freedom which we took complete advantage of, and now, we’re both going off to college and I can’t freaking wait.

  Well, we’re not exactly ‘going off’ in the typical sense of the word. It’s not like either one of us have bothered looking into the campus dorm rooms. We live close enough to make the drive every morning, and besides, finding alternative living is an extra expense neither one of us can afford.

  All my life I always thought this was never going to happen so the fact that I’m waking up this morning and get to scream at the top of my lungs to remind all my neighbors that I’m going to college today is a big deal. Like a big freaking deal. I wouldn’t dare be that obnoxious about it, but the idea does happily enter my mind for a few fleeting seconds.

  I thought I’d end up working some boring nine to five job that gave me no chance of moving up in the world and I was going to learn to be content with that. How wrong was I?

  This past year has opened my eyes to so many possibilities and I’ve never been so proud of myself for being able to make some of those possibilities a reality. Don’t get me wrong, the next few years of my life aren’t going to be easy. There’s going to be times when I want to give it all up and go searching for that dead end job. If college was easy, everyone would be doing it. It’s going to be a challenge, and something tells me there’s going to be sleepless nights, tears, fights, late night calls to Noah, and extreme emotional overload, but I’ve never been so ready.

  I want it all.

  Broken Hill University can hit me with it as hard as they like. I’m ready. I’m a fucking machine and I’m going to dominate.

  My bedroom door is thrown open and I have just enough time to prepare myself before my monster of a six year old sister comes charging at me. She throws herself high into the air and as though she’s practiced this precise move over and over again, she comes flailing down on top of me, punching me in the boob in the process.

  The wind is knocked out of me and a sharp, guttural groan comes tearing from within. “It’s college day,” she cheers, making it impossible for me to be mad with her. Though, to be honest, I should be impressed that she waited until the sun was up. She must have been standing outside my door for ages just waiting until it was a good enough time. Either that or the monster heard my alarm go off.

  Before I can get a word in, Aria plants a foot on either side of my waist and begins jumping up and down, making me fear for my life. I mean, if she were to fall right now, I’d be in all sorts of trouble.

  “It’s college day! It’s college day! It’s college day!” she cheers. “You’re officially a grown-up.”

  My arm snakes around her tiny little waist and I throw her down on my bed beside me. “What do you mean I’m officially a grown-up? I thought I already was. I’m eighteen, you know?”

  Ari shakes her head before rolling her eyes as though my inferiority is embarrassing to her. “No. I’m a big girl because I go to big girl school and now you’re a grown-up because you go to grown-up school. Duh.”

  Well, shit. How could I argue with that logic?

  I manage to free myself of Aria and somehow climb out of bed without any further insults or injuries. I stretch like there’s no tomorrow, slip my feet into the comfiest pair of slippers I’ve ever owned and get myself to the bathroom to make me feel human again.

  Instead of wasting my morning away and taking my time, I decide that from now on I’m going to be adulting. I throw myself into a quick shower and shave my legs because I couldn’t possibly attend my first day of college without looking my absolute best. I get my hair done, pick out a nice outfit that doesn’t make me look as though I’m trying too hard, but won’t have me laughed out of there for shitty taste. And then finally, I make my way into the kitchen with the plan to annihilate the
biggest breakfast known to man. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

  I hear voices coming from the kitchen as I make my way towards it and a smile instantly spreads across my face, but I think it’s the heavenly smell that accompanies the voices that has me feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

  I walk through the kitchen and straight up to Noah, curling my arms around him as he slaves away over the stove making the crunchiest looking bacon I’ve ever seen. “What are you doing here?” I murmur into his back, loving the feel of his strong body against mine.

  “You didn’t think I was going to miss your big day, did you?”

  I can’t help but grin as I peel myself off him and lean against the counter, making sure he doesn’t turn those crispy pieces into burnt ones. “You didn’t need to do that. I thought you were working today. Aren’t you late already?”

  Noah shakes his head. “I switched shifts so I could be here.”

  Butterflies start making a mess of my stomach and I find myself leaning into him again. There’s nothing better that finding out the man you love did something incredibly sweet just so he could be there for you. I don’t know why it still surprises me. It shouldn’t, but the fact that it does couldn’t be a bad thing because it means each time it happens, I fall just a little harder for him.

  Dad clears his throat by the fridge and I shake my head. Did I seriously just walk straight past him and forget he was here all because Noah had gotten himself up and over here to cook me breakfast?

  “So, do I not even get a good morning or is that reserved only for boyfriends now?”

  “That better not have been a plural I just heard,” Noah mutters softly.

  I ignore Noah’s comments and take the four steps across the kitchen and throw my arms around my father. “Good morning,” I say with exaggerated enthusiasm before planting a big kiss on his cheek.

  “That’s more like it,” dad grumbles. “Now, what’s going on? Have you got yourself ready for today? Got all your textbooks, pens, pencils, laptop? Do you have your class schedule and orientation pack?” He looks at me expectantly but doesn’t leave a moment to respond before he’s diving in again. “Did you go for another tour with Tully? I don’t want you showing up for a nine am class and then realizing you have no idea where you’re going. Perhaps you should leave a little early.”

  “Dad.”

  “Did you read up on your professors? You know, I didn’t do the whole college thing but I’ve heard that it’s good to know a little something about your teachers. If you show that you’re more than a pretty face sitting in a room they’ll be more likely to pick on you and be a little more lenient if you need it, though I’m hoping you won’t.”

  “Dad?”

  “You keep yourself out of trouble, you hear. I don’t want to be hearing that my kid was mucking up and ruining this shot at making something of herself.”

  “Dad, would you stop? I’m prepared and I know what I’m doing. You’re acting as though I’m not going to be right back here at the end of the day. I’m not moving away. BHU is only twenty minutes down the road.”

