Unbearable Read Online Free PDF Page B

my groove, Cole owns my heart and soul.” Lilah turned the volume up and bounced to the beat as she drove.
    Over the past two months, Lilah and Maggie had gone out of their way to befriend me. They invited me to do things with them at least once a week. Last week we spent a day at the mall as they shopped for a project they were working on for their new interior design company. We all got facials and manicures, too. It’d been years since I’d pampered myself like that. The last time was right before my junior prom. Another lifetime.
    Since escaping from Garen four years ago, I’d cut myself off from everyone. I wanted to stay hidden—to fade into the background. Quite a metamorphosis from my high school days. Between lacrosse and my ballet performances, I’d been constantly front and center. Now I was happiest in the shadows, unnoticed. Or so I thought, until the past two months. Between these two and Booker, I realized just how lonely my life had become. Miserable, hiding and shrinking from everyone and everything. I needed my life back, to push past the apprehension that Garen might find me. The fear still haunted my days and nights.
    We entered the parking lot of Veggies, a new vegetarian restaurant in town, and parked the car. “I heard this place is good,” Maggie said as we walked toward the all-glass building. “It’s only been open for a month but you already need a reservation for dinner.”
    I glanced at our reflections in the glass and couldn’t help but smile. Lilah, originally from Arizona, wore a thick sweater like me, although hers was a bold burnt orange and mine more of a pale blue, to blend in. Maggie, a Port Fare native and used to the horribly cold weather, dressed only in a t-shirt and jeans. I shivered just looking at her.
    “Are you cold?” Maggie asked. “I think Lilah has a sweatshirt of mine you can borrow in her trunk.”
    “No, I shivered because I looked at you. Aren’t you freezing?” I asked as we entered the pristine building.
    She laughed. “I’m used to this weather.  I’m guessing you’re not. Where are you from?”
    “California,” I said as the waitress led us to a booth by one of the outside windows. Great. Now I’d really be cold.
    “You need to remember, Tess, Port Fare has two seasons: cold and colder,” Lilah insisted dryly. “If you keep that in mind, you’ll be fine.”
    “That’s not true,” Maggie pushed her chin up. “We have four. Summer, pre-winter, winter, and post winter. Pre-and post-winters are a hodgepodge of rain, sleet, and snow.”
    “And winter is just plain cold and nasty, while summer is hot and sticky,” Lilah said.
    “Why stay here if the weather’s so bad?” I wrapped my arms around me against the cold seeping through the window.
    “The people. I love the people. They’re warm and friendly, even if the winters aren’t. And that’s a tradeoff I’ll take any day,” Lilah said, checking her phone.
    She was right about that. I smiled, looking at my new friends as they scanned the menu. It felt good to have friends again, to be comfortable around people and not cowering all the time. I held tight to the hope of having a normal life once more. If only I could see my family, then life would be perfect. But no, not yet. Someday , I whispered to my aching heart. Someday .
    A blue Ford Fusion stopped just outside the window. The driver threw the car in reverse and backed into a parking space way too quickly. Garen drove a blue Fusion. I stretched my neck to check if the license plates were from Texas, but I couldn’t see them from where I sat.
    I sunk down in my seat and struggled to get a better look at the driver as I tugged my purse into my lap. I carried a gun everywhere I went now. What I truly needed was a concealed weapon permit, but that meant an investigation into my life, and talking to people from both San Diego and Texas, which meant they’d have to talk to my ex. So that was out of the question.
    I squinted at the