Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 145123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 726(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 726(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
“Yeah, well, that’s great and all, and I truly appreciate the solidarity and use of so many animals to express it, but it’s a little more complicated than that.”
“Why? Because you work on your books together?” she snaps directly into the phone. “No big deal. You focus on the work, plain and simple.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha.” I can barely keep myself from sounding hysterical as I laugh into the phone.
As expected, Sammy’s completely lost. “What am I missing here?”
“Okay, well, see…” I pull the phone away from my ear, lift a pillow to my mouth, and let out an unholy smothered scream into the foamy material. When I put the phone back to my ear, my voice is hoarse from it. “I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but…I kind of wrote a book about him.”
She’s silent.
“And me.”
Nothing.
“And what we’d be like together, as a couple, sexually and such.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath before dropping the biggest bomb of all.
“And well, when I was supposed to be turning in Garden of Forever, I kind of, accidentally, attached the wrong file to the email and sent him the book about us, which, incidentally, he loved and fought for with the publishing house, and now that book is the next big thing in my contract. And we’re working on it. Together. Now. On this trip.”
“Wow.”
“I know!” I whisper-scream, banging my head back into the pillow.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do,” Sammy says authoritatively, making me sit up straight and listen. “First, you’re going to take ten deep breaths until you don’t feel like screaming anymore.”
I nod. “Okay.”
“Then, you’re going to make sure the door to your bedroom is locked and take out your computer.”
I do both quickly, clinging to her confident instructions like a lifeline. “Okay, what’s next?”
“Now, you’re going to email me the manuscript so I can read it.”
“Sammy!” I shout, annoyed. “Be serious! I’m in the middle of a crisis.”
“I am serious, Brooke! I need to know what we’re dealing with here. What kind of damage are we talking? I can’t make an assessment without the facts. Now, send me the file. And hey, make sure it’s the right one.”
I roll my eyes as that sound from TikTok plays in my head. It’s a good joke, a great joke even.
“Sammy.”
“Send it, B,” she demands. “I’ve got my email pulled up on my phone, and I’m waiting.”
Reluctantly, I scan through my files until I find the right one and attach it to an email addressed to her. Before I can overthink it, I hit send. She shrieks in delight when she receives it.
“I’ll be expedient with my research, I promise.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know if I should be thanking you or mad at you right now.”
“You should be loving the hell out of me because I certainly love the hell out of you, and it’s the whole reason I want and need to read this manuscript.”
“Yeah. Yeah.”
“Now, I want you to go splash your face with cold water, brush your teeth, and go to bed, okay? Get some rest and wake up in the morning on a new day.”
“That easy, huh?”
“For now? It’s the best we can do, kid.”
I nod. For now, hoping that Chase is just having a bad day and will be back to his normal teasing self in the morning is the best I can do.
And it really, really sucks. Because whether we were anything romantic or not, we were definitely having fun—fun I haven’t had with a real, live human in a long time.
I miss my friend.
Thursday, May 25th
Chase
Avoiding Brooke for the last eighteen hours has been the longest seventy-two hours of my life. I know that doesn’t make logical sense, but if you felt what I feel, you’d get it. Uneasiness has been heavy in my chest the whole time, and now, I’m even starting to feel nauseated by it.
A terrifying prospect, but true.
My head is foggy and my stomach is churning, and if this is how I have to spend the rest of the trip by avoiding her and preserving the security of my job, I think I’d rather have to start my entire career over.
Tossing the manuscript onto the table of the dining booth, I scoot out and shove to standing, momentarily swaying on my feet with a little bit of dizziness. I have been working for a while now, trying to move my notes from paper to digital so they’ll be easier for Brooke to follow when she’s making any technical changes. I also haven’t eaten, but I’m not usually impacted by high stress and low calorie intake this much.
As much as I shouldn’t, I follow this routine a lot, fueling myself with empty caffeine rather than any nutritious or useful calories in the mornings so I can get started on my work first thing.