  Dad purses his lips, watching me for a moment before he desperately starts to blink back tears. “I’m just so damn proud of you, kid.” He gets all choked up and before I know it, I’m throwing my arms around him once again and having flashbacks of my very first day of ‘big girl school.’

  “I’m going to be just fine,” I tell him. “You taught me everything I need to know to make it in this big world. You’ll see. I’m going to go in there and come back out a fucking Rockstar.”

  I glance up and notice Noah leaning against the counter, right where I had been only a moment ago. He watches us with an assumed smirk on his lips and pride shining out of his green eyes and something tells me it’s that ‘Rockstar’ comment I just made that has him looking at me like this.

  Noah wants nothing more than to watch me succeed and hearing how determined I am to do just that stirs something within him.

  Aria comes bounding into the kitchen before throwing herself up on a stool and demanding something to eat. It’s her first day back at school and she’s just as excited as I am. No wonder dad is so thrilled, he gets to get both of us out of the house at the same time.

  We get her fed before treating ourselves and as the clock ticks away, I find my eyes constantly on my phone, checking the time and making sure I’m not going to be late. Dad’s little pep talk earlier has me a little too conscious about being the idiot left wandering around campus completely lost

  I think my nerves are getting the best of me. Tully and I have this all sorted but I can’t help but feel jittery. We even have it worked out where we’re going to meet for lunch and at what time. We know which part of the library we plan on using for studying, we know all the places to stay away from to avoid getting caught up in the wrong crowds, and we even know which outdoor seating area is going to be the best for trolling for Tully’s potential boyfriends. We got this sorted.

  Though, something tells me we won’t be needing to search for guys. Spencer is doing a pretty good job of keeping her in his sights. I can’t wait to see what happens there. It’s going to be an absolute trainwreck and it’s going to be incredible to watch. Something tells me there’s going to be more than a fair share of shutdowns and epic rejections.

  Before I know it, it’s quarter past eight and dad is grabbing my things and shoving them into my hands. “I told you, I’m going to be fine.”

  “And I told you that no kid of mine is going to be unprepared for her first day of college. I don’t care if you’re the first person there, sitting on the front steps like a loner. It’ll give you a chance to look over your textbooks.”

  I roll my eyes and get up from the table. “Fine, I’ll get going.”

  Dad seems to relax and I smother a grin. He’s getting so easy to torture in his old age.

  I walk to the door and can hardly make it through it with Aria attaching herself to my legs. “Don’t be nervous about making new friends,” she tells me. “If you’re really nice and share your lunch, then everyone will love you.”

  I grin down at her. “Thanks, Squirt. I’ll give it a try and report back at the end of the day.”

  “Ok,” she says, beaming up at me as dad peels her off my leg.

  I give her a little wave and head out to my car with Noah right by my side, knowing dad would prefer that I skip over the whole ‘goodbye, have a great day’ bullshit with him. After all, he’s already choked up once this morning and would never put himself through that a second time in as many hours. So instead, he simply just smiles, knowing that he’s done everything he possibly can ensure that I come out of this new adventure with my head held high.

  I walk around to the passenger side of my car as Noah unlocks the door for me. Placing everything down on the seat, I double check that I have what I need despite having already gone over it a hundred times.

  As I close the door and make my way around to the other side, Noah catches me and pulls me into his arm. “You’re going to be the best damn scientist this country has ever seen.”

  “I don’t know about that,” I laugh, knowing that’s definitely a stretch. I mean, I just want to be able to study DNA. There are people out there who are able to do incredible things with their minds and I’d just be happy to even get to study the kind of work they’ve already accomplished. But then, who knows where this next chapter of my life could take me. College could open my eyes to things that I haven’t even discovered about myself yet, and I’m so damn excited to see where it takes me.

  My hands find his chest as he looks down at me. “You’re going to do incredible things, Spitfire, and I can’t wait to see you shine.”

  “Is Tully going to be mad that you came over here to see me off instead of her? You know, today is a big deal for her too.”

  Noah shrugs. “She knows I love her.”

  I can’t help but laugh. “You know, I kind of love you too.”

/>   Noah leans his head into mine. “Just kind of?” he questions with a teasing sparkle in his eyes.

  I smile, absolutely loving his games. “Mmhmm.”

  “Then I’ll just ‘kind of’ give you a goodbye kiss then.”

  I suck in a breath. A ‘kind of’ kiss is nothing compared to his full blown, give-it-all-he’s-got-kiss and I refuse to get in my car without getting what I need to start my day off. But then, playing him at his own game is too good to pass up and I know for a fact that he won’t let me leave today without kissing me like he’ll never taste my lips again.

  “Oh, ok then,” I shrug stepping out of his arms and giving him an innocent smile. “I’ll see you later then. Be safe at work.”

  I go to walk away, but Noah’s hand catches onto my wrist. “Well played, Spitfire.” He yanks me back into him and catches me with ease, one hand around my waist and the other tilting my chin up to meet his.

  As if on instinct, my hands travel up his chest and loops around his neck, holding him close as he closes the gap. Then finally, his lips come down on mine and just as I knew he would, he kisses me as though his world begins and ends with me.

  Epilogue

  Four Years Later

  Tully comes kicking her way through the door with boxes upon boxes piled up in her hands, each one of them filled with the most beautiful arrangement of flowers, some for tables, some for vases, some for suit jacket pockets, but the one I’m most excited to see is the one with the bouquet that I’ll be holding as I walk down the aisle in less than two hours.

  It’s my freaking wedding day. I don’t know how this happened. One minute, Noah and I were lying in bed, fighting over who was going to get up and double check that our front door was locked and the next thing I knew, he was pulling a ring out of the little black box from his bedside table and asking me to be his wife.