The Mourning After Read online

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Quote

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  The Mourning After Playlist

  About the Author

  The Mourning After

  Adriane Leigh

  To my girls, always have the courage to follow your heart.

  I also dedicate this to the girl I was at fourteen who wanted to be a writer. Turns out dreams really can come true.

  Love pressed them hard, as thirst presses the dying stag to the stream.

  Love dropped upon them from high heaven, as a hawk slipped after long hunger falls right upon the bird.

  And love will not be hidden. ~ The Romance of Tristan and Iseult

  PROLOGUE

  “Anyone else?" A deep voice echoes down the hallway.

  “Please just leave her,” he says groggily.

  A grunt echoes up the stairs and then I shut my eyes to the world around me. I hear random screams and moans and then sometime, maybe hours later, or minutes, or days, I hear a popping noise. I don't know what it is and my brain no longer has the ability to expend the energy to figure it out. My mind has shut down and the only thing I can hear is screaming. It seems as if I scream for days. Months. I’ve been screaming for years.

  CHAPTER ONE

  “So you know how you said you had nothing going this summer?" I called my best friend from a coffee shop off the freeway just over the North Carolina state line.

  “Yeah?” The hesitation clear in her voice.

  “I’ve got something for you." The excitement rippled through my voice.

  “Since this is the first time you’ve sounded excited in a while, I’m all ears.”

  “Great. I bought a house.”

  “What?" Drew’s voice shrieked over the phone. I held it away from my ear with a smile on my face.

  "I want you to spend the summer with me―it needs fixing up, but you can help me pick out paint colors and all that."

  “Wait, you and Kyle bought a house?”

  “Not really. I bought a house. Kyle didn’t have much say in it.”

  “Georgia Hope Montgomery! Did you break up with Kyle?” Her voice rose more than a few octaves.

  “No, I’m just staying at the house this summer to fix it up and then I’ll rent it out next summer. You should see it Drew, it’s amazing.” I finished on a dreamy sigh.

  “I don’t know. Dad probably wouldn’t be keen on me being away all summer. D.C. is far away.”

  Drew was the accountant for her dad’s construction company. I knew she wouldn’t have a problem working from the beach all summer even if she would be more than a few hours away. “Please come. You can crunch numbers from anywhere, Drew. Let’s spend the summer together! We haven’t spent much time together since college. Silas has already agreed; it will be a blast. And it’s not in D.C.”

  I heard a huff from her end.

  “Where is it?" She sighed.

  “That’s the best part, Drew―it’s on the beach." My grin grew impossibly wider even though no one was there to see.

  “The beach? Like, the ocean beach?" I could hear the excitement rising in her voice.

  “The one and only. It’s thirty minutes outside Wilmington, North Carolina. I promise there’s plenty to do there, you can troll for hotties―there’s plenty of clubs..." I trailed off.

  “You had me at beach. Although Silas…” She groaned when she mentioned one of my other closest friends since college. Silas and I were nearly inseparable. We’d both moved to D.C. after college when Drew had moved home to Jacksonville. She’d been bummed to be moving away from us; we’d had endless amounts of fun in college, but she and Silas bickered like an old married couple most days. For whatever reason, they did not click like he and I did. Perhaps it was because she had more competition when they trolled for men at the clubs. Silas was ridiculously charming and deliciously hot and operated under the assumption that he could turn even a straight man bi for at least one night.

  “I know you love him deep down." I grinned. "I'll tell him not to hit on anyone you bring home,” I teased.

  “Actually,” I could hear the grin in Drew’s voice, “I’m seeing someone."

  “More than once?" I coughed on my drink.

  “Yes, more than once. We’re pretty serious. He’s amazing in bed." She sighed wistfully.

  “How long have you been sleeping with him?” I rolled my eyes. Drew was famous for her unapologetic one-night stands.

  “A few weeks.”

  “Met him at the bar?"

  “No," Drew deadpanned as if she were offended by my question. “He came into the office, he had a meeting with Dad. He’s sexy, Georgia, like really sexy. Big and tall and cut, and you should see how big―"

  “Great, thanks. He sounds great.” I interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. “Back to the subject. Will you come? Take the summer. You, Silas, and me. We’ll soak up the sun on the beach all summer." I heard an audible groan on the line.

  “It won’t be complete without you.” I lowered my voice.

  “Well, there’s a bit of a minor detail I failed to mention.”

  “What?” I asked.

  “Gavin, he’s―”

  “Who?" I scrunched my nose.

  “The guy I’m seeing,” she said.

  “Oh, right. Tall, dark and handsome.”

  “Right. So Gavin is having a house built this summer and is a bit homeless right now until it’s finished so he’s been staying with me,” she said the last part in a rush.

  “You’re living with him?” I groaned.

  “I couldn’t just leave him out in the cold,” she said.

  “Right, and I’m sure the fact that he has a big d―”

  “It doesn’t hurt…Unless I want it to…” She giggled and I groaned.

  “How old is he, Drew?” I rolled my eyes even though she couldn’t see. Drew had been known to date men far out of her age bracket and I wanted clarification before we went any further.

