A Blast from the Past (A Second Chance Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

after my divorce. Mike wasn't
the one for me. Everything was good in the beginning. When his true
colors began to show, I was already pregnant and worried about doing
it on my own. After our second child was born, some things happened
and I knew I needed to leave. My dad had only been gone a few months
when I moved in with my mom. It helped her with the bills, and
neither of us wanted to be alone. She watched the kids while I
worked, but I had always gone home to feed them each day. Some days
were harder than others, but I knew my life was better without Mike
in it. He tried several times to get me to go back to him. That would
never happen. He said he would be a better man. I remembered my dad
saying that many times after knocking the shit out of my mom. Mike
didn't even make an effort to see the kids, and he rarely gave me
anything for them. My mom gave me money for certain things they
needed. I didn't know much about her finances but figured she'd
gotten insurance money when my dad passed away. Mike's time was spent
drinking or driving by my house to see if I was home. I don't think
he ever knew I had seen him. He'd never do anything stupid to hurt
the kids. They were the ones I worried about. I knew he loved them.
He just needed to get his head out of his ass and realize they needed
him in their lives.
    When
I looked around at the stars and listened to the sounds of the night,
my mind went back to Zander. I never expected to see him for the
funeral. His relationship with his dad was not a good one. He always
felt like his dad never loved him. It was like he was never good
enough. It was true. His dad always made him feel less than he was.
He made shitty comments about how Zander would never amount to
anything. I couldn't blame Z from wanting to get away from him. It
didn't change the fact that I was devastated when he left and cut me
out of his life. We had been best friends since the day his family
moved in next to mine. I would never forget that day. When I took him
to my favorite spot, he made fun of me. It didn't take long before he
was even going there alone to think. We spent four amazing years
together in those woods. It was something I would never forget. Those
were the best years of my life. So much happened between us back
there. It quickly turned into our place instead of mine. I didn't
mind though. He was my favorite person in the entire world. We
talked, laughed, sang, cried, and yelled. There were so many special
moments there and a few not so special ones as well. I smiled when I
thought about how I had lost my virginity in that spot. It only
happened once, but it was the best day of my life. I would never
forget my first time.
    It
was prom night. We had both gone with different people. I went with
some jackass from the football team. The only reason I did was that
Zander had agreed to go with one of the cheerleaders. I wasn't going
to stay home while he was off having fun. Of course the guy expected
me to have sex with him. I didn't know him well enough for that. He
was pissed when I told him there was no way I was doing it with him.
Of course he said some things that weren't so nice as he dropped me
off. I got out of his car and slammed the door shut before taking off
to my spot to release my emotions. I wasn't sure how long I had sat
there crying before Z found me. He reached out and took my hand to
pull me to my feet. When he wrapped his warm arms around me, I melted
into him.
    "That
fucker's lucky he's still walking," he snapped.
    "What?"
I asked.
    Z
pulled back from me and wiped my tears away with his thumbs before
looking into my eyes.
    "You
didn't do anything with him, did you? Please tell me you didn't let
that asshole touch you," he said.
    His
tone was different. I could tell he didn't think I had done anything.
I could also hear the question as if maybe I had.
    "No,"
I snapped. "Of course not. I've barely even talked to him. When
he started getting all grabby, I let him know I wasn't doing it.