Halfway Whole and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves

By Alyssa Rose Ivy

Sometimes getting off the grid is the only way to stay on it...

*New Adult Contemporary Romance*

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alyssa Rose Ivy
• Release date: Jun 20, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463836040

Alyssa Rose Ivy

Alyssa Rose Ivy is the bestselling author of more than fifty novels with over one million books sold worldwide. She loves to weave stories with romance and humor, and she is best known for writing about college boys with wings. After surviving law school and earning her masters in library science, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. She lives in Alabama with her two children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.Series by Alyssa Rose IvyThe Chronicles- New Adult Paranormal and Fantasy Romance-The Crescent Chronicles-The Empire Chronicles-The Dire Wolves Chronicles-The Allure Chronicles-The Forged Chronicles-The Grizzly Brothers Chronicles-The Pteron Chronicles-The Heart Chronicles-The Triton ChroniclesOther Paranormal/Fantasy/Dystopian Romance- Full Moons- The Corded Saga- Willow Harbor- Vampire Emails- Lunar Academy-Ghostly ShadowsYA Fantasy Romance-The Afterglow TrilogyNA/Mature YA Science Fiction Romance-Half LightContemporary Romance/ Romantic Comedy-The Hazards Series-Clayton Falls-The Mixology Series-Life After FallingVisit me on the web at:http://www.alyssaroseivy.comwww.facebook.com/AlyssaRoseIvytwitter.com/AlyssaRoseIvyhttps://www.instagram.com/alyssaroseivy/Sign up for my new release newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ktlSj

Book preview

Halfway Whole and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves

Halfway Whole and Other Lies We Tell Ourselves

Alyssa Rose Ivy

Contents

1. Brooke

2. Logan

3. Brooke

4. Logan

5. Brooke

6. Logan

7. Brooke

8. Logan

9. Brooke

10. Logan

11. Brooke

12. Logan

13. Brooke

14. Logan

15. Brooke

16. Logan

17. Brooke

18. Logan

Thank You

Afterward

Life After Falling

Chapter One

Copyright © 2019 by Alyssa Rose Ivy

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Cover Design: Najla Qambar Designs

Created with Vellum Created with Vellum

To anyone who has been tossed aside: you know how strong you are.

One

Brooke

A re you sure? I looked around the small office to see what I was missing. That’s all you need ?

I count two-hundred-and fifty in cash. What else would I be needing? The man peered at me over his reading glasses.

A copy of my driver’s license. A contract. Something. Surely my new landlord wasn’t that trusting. Or that stupid, depending on how you wanted to look at it.

Frank—for he had already told me in not so choice words not to use the title of Mr., set his glasses down on the counter beside him. Were you planning on driving the cabin somewhere?

No. Of course not. I mean don’t you need to run a background check or something? I knew Forest Lake was in the boonies, but even the boonies had regulations, right?

He leaned forward on his elbows. Is there anything that would turn up if I ran one?

No. Nothing. Thankfully I’d reined in my anger in the recent months as to avoid an arrest record.

Then explain to me why I should be wasting my time and money on a background check?

Never mind. When in Rome... I’ll take the keys.

The keys? He wore a blank expression.

Are you going to tell me there are no keys? Maybe this was why you didn’t pick out rental properties sight-unseen online.

He belted out laughing. Of course there are keys. Don’t be silly. You should have seen your face. He held out a set of silver-colored keys. Each had a faded red sticker on them labeling them as the front or back door.

Very funny. Thank you for your time. I forced a terse smile and headed toward the door.

Brooke? He called.

I turned back. Yes?

Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll die younger.

Thanks for the advice. I gave a small wave before slipping out through the doorway before he could add more sage advice.

The late summer sun beat down on me as soon as I stepped out from under the office canopy overhang. It was after five, but sundown was hours away.

I unlocked my nearing ten-year-old Civic, trying not to think about the back seat. Or the day I had to have it detailed. Or anything about it really.

Frank had assured me that the cabin would be easy to find. Just follow the road, he’d told me. I did just that, and less than a mile down the road it stopped being much of a road at all. It was dirt. Not the smooth dirt of a well-trodden road—bumpy dirt—the kind that makes you wish you were in a 4-wheel-drive vehicle instead of a quasi-compact car.

I gripped the wheel so tight my knuckles turned white, until the lake came into view. The water shimmered in the sun, beckoning to me in a way that nothing ever did anymore. Frank had been right about how easy it would be to find the place. I followed the lake around until I saw a row of white cabins. I counted five then pulled up the small drive by the sixth. The black number had half fallen off the post, making it look like a nine rather than a six. Maybe I should have been put off by it, to have assumed the cabin would be in disrepair or that it would be a bad omen. But I felt the opposite. This place was as far from my life as possible. And in that way it was absolutely perfect.

I got out of the car and headed up to what would be my home for the next six months.

Oh. Hello. I eyed a little dog sitting on the porch. You belong to the neighbors or something?

I don’t know why I was talking to the dog, it’s not like he or she could answer me or anything, but I was.

The dog looked up at me through these huge brown eyes. Her brown eyes were honest. Unlike another set of eyes I wanted to forget.

You aren’t wearing a collar. For some unknown reason I continued speaking out loud. But you don’t look like a stray. It looked like you just had a bath.

She did just have a bath.

