[COMPLETE]
When Hanna Haddad embarks on what's supposed to be another uneventful summer as a lifeguard on Cape Cod, a trip to the past comes as an unnerving surprise. The discovery of her estranged mother's journal opens up the world of tragedy and...
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"Well, someone seems happy today."
A few days later, my dad entered the kitchen late from work, grinning from ear to ear. My stomach churned as I tried to finish my salad, as it had every time I'd seen him since I'd spotted Cassandra with her mysterious new boyfriend. A little bile slid up my throat at the thought of keeping her infidelity a secret for any longer, but every time I'd tried to open my mouth, a jumbled mess had only come out.
"Because I am happy," he said, throwing his car keys onto the kitchen island. "I got the promotion—you know, the one Steve and I have been vying for for nearly a year."
"Congrats!" I sprung up to give him a hug, happy that this news technically benefited me as well. I pulled away from him, remembering something. "Wait, doesn't Steve have, like, five kids? The man could probably use the raise more than you."
"You're not wrong, but you know what they say, 'the corporate world's a bitch.'" He shrugged and pulled off his tie before slumping down in a chair in relief. And so is your girlfriend, I thought but kept my lips clamped together. "Besides, his wife is a CEO of a whole hospital system. I'm sure she rakes in all the cash."
I hated the slight acrimony in his tone, as if my mother wasn't a tenured professor. Money had never been a concern growing up, even if we hadn't swum in it.
"Anything in particular you wanna buy now?"
"I was actually thinking of you," he said, taking me by surprise. "I'll help you pay for a new car to replace that old hunk of metal of yours. How about sixty-forty?"
My eyes widened. "Wait, really? You don't have to, Dad."
"Nonsense." He waved a hand in the air. "Got a model you've been eyeing?"
A mischievous smile began to play on my lips. "Well, you know there is this car..." A quick Google search later, I handed my phone to him.
He lifted up his glasses and squinted at the photo of the same model of Mercedes that Jesse owned, his face falling flat. "Hanna, this car is the whole jump in my salary," he chuckled. "But damn is it sexy."
"You're right it is," I said, daydreaming about the times I'd ridden in it. As if knowing I was thinking about Jesse, my phone dinged with a text from him.
Oh hell no. My dad had read it, too.
"You have a boyfriend now?" he asked as I awkwardly pulled my phone from his hand. "I haven't heard anything about him."
"Well, I mean, it hasn't been that long," I mumbled, feeling my cheeks warm up. "But yeah, I guess I do."
"Does he treat you right? You seemed to have been avoiding guys since that Zac kid in high school."
I made a face at the mention of that asshole I'd briefly dated senior year, only to find him in bed with the evil redhead from fourth grade at the prom afterparty.
