Crave Me (The Good Ol' Boys #4)(131)

“I have something for you.” She reached into her bag, pulling out what looked like a book. “I met Briggs for lunch a few days ago. She’s doing great, Austin. She looks healthy and happy.”

I nodded. “That’s good to hear, Alex. Thanks for telling me.”

“That’s not all.”

I cocked my head to the side, arching an eyebrow.

“She told me everything.”

“Everything?” I replied, caught off guard.

“You protected her, Austin. From day one, she was all that ever mattered to you.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I guess she did tell you everything then. I’m going to tell them all eventually. My therapist and sponsor know already, but I’m not ready to remember all that yet.”

“I understand. You can tell everyone when you’re good and ready to. I won’t say a word. I promise.”

“Thank you,” I said, feeling more at ease.

“Did you know that she liked to write?”

I took a deep breath in and slowly blew it out. I hadn’t really talked about Briggs with anyone other than my therapist.

“She loves to read, Half-Pint. I honestly think she’s read every romance book out there, twice. She loved living in the fantasies, experiencing what she never had. I knew she liked to journal and stuff. What’s this about?”

“After you took over for her uncle, she started writing one day. As things progressed with you over the years, she started writing down memories and her feelings. She said it was her way to cope with what was happening to you. It helped her, Austin.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Alex looked down at the book in her lap, handing it to me a few seconds later. It was a black hardback with the words “Crave Me” written in silver lettering. I glanced back at Alex still confused.

“It’s your story.”

I jerked back. “What? You f*cking with me?” I shook my head in disbelief.

“She told me that after she’d left you, her therapist recommended for her to put all the entries together from over the years and add to it. It was a way to realize her growth and how far she’s come. It started off like her therapist suggested, but it took a life of it’s own. She ended up writing your love story.”

My eyes widened. Shocked to the core from what she was telling me.

“She thought reading it, might help you heal like it helped her. She wanted me to tell you that you don’t have to read it, but she wanted you to have the very first manuscript. It’s been picked up by a publisher, Austin Briggs is an author.”

My hands started shaking, knowing that I was holding Briggs’ soul under my fingertips. Alex stood up and I followed suit.

“She also wanted me to tell you that she was proud of you,” she relayed, pulling me into a tight hug.

I kissed the top of her head, held up the book, and told her thank you, smiling at her as she walked away. I wanted to leave. I wanted to go lock myself in my new room and read Briggs’ book from start to finish. Anxiously waiting for when I would be alone to do just that, but my parents were walking towards me. They were taking me to dinner, and then dropping me off at my new “sober living” facility. I told them I wanted to continue living in a controlled environment. I wasn’t ready to be on my own yet. Not ready to step out into the world where temptation and triggers were all around me. I’d be staying there for another six to eight months, more or less.

“You did so great, honey. We are so proud of you,” Mom praised again, kissing my cheek. “You’ve come such a long way, but you still have a long road ahead of you. We will be by your side every step of the way.”

“I know, Mom. Thank you.”

And I did; I wasn’t cured by any means. She lovingly nodded, excusing herself to go use the restroom.

“Your mother is right, Austin. We will always be here for you,” Dad agreed, bringing my attention back to him. “I’ve made so many mistakes, son. More than I care to remember. I keep telling myself that if I would have let you go to art school, if I’d let you become the man you wanted to be, if I hadn’t—”

“You can’t do that, Pop. I’m the only one that’s to blame for my choices. No one else. You did what you thought was best for me, like I imagine any parent would. I may have not seen it that way back then, but I know that now.”

“Briggs made me realize at the hospital how much of a shitty father I was. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like you weren’t good enough, Austin. You’re my greatest accomplishment,” he confessed with tears in his eyes.

I’d never seen my dad be anything but the solid man he always was. I wasn’t surprised in the least that Briggs spoke her mind. She always did. It was one of things I loved the most about her.

“I love you no matter what, son. If I could go back, I would change a lot of things, but you’re right, I can’t. I can only move forward and I want nothing more than to build a relationship with the man standing in front of me.”

“I would really love that, Dad.”

He pulled me into a hug, and I actually felt my father’s sincerity and love. For the first time in I don’t know how long, I felt like everything was going to be okay. That my life was going to get better. That I was going to get better.