Status Updates From Girl on a String

It’s only when the beginnings of a small smile curve the corners of her mouth that I realize what it is. Pride. Approval. And maybe even a bit of envy. “Then I’m happy for you, Emma. You’re brave in ways I could never be, and I’m glad to see it.”

“How did the two of you meet?” “He was at Clear Waters at the same time I was.” I nearly laugh aloud at the expressions that steal across the faces of my parents. To say they’re taken aback by the fact that I met Joshua in rehab would be a tragic understatement.

He saw someone better than who I was. He saw Emma 2.0, the upgraded model. He saw what I could be, he saw who I could be. And he called her Bel.

Joshua and I are the exact opposite. We fit with each other before we fit into anything else. We got it right, I think. I hope.

My heart thrills at his words. He has this way of saying things as though I’ve spoken the need to hear them aloud, like he’s reading my mind. Or my heart. It’s how I know he’s perfect for me, and that the way we fit isn’t just a figment of my imagination. I worry sometimes about that, too. Still. I’m human. “I’m so lucky to have you.” “And have me, you can,”

I’m done with the bubble, done with the lies and the cheating and the pretense. I’m done with the strings. Emma Sterling is starting over and the only person who will decide when, where and how that happens is me. I’ve got no strings on me.

I can see clearly, maybe for the first time. And with that clarity comes a rage unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.

Cheating is one thing, cheating with a best friend is worse. But making a woman think she’s losing her mind and then stealing all her money right out from under her… well, those are things that no one, no matter their stature or finances or place in the world, should sit by and simply accept.

I’m coming for you Christopher, I think, and then in a sing-song voice, I’ve got no strings on me.

“No, no, it’s fine. I’ll be fine. This will be good for me.” Dr. Baros simply nods, and I do the same. Yes, this will be good for me. But in the end, it won’t be so good for them.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned? Just wait until they see what happens when Emma Kramer Sterling cuts the strings.

“That’ll give you something to focus on in therapy. And don’t forget 2-2-6-6-4-1”

“Coulda spelled trouble for me, I think,” I say, mimicking his tone and his accent. “Trouble’s fun.” His lips widen into a full smile that could easily melt my resistance. Good thing he’s not staying. “Not always.” “My kind is.” I can’t help returning his smile. “I imagine that’s probably true.”

His lips on mine are firm and unfamiliar, and exhilarating as hell. He’s big and comforting and commanding all at the same time, like he could crush me if he wanted to, but he’s choosing to protect me instead. Protect me and seduce me.

“Why in the world would you want to help someone like me?” “Because I think you’re more.” “More than what?” “More than you think you are.”

My question is light, playful, as is my tone, but then I begin to wonder if I actually do come off that way—like some weak, pathetic, dependent female who can’t do a thing for herself. “No, you look like a strong, beautiful woman who’s… haunted.”

“I thought you came here to get help, not give it.” “Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t try to help a damsel in distress?” “Do I look like a damsel in distress?”

With a sigh, Joshua leans forward, bracing both palms on his knees as he prepares to rise. “Same time tomorrow, Bel?” I smile. It’s something close to the smile, but with a little more feeling. It wobbles slightly as though I can’t quite remember how to pull off that exact mixture of peace and pretense. “Same time tomorrow, Tex.”

Make up your mind and just do it. You’re only limited by you.”

It’s one of those perfect few moments that you wish you could trap in a bottle with some sand, and put a cork in it so that not one second of it can escape, not even the air around it.

The lesson here, I would say, is don’t betray people. Then maybe you won’t find yourself burning at the bottom of a canyon in the middle of the night, with no one around to hear your cries for help. Or to save you if they did. Because I sure as hell won’t.

This was an amazing keep you on your book. I was asked to read it but I have to say wow. This book will keep you guessing all the way through