The Beach House • JB

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

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JUST STRANGERS
( CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR )
❝LIFE IS A HEALING PROCESS, NO ONE SAID THIS IS EASY.❞

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Jade carefully placed the omelette down onto Winnie's plate as she read over the latest chapter she had typed up for her book.

"Thank you."

"No problem. . .how much longer on your book?"

Winnie took a sip of her coffee. "Maybe a week or so?"

"Well I'll be the first to buy s copy when it hits the bookshelves."

Winnie giggled and shook her head as she sat her coffee down onto the kitchen table and picked up her fork to start eating her omelette.

Just as she did, the sound of footsteps made her turn around and see Peter walking into the kitchen rubbing his tired eye as he walked up to Jade and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed the top of her head.

"Good morning."

"Mm. . .morning, omelette?"

Peter hummed in response and walked over to the kitchen table and sat down next to Winnie. "Morning, Winnie."

"Good morning, Pete."

"Any word from Justin?"

Winnie had paused momentarily from eating as she took in Peter's question, and suddenly, the kitchen fell quiet as Jade turned her head to hear the response as well.

"No. . .he hasn't spoken to me since the last time I saw him."

"He'll come around, Winnie."

Winnie let out a shaky scoff. "I hope so. . .I'm worried about him."

Jade finished up Peter's omelette and placed it down onto his plate for him and walked over to the kitchen table to give it to him and sit down to eat hers next to him.

"Winnie—"

"D-Did I do the right thing? Leaving him like that?"

Jade placed her hand on top of Winnie's. "Of course you did, you're both not stable."

"But. . .I feel like that just broke him more."

"That's just life, Winnie. . .life is a healing process, no one said this was easy."

Winnie pursed her lips and nodded slowly as she went back to eating her breakfast as Jade slowly removed her hand from Winnie's and looked at Peter seeing him nod slowly and go back to eating.

Even though the kitchen was quiet, the thoughts in Winnie's head were speaking louder than what anyone in the room would.

Was all this my fault? Winnie thought.

TWO WEEKS AGO. . .

Winnie sat down on Jade's couch wrapped in one of her big fuzzy white blankets she let her borrow, as Jade came back into the living room with hot soup, she adjusted the temperature for Winnie.

Walking into the living room, she let out a breath and sat down next to Winnie and passed her the soup making her take the soup slowly and thank her.

"Winnie, what happened? Did you and Justin get in a fight?"

"No. . .his father passed today, Jade. . ."

Jade's eyes went wide. "Oh my god."

"Then Justin told me about my Papa and his. . .a-and I couldn't handle it. . .Jade I had to leave him."