Chapter 12
Jul 18, 2025
Emery’s POV
My life was never peaceful. This kind of calm, it feels foreign, almost unreal. But maybe that’s why I hold onto it so tightly. Because for the first time… I finally know what peace feels like.
Days in the coastal town were gentle, it felt safe. I liked it that way. I always wake up early. Sometimes to the birds, and sometimes to the bakery clatter downstairs. I pulled on a sweater, wrapped my scarf, and headed to the learning center.
My students weren’t easy, but they were honest, that mattered.
“Miss Rose, is it true Americans eat peanut butter with jelly?” one boy asked.
I laughed. “Unfortunately, yes. And it’s actually pretty good.”
He looked disgusted. “That’s messed up.”
That kind of honesty was healing. There were no games here. No secrets, just kids who told you when your mascara was smudged and when your lesson was boring.
“You talk funny,” one girl said.
“I’m not from here,” I told her.
“Good. Everyone here talks like cardboard.”
Afternoons were mine. After the final school bell rang and the halls emptied out, I’d walk down to the pier, letting the salty air fill my lungs.
The ocean made everything feel lighter, like it could carry the weight I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. I’d sometimes stop to feed the birds or sit with a to-go cup of coffee from the café on the corner, the one where no one looked twice if you sat alone for too long.
People here minded their own business, but they still remembered your name.
The barista started giving me decaf without needing the reminder. One morning, she handed me the cup with a knowing smile.
“Thought I’d save you the reminder,” she said, already turning back to the espresso machine.
I smiled, touched by the gesture. “You’re a lifesaver.”
Little things like that made it feel like I’d landed in the right place, quiet kindnesses. No pressure to explain myself, no expectations to meet.
Every week, I stopped by the local clinic, just a short walk from my apartment. The doctor was warm but direct, the kind of person who told you the truth without making it sound like bad news.
At my last check-up, she slid the monitor closer and turned the volume up.
“Baby looks good,” she said, eyes on the screen. “Strong heartbeat.”
Other times, I just scribbled little hopes and reassurances, lines like, ‘You are wanted, you are safe, you are already loved. It helped.’
‘You don’t know me yet,’ I wrote one evening, ‘but I promise I’m trying to become someone worth knowing.’

New Chapters
Reading History

Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Mr. Remington Got Me Pregnant