  “Same as us―twenty-seven.”

  “Surprise of surprises,” I mumbled.

  “What?” Her irritated tone made it clear she’d heard me just fine.

  “Nothing. So, you want Gavin to come too? Doesn’t he work?”

  “From home. He’s an entrepreneur.”

  “Aren’t they all?” I huffed.

  “No, really. He does well with it if the house he’s building is any indication.”

  “Ok, great. So Gavin can come too. I’ll put you in the room farthest from mine so I don’t have to hear your love romps.”

  “I don’t know about love romps, but the man can fuck like a―”

  “Great Drew, thanks. It’s going to be a great summer, I can see it now."

  “It will. I’ll call you once I make some arrangements. When do you want me there?"

  “Tomorrow…"

  “Tomorrow?"

  “I signed the papers today. Got the key, and I’m headed there now. I’m a few hours away. Silas is meeting me there. Just come whenever you can."

  “Okay, G. I’ll call you later.”

  “Great. I gotta go, I want to make it there before dark.” I looked at the sky and noticed how late it was getting.

  “Okay." Drew paused for a moment. “Are you okay, G?" A few silent beats of my heart
echoed in my ears.

  “Yeah.” A frown crossed my face as I answered.

  “Okay. Can’t wait to see you." Her voice chirped in my ear.

  “Me too." The frown was still whispering around my lips.

  “I’ll call you.”

  “Bye.” I pushed end call on my phone and stared at it for a few moments as I stood in the coffee shop’s parking lot. I knew I should call Kyle but he was not on my list of favorites right now.

  He’d been more than a little angry at my spontaneous beach house purchase, especially since I hadn’t consulted him on the deal. Frankly, I hadn’t wanted his help. He had a tendency to bulldoze any negotiation he was part of, and he wasn’t interested in heading south anyway. He worked in Washington, D.C. as an attorney seventy plus hours a week hoping to make a name for himself in the growing firm. That left me alone a lot. I managed a boutique hotel a few blocks from The Smithsonian that I loved, but evenings and weekends alone had me lonely and ready for a change.

  The Carolina shore had always been my dream and suddenly I’d woken one morning and had started browsing real estate sites. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but it didn’t take long for me to land on a weathered, multistoried beach cottage outside Wilmington, North Carolina. Despite the fact that I’d gone to Duke University in Durham, I hadn’t had a chance to spend much time at the shore. I was probably drawn to the beach from the Nick Sparks novels I’d devoured throughout college. Regardless, I’d called about the house that same day. The multilevel, shingled beach house with twisting staircases and whitewashed porches spoke to me.

  Silas and I drove down there one Saturday while Kyle was at the office. We drove, we saw, I offered asking price, and by the time we were back in Washington it had been approved. Needless to say, Kyle was not as excited as I was. But I’d gotten a degree in hospitality and my intention had always been to own a bed and breakfast or my own boutique hotel someday. It was exactly the change of scenery I’d so desperately needed, and I reassured Kyle it would only be for this one summer. After that I would rent it out, beach rentals were big on the shore.

  I was absentmindedly scrolling through my contacts list as I sipped my Frappuccino and thought about my past with Kyle.

  I’d moved into the house next to Kyle’s when I was twelve in a upper middle class neighborhood outside Richmond, Virginia. He had been outgoing and friendly, while I was shy and withdrawn, yet somehow we’d become fast friends, then as we’d hit puberty our hormones took over. We’d giggled and held hands and talked about getting married. He’d been my first kiss. When we were a few years older we had made out in the back seat of his car on Saturday nights and had snuck into each other’s bedrooms after dark. Kyle and I had had some rough patches in high school. We’d broken up for a few months, I’d cried when he had held hands with another girl, but it wasn’t long before we were back together. Kyle was my comfort, my home. The world had felt strange and awkward without him; I had felt strange and awkward without him.

  Kyle had graduated a year ahead of me and had gone to Duke. He’d gotten a scholarship there and their law school was top notch in the East. The first year he’d been gone had been torture for me. Duke was nearly three hours away from our sheltered little town. He’d come home whenever he could and I had visited often, but I’d still missed him more than I had cared to remember. I’d been lost without him, so it hadn’t a surprise when I had followed him the minute I’d graduated. We’d lived on campus for a few years and then had lived in a small apartment together that was tiny but clean. But the further he’d gotten into his degree, the less I’d seen of him. It had been at that point that a slow shift had begun to take place. Kyle had taken too many classes every semester, had picked up internships and had spent late hours at the library or at his advisor’s office studying and setting the wheels in motion for his future. I’d known it was necessary, but that hadn’t made it any less painful. I’d known a life with him would be worth it in the end and he’d promised the late nights and long hours spent away would be over soon. It had always been, “just let me get through this semester, just 'til I graduate,” and then it’d become “when this internship is over, after my first promotion.”

  The long days and late nights still hadn’t ended and things had grown strained. After more than eight years of supporting Kyle while he’d earned his law degree and then had started at a prestigious law firm in D.C., I finally broke. I saw Silas much more than I saw Kyle. I think Kyle resented coming home at midnight and finding Silas and I curled up on the couch together with ice cream watching The Notebook. Kyle would walk in and heave a sigh and then loosen his tie and head for the bedroom. Some nights I followed him in after Silas left, other nights Silas and I would stay together huddled on the couch and finish our movie before I would crawl into bed with Kyle, long after he was asleep. I knew we weren’t in a good place, but he was my entire heart and I still had faith that just one more promotion, just another year at the firm, and his schedule would ease up. We could buy a house and start a family. Maybe live outside the city. I still had the dream for our future that we’d conjured together when we were fifteen and I refused to let go of it.

  A part of me felt guilty for making this monumental decision in my life without Kyle, but I’d been suffocating in D.C., so I couldn’t allow myself to have regrets. By the time I’d packed clothes and some essentials for the summer, Kyle was no longer mad. We were past that. It wasn’t our style to shout and scream, but there had been tension. He’d kissed me and said he would visit as soon as he could. I’d nodded with a smile. I even thought these few months might be good for us. Maybe we would come back reconnected. These last few years I’d been the effect to Kyle’s cause, but now I would be doing something that would be mine.

  I got to his name on my contacts list and paused. The man I loved, the man who had always been there for me through thick and thin, the man I was leaving for the summer. It would be the first time we would be apart for such a long amount of time but the excitement of following my dreams eclipsed any sadness I had.

  I exited my contact list and tossed my phone on the seat beside me then got back in the car and continued south.

  * * *

  “Took you long enough. How many potty breaks did you take?" My charming best friend leaned against his car door with a grin on his face. He looked like a natural on the beach with flip-flops, cargos, and a bright green polo shirt. His bronzed skin and perfectly styled, sandy blond hair a clear indication that he took care to look good.

  I took a few steps toward him and stopped, gazing up at the sprawling beach house. My eyes locked on the white shutters, the multiple decks, the wooden staircases, and weathered shingles―it took my breath away. I closed my eyes and inhaled the salty sea breeze, caressing my face and whirling my dark hair. The call of gulls swooped overhead, a far cry from the sounds of the city that I’d just left.

  “Earth to Georgia.” Silas grinned, throwing an empty styrofoam coffee cup at my head.

  “I stopped for coffee a while ago and called Drew."

  “How’s that hussy doing?" Silas mumbled as he pulled a duffel bag out of the back seat of his car.

  “You can ask her tomorrow." I grinned.

  “What? Fuck,” Silas swore as he knocked his head on the doorframe of his car. I hadn’t told him that I was going to invite Drew.

  “She’s bringing her new man candy.”

  “Of course she is.” He rolled his eyes. I laughed and faked a punch on his arm before heading back to my car and getting my own duffel bag. “Ready sport?"

  “Enough with the macho names,” he grumbled, in a sour mood no doubt because Drew would be in his life for the rest of the summer.

  “Fine, cupcake. Let’s go in.” I grinned and he followed me up the first set of steps to the front door.

  The beach house was built on wood pilings that elevated the first floor nearly twenty feet above the sand. The ground level on the beach was semi-enclosed and served as storage space. Th
e house was less than a hundred yards off the water and surrounded by rolling dunes and swaying grass. When the realtor walked us through the house she assured us that the water rarely made it up this far on the beach, but the house would be protected if it did. Hurricanes were another issue entirely and she’d suggested I have a hurricane safety inspection done to make sure the house could withstand hurricane-force winds. He could also instruct me on what to do in the event of an impending storm.

  I unlocked the front door and we stepped into an open space that featured a spacious living room with French doors that looked out over another grand deck and the ocean. Water and waves dominated my vision. To the left was a large kitchen and to the right were the guest bath and a hallway leading to two bedrooms. Beyond the kitchen, another hallway led to three bedrooms and the stairway to the second floor. Each first-floor bedroom had an en suite bathroom, which made arrangements for this summer much more comfortable. Drew and I could log time in the bathroom, but Silas was on a whole other level―he could spend hours in front of a mirror spiking his hair with half a dozen different products.

  A large island divided the kitchen and living room and the house was completely white walls and worn wood floors. The realtor had suggested I refinish the floors, but I adored their charm. Whoever had designed the house was inspired by the natural beauty of the surroundings, beautiful in its quaint simplicity. I had fallen in love at first sight.

  I walked across the room and opened the French doors. I wanted these doors open the entire summer to let the ocean breeze waft in and keep the dust bunnies and stale air at bay. I wanted to wake up each and every morning to a new fresh start, and keeping these doors open would do that.

  “I’m going to go throw this stuff in my room." Silas headed down a hallway.

  “The corner room is mine, Silas,” I called after him. He shot me a dirty look because it was the largest room on this floor with the best views. “Advantage of being the owner.” I grinned. The house had two floors, but the three bedrooms on the second floor were in rough shape and I’d need to call a carpenter in to replace some of the flooring and update the plumbing. Every room in the house had access to the sprawling decks that wrapped around the first and second stories. There was also a small set of stairs off the second story deck that led to the widow’s walk on the roof.