I spun around and came face to face with a young girl with long red hair and cheeks nearly as red, either from the sun or exertion. Unlike the dog, she didn’t look like she’d taken a bath—she looked like she’d been rolling in mud. She was wearing what was once a white t-shirt and pink shorts. I felt bad for whoever was going to be doing her laundry.

Oh, is this your dog? I asked.

No. She shook her head. She’s yours. The last renter left her for you.

Uh what? I searched the little girls face for a hint of humor. When I didn’t see it I next looked for confusion. That seemed to be absent as well.

Frank said you were going to be here all alone, and the Allen’s found this little dog at the pound and thought you could use her for protection.

For protection? I looked at the little brown fur ball that was maybe fifteen pounds.

It’s the bark that keeps them away. The little girl sat down on the steps and the little dog ran right over.

Should I worry about keeping people away here? I looked out at the lake and then back at the row of cabins.

No. She pet the dog with slow, careful motions.

Then why the dog? I kept the question a silent one.

So I better go. The girl patted the dog’s head and rose to standing.

Are your parents around? The sun was still out, but I still didn’t feel good about letting a little girl run around alone.

No, but my brother is.

Oh. But he’s going to give you a ride home then? Maybe it was the city girl in me, but I would worry until I knew she was with proper supervision.

No. I’m staying with him this week.

Oh. He lives around here? Getting clear answers from this girl was a lot like pulling teeth. But that was fine. I had time. I had all the time in the world. Six months to be exact.

In number seven. She pointed to the cabin next to us.

Oh. My neighbor.

She giggled.

What’s so funny?

Just anyone calling my brother their neighbor.

He’s not very neighborly? Had I ended up renting a place next to a grump? Or maybe he had loud parties. One never knew.

He can be. Depends on his mood.

Ok. Well I guess for the time being I’m your neighbor too. I’m Brooke.

Like the babbling kind?

Uh, spelled different, but sounds the same.

I’m Jaylin. She held out her hand.

I accepted her surprisingly strong handshake. Nice to meet you, Jaylin.

You too. She grinned before running down the drive and back onto the dirt road.

The little dog let out a low bark.

Oh. Yeah. You. Hopefully the last renters left you some food.

Two

Logan

Jaylin was late again. She was always late when she stayed with me, even when I begged her not to. My mom was already worried about her, did she have to do the same to me? Yes. Of course she did. But I couldn’t really blame her. I’d been the same way when I was kid .

Just as I was about to head out to look for her, she burst inside through the screen door, letting it slam behind her. Hey, Logan, have you met the new neighbor?

New neighbor? Is that what you were doing? Talking to a stranger? Not that it surprised me. Jaylin would talk to anyone.

She’s not a stranger. Jaylin straightened up, as if trying to look taller. She’s Brooke.

Brooke? Well Brooke is a stranger. A weird stranger based on the facts we know.

The facts we know? Jaylin slipped out of her filthy rain boots.

She is renting a cabin alone in the middle of nowhere in the off-season. I assumed the woman had a perfectly good reason for that, but that didn’t change my protectiveness over my sister.

And? Jaylin tapped her foot.

And only weird people would do that. Not entirely true, but I was trying to make a point.

Jaylin put a hand on her hip. Weird people like you?

I am here because it’s my job.

"It’s your job because you want to be here. Alone." She emphasized the word alone more than she needed to.

Aren’t you supposed to be ten? I stirred the sauce. I’d finally finished cleaning up the caked on burnt mess off the burner from the last time I’d made this meal. Cooking was something I could do, but not when I got distracted.

I am ten. Ten-year-olds know enough to understand these things. She put a hand on her hip.

And you’ve been listening to mom. It wasn’t a question.

That too. She grabbed a piece of spaghetti from the pot.

I’m fine. No matter what mom says.

Yup. And I’m going to bed early tonight. She rolled her eyes.

Go wash your hands.

Why? It’s just dirt. It’s natural. It’s good for me to be exposed to it.

Do you want dinner? I turned off the sauce.

Fine. She walked over to the sink. But if I get sick because you’ve insisted on killing off the good bacteria, I’m blaming you.

Duly noted. I smiled. My kid sister was a handful sometimes, but she was also one of the few bright lights in my life.

While she washed her hands, I pulled out our plates.

Want me to run over and invite Brooke to join us?

Why would you do that? I took the lid off the sauce pot.

Because she’s new. And like you said, she’s alone. Plus, she may not have anything to eat.

I’m sure she can find something to eat. I wasn’t trying to sound callous, but I also didn’t want to bug someone who probably wanted to be left alone.

Did I mention she’s really pretty? Jaylin tried to wink, but ended up blinking both eyes. Like really, really pretty.

What do her looks have to do with anything?

Wouldn’t Mom tell you to invite her over? Wouldn’t that be the right thing to do?

Jaylin… I trailed off.

You know I’m right. She knew what would happen when she brought our mother into this.

Being right isn’t always a good thing.

It is today. I’ll go get her. You make her a plate.

She might not even want to come. Don’t be weird, Jaylin. If she doesn’t want to come, let it go.

She’ll want to come. Jaylin ran out and let the screen door slam behind her before I could say anything else.

I pulled down another plate. Jaylin was right. No one ever said no to her.

Five minutes later the screen door opened again, and Jaylin wasn’t alone.

My heart skipped a beat. Jaylin wasn’t kidding about this girl being pretty. She was gorgeous. Beautiful in a girl-next door meets the sexy librarian sort of way.

Hi, I’m Brooke. The brunette gave a small wave while I stood there like an idiot

Hey. I’m Logan.