That One Crazy Summer-Reader X Kylo Ren

Next Stop, Coffee Castle

Hello all!

I just wanted to put a quick note in here about my writing. This is basically unedited because I wanted to post it quickly. If something is worded wrong or there are typos, please forgive me. I plan to go back at some point and really gut this thing so it's way more concise and enjoyable. Anyway, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the reads! I never knew my work would get even a second look. You've all blown my mind!

With much love,
Lilly

The key jams a little, so you wiggle it around until you hear the lock open. The door squeaks as if you are the first person to open it in years. Maybe that's okay because if someone tries to break in, you will definitely hear it. Not that it matters when all you own is a knife your ex-boyfriend gave you. You're pretty sure it's as dull and as useless as him.

Ben Kenobi, owner of a prominent construction company in Tennessee, was your grandfather. He died before you even met him, but he left you a house in Nowheresville, Tennessee—already paid for. You could really use the money you'd save on rent, so you decided to bite the bullet and move from Georgia to Tennessee.

You were recently involved in a dramatic breakup, so it was the perfect time to leave town. Especially since you left him at the alter in front of three hundred people at the most luxurious venue in the state. You're pretty sure his parents, who paid for everything by the way, have a hit out on you, but you try not to think about that.

Before you met Mr. Richy Rich, you lived with your mother in a lower-income area of Atlanta. She had a decent job in the headquarters of the bank for which she worked, and you got to ride all the way up to the second tallest floor of the high rise, which was pretty cool because the view was amazing.

Unfortunately, all of your money fueled your mother's alcohol addiction, which you just found out a few weeks ago. She drank morning, noon, and night, but it didn't matter. She was sleeping with her boss, so she did whatever she wanted as long as the blowjob she gave him was to his liking. The only reason you know this is because your mother loved to talk about inappropriate things while drunk. You always tried your best to shut her out, sometimes unsuccessfully.

You worked at a dentist's office, filing away insurance and booking appointments. It was decent pay, a good location, and it was something you could do in peace. But at night, you'd come home to your drunk mother heaving in the living room, and that peace was ripped away from you. Everyday, you bee-lined for your bedroom and locked the door, and that was your life—even refusing dinner so you didn't have to come out and see your mother's plethora of lovers shooting up heroine. You could wait for food until the next morning.

Your mother died a little over a year ago from alcohol poisoning, and you only shed a few tears as you watched her heart monitor line flatten in the hospital room. Honestly, you were thankful, but you felt like shit about it. You moved in with your best friend, Finn, since you couldn't afford the rent for your mother's space. Finn, being the amazing human being he is, offered you a room in his spacious condo until you could find a new place.

The next year was a whirlwind as you dated a guy named Armitage Hux—a trust fund kid with a ridiculously rich family. He wasn't bad looking, but his personality left much to be desired. At first, you thought it was good that he wasn't the most exciting person in your life. You needed some normal, someone who didn't add to your inner turmoil. But one night, you caught him sleeping with a much older woman, and you ended it right then and there.

Also, about this woman—Hux was twenty-three years old and boning a fifty-seven year old. She was apparently some ex-model, but still.

Hux was clever, though. He begged you to come back, claiming it was a mistake—that it meant nothing. He said all the right things. Finn tried to convince you to stay away from him, but you couldn't stop yourself from believing Hux's words. You wanted to be loved so badly. It was easier to pretend than to live such a lonely existence.

Of course, you got engaged, much to his parents' disdain. You were gutter trash in their eyes. They would greet you with fake hugs and fake greetings: "Hi, Darling! We've missed seeing you around here!" But you didn't care because you had stooped so low that you accepted their company just to feel like part of a real family.

The wedding day came, and you can imagine how that went down. You got to the alter and looked into Hux's eyes—eyes that hid all kinds of secret affairs you already knew about. You just couldn't do it. Something inside of you screamed that you are destined for more. So you pulled a Julia Roberts and ran until you found Finn's car. He followed you quickly and piled your white cloud of a dress into his back seat and hit the gas.

You found the paperwork in Finn's mailbox the very next day. You had a grandfather who apparently loved you very much, but he died before you were born. You weren't sure how he knew you would exist, but you figured he just assumed he would have a grandchild. Mr. Kenobi left you a house and eighty-two acres of land in Tennessee. This was your chance to start over.

So here you are, standing in the middle of a new house. It looks like it has been renovated. You have nice appliances for once—hardwood floors, granite counter tops. Everything is perfect except for that door.

You step on the back porch and view the landscape in front of you—so much land, so much green. Your yard is clear until about an acre in, then you see thick rows of trees all the way to the horizon. Maybe Mr. Kenobi had plans to start a farm but never got the chance. You close your eyes and take a moment to honor him as the sun beats down on your vitamin D-depleted body.

It's about four o'clock in the afternoon, and your new job at Coffee Castle starts tomorrow. It's the only coffee shop in town, so it was either there or Debbie's Diner, where you could sport a hairnet and drown in grease. You're thankful the coffee shop even had a job opening. The lady who owns the place liked you immediately and wanted to hear all about Atlanta. You indulged her so you could ask for a pay increase, and it worked. You have insurance to pay, and apparently you need a lawn mower.

You open your eyes and take a deep breath, then walk back into your new abode, feeling the slightest spark of hope ignite in your